Would these money microagressions bother you?
Money microaggressions as Michelle points out, are things like:
- You go into a shop ( and have money) but the shopkeepers assume you don’t.
- You live in a small home (even though you can afford more) people assume you don’t have a lot of money because you have a small home.
- You use coupons to save money.
- You bought a small car for cash people make fun of you.
I don’t really have a problem with not being served because of my race, but I do find that at car dealerships, women are not taken seriously especially for negotiations, which is why I end up having a bitchface on at those places to get my price (I’m used to it, with my having to negotiate for my contract rates).
Other than that, I don’t really care if people see that I drive a beater car.
Or that I rent instead of own a place at my age.
Or that I bring my own lunch to work because I don’t want to eat out.
Or that I don’t own a cellphone because it’s unnecessary, which really surprises and bothers a lot of people.
On the surface, to lots of people it looks like I’m frugal / poor / cheap… but if you read my blog, I am far from that.
In any case, it doesn’t bother me. I’d rather have people think I’m poor, than rich. You get less crap that way, and I’m the only one (aside from all you readers) who knows that I’m financially secure and couldn’t give 2 rat’s behinds about whether or not it looks good for my image.
The only thing I can concede where people might think I have money or at least, like to spend it, is that I dress very well, even casually, compared to what other people wear on a regular basis.
My funniest money microaggression story was when I walked into Chanel the other day in Toronto in Yorkville and was ignored by 2 saleswomen helping a rich Chinese couple. The lady was getting a Chanel sweater tailored to her body, and they were all sitting around chatting.
I am 100% convinced I was ignored even though I passed by them at least 5 times, for a few reasons:
- I am young
- I was not wearing designer anything or logo-ified anything from head to toe
(For the record, I was dressed in a simple dress with a light blazer and ballet flats.)
They were right though.
I wasn’t going to buy anything but I just wanted to try on a Chanel tweed jacket to see what it felt like and what size I was (US 4-6 with tailoring, apparently).
Mostly because Cate wore this jacket in Blue Jasmine that I fell in love with… and am OBSESSED WITH RIGHT NOW.
I had to actually go up and ask a Chanel saleswoman for help before they would help me, and it wasn’t until then that she realized I could potentially be an actual customer.
In fact, the security guard was the one who saw me repeatedly wandering around the store in a circle, and asked me if he should go get someone to help me. At least SOMEONE was being a professional at their job.
*shrug* Did it bother me? Not really.
She was at work, and I wasn’t, on a weekday by choice.
That pretty much says it all.
