One way to claim high status within a group is paradoxically to deliberately and publicly do something generally considered to be very low-status within that group. If you’re in the “masculine energy” subculture, you’re knitting, and you’re not trying to hide it then you’re either both unpopular and unaware of why you’re unpopular… Or you’re such a big shot that you really don’t have to care what anyone else thinks.
A big shot can’t demonstrate that he doesn’t have to care what other people think except by doing something apparently unpopular, but of course wanting to prove that he doesn’t have to care what other people think is itself evidence that he does care, so he has to like, or appear to like, knitting organically.
One time I met a guy who was the department head at a medical school. He would casually smoke indoors (in the USA during the 21st century). That was very convincing evidence of his unquestionable authority.
One way to claim high status within a group is paradoxically to deliberately and publicly do something generally considered to be very low-status within that group. If you’re in the “masculine energy” subculture, you’re knitting, and you’re not trying to hide it then you’re either both unpopular and unaware of why you’re unpopular… Or you’re such a big shot that you really don’t have to care what anyone else thinks.
A big shot can’t demonstrate that he doesn’t have to care what other people think except by doing something apparently unpopular, but of course wanting to prove that he doesn’t have to care what other people think is itself evidence that he does care, so he has to like, or appear to like, knitting organically.
One time I met a guy who was the department head at a medical school. He would casually smoke indoors (in the USA during the 21st century). That was very convincing evidence of his unquestionable authority.
That was a bit of a rollercoaster.