Podcasts Education Self-Improvement Conversations with Tyler Ashley Mears on Status and Beauty

Ashley Mears on Status and Beauty

Published: June 3, 2020, noon

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Ashley Mears is a former fashion model turned academic sociologist, and her book Very Important People: Status and Beauty in the Global Party Circuit\\xa0 is one of Tyler\\u2019s favorites of the year. The book, the result of eighteen months of field research, describes how young women exchange \\u201cbodily capital\\u201d for free drinks and access to glamorous events, boosting the status of the big-spending men they accompany.

Ashley joined Tyler to discuss her book and experience as a model, including the economics of bottle service, which kinds of men seek the club experience (and which can\\u2019t get in), why Tyler is right to be suspicious of restaurants filled with beautiful women, why club music is so loud, the surprising reason party girls don\\u2019t want to be paid, what it\\u2019s like to be scouted, why fashion models don\\u2019t smile, the truths contained in Zoolander, how her own beauty and glamour have influenced her academic career, how Barbara Ehrenreich inspired her work, her unique tip for staying focused while writing, and more.

Read a\\xa0full transcript\\xa0enhanced with helpful links, or watch the\\xa0full video.

Recorded May 8th, 2020

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