Symbolic Boundary Maintenance
Consumption draws lines between acceptable and unacceptable categories — us and them, high and low, pure and mixed; people police the lines, and some gain identity value by crossing them deliberately.
An everyday example
A brand rejected for blurring a category; a subculture prized for mixing what should not mix.
What it can cost you
Being trapped inside category boundaries that limit good choices; misjudging others by which lines they cross.
Warning signs
- It is not what people like me do.
- I like it because it breaks the rule.
One thing to do
Notice the boundary a choice is protecting; ask whether it serves you or just sorts you.
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