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A social climber is a derogatory term that denotes someone who seeks social prominence through aggressive, fawning, or obsequious behavior. [1] The term is sometimes used as synonymous with parvenu , and may be used as an insult, suggesting a poor work ethic or disloyalty to roots.
Social status once depended on one's family name; however, social mobility in the United States and the rise of consumerism there both gave rise to change. With the increasing availability of goods, people became more inclined to define themselves by what they possessed and the quest for higher status accelerated.
Aside from financial status, the term "lace curtain Irish" connoted pretentiousness and social climbing, while the "shanty Irish" were stereotyped as feckless and ignorant. [2] As lace curtains became commonplace in Irish-American working-class homes, "lace curtain" was still used in a metaphorical, and often pejorative, sense.
But watching (or hate-watching) today’s power-hungry social climbers doesn’t provide the same vicarious thrill. Maybe we prefer to watch naked ambition dressed up in another era, looking sharp.
Publishing legend George Weidenfeld lived a quest to make friends in high places. All in the name of great literature, of course.
There, she tells Emma Hernan that their co-agent, Nicole Young, had called her a "social climber." Merriam-Webster defines the phrase as “(a person) who attempts to gain a higher social position ...
This page was last edited on 22 January 2023, at 17:35 (UTC).; Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License; additional terms may apply.
Social mobility is the movement of individuals, ... Meaning race affects an individual's chances at upward mobility if they do not begin at the upper-class population.