Social Class in the US today

Before reading the chapter in the text and spending some time on the People Like Us website, I probably would have said that social class in the US today affects some parts of our lives but that it doesn't have nearly the same effect as in other parts of the world or in other time periods. After reading and exploring the website, though, I would have to say that I was mistaken. I don't think that I realized before how much emphasis is placed on social class or how much everyone, including myself, tries to fit into their perceived social class. If I ever contemplated the reasons for why I chose certain consumer goods, I would have attributed it to trying to live a healthy lifestyle, but this, in and of itself, is a part of the middle-class expectation. Everyone wants to look healthy and seem focused on their health, because it is considered ignorant to eat unhealthy foods and avoid exercise. My husband and I had some family coming to visit a few weeks ago, so my grocery shopping was different than it normally is, because I was trying to make sure that our visitors would have foods that they were used to eating. At the grocery store, I found that I was embarrassed by the items that were in my cart that I usually avoid, such as white bread, 2% milk (as opposed to the skim milk that I always buy), and potato chips. At the time, I didn't stop to think about why I was embarrassed, but now I think that it had more to do with my paranoia that people would look in my cart and think that I was in a different class than the one that I perceive myself to be in. This is one demonstration that advertising and consumerism in America are even involved in social class divisions.