what we’re biting:
bella: I love my friends Emiliano and Mia so much. To start this BITE, I just wanted to say that.
Last week, we were having our inaugural group lunch of the year, sitting on Beinecke Plaza, when we began discussing things that we were ruminating on from class. Emiliano was telling us about a book he had read by Pierre Bourdieu called Distinction. Essentially, Bourdieu argues taste is no innate feeling you have toward something (as opposed to what Kant proposes), but rather it is a product of upbringing and education. Also, despite our instincts about preference, taste is not an inherently individual attribute but rather a highly social one. Bordieu tells us that “social subjects, classified by their classifications, distinguish themselves by the distinctions they make, between the beautiful and the ugly, the distinguished and the vulgar, in which their position in the objective classifications is expressed or betrayed.”
But, what I found the most interesting about this discussion, was Bordieu’s distinction between “high taste” and “low taste”. Those with high levels of cultural capital are the ones who decide what gets to be “high taste", those with low cultural capital accept the ruling class’s definition of taste as legitimate because high culture is distinguished as “superior” to low culture. Taste is effectively used as a weapon, allowing the dominant classes to dictate what is good and bad taste for the middle and working classes.
Then, we ran through a scenario. Emiliano explained “If I told you my favorite movie was Finding Nemo, you would not consider that low taste because you assume I have a) seen other movies and b) because we are set in the ‘high class’ environment of the university.”
I just found the whole thing kind of fascinating.
grey: I chose Monogamy and Its Discontents after all. As any good Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies class begins, we're reading Foucault. It's made me think about categorization — what he'd call "species-making” — beyond romantic relationships.
At the perfect time, I ran into Yale's performative man competition. It was a contest between Gen-Z men, beginning from online social commentary about “unconvincing feminist theatrics in attempt to impress progressive women.” The internet is not only fantastic at creating echo-chambers to produce aesthetics, but making it feel like there's a need to choose one. I think Foucault would be very upset about social media's personal-type-making machine.
Type-making is also thriving offline. For society tap at Yale, I learned that we were being selected to fit into pre-described spots: "loud Edon girl,” "white Aeris girl,” “Sig Nu finance bro." Even though the spots weren't pre-described (I don't think they were at least), building a narrative was necessary to get into a competitive college. I expect it will be for the job search too.
This isn’t a super new concern for me — when I was a freshman in high school, I gave a Tedx Talk about the harms of self-categorization and such. (I was unfortunately required to wear slacks because of the camera angle, and I still had a lisp, so, I can't bring myself to rewatch it.) From what I remember, the premise was that humans form “us” versus “them” groups when they assign themselves roles, and then the world ends in gridlock. The reasoning was that we're evolutionarily designed to categorize, so that we can make quicker judgments and survive. I'm sure internet culture and industry has reinforced that genetic tendency, rewarding us for sorting ourselves neatly.
And, for me, it's spilled over into my personal life. I’ve always defined myself by an activity or career. That habit can make everything else seem invisible, and then it adds to this manufactured pressure to succeed in one area. I've also totally bought into label-making when it comes to relationships. My vocabulary — family, partner, friend — suggests a wider gap between how I feel about people than reality.
As an experiment, I've tried to lay off that instinct. I think it could offer a truer perception of the world. And, so far, the freedom of the in-between is nicer than the safety and ease of the social prescription. I don't think it will be possible to completely opt-out, but I’ll report back.
what bit us:
bella: I’m giving my society bio next week. For those who are not familiar, society is a strange social phenomenon that Yale Seniors participate in, where we all agree to spend every Thursday and Sunday with the same 16-20 people selected by the delegation that came before. The idea is to mix up the campus, to form close bonds with people whom I may never have encountered otherwise.
Bios are a huge part of the society process. The idea is that you give a 2-4 hour presentation about your life to let everyone in the group get to know you better. I, unlike many, am no stranger to giving a bio. My freshman year of college, I was in a social organization that had us do something quite similar. So, given my experience (and the fact that I already have one made), I have offered to go first.
This week, I’m remembering that making a bio can be quite a traumatizing process. Reliving, remembering, and rehashing a lot of the hard parts of life is not easy. The first time I made my bio, it sent me into a frenzy about the kind of person college was making me. I felt I was losing my competitive spirit and my ability to lead. I wasn’t the person I knew anymore; I was just some degenerate getting drunk with strangers in a basement every Thursday night. It made me feel so awful that I remember biting my tongue through my entire bio so I wouldn’t break down and cry.
I’ve grown a lot since then, but in many ways I am still the same. I worry about the emotions that reliving certain memories will bring up. But, what I’ve always appreciated about the bio is the ability it gives me to reflect on my values and behavior patterns. This go-around, I have noticed that forgiveness is a larger part of my life than I may have realized. Four years ago, I was really hard on myself for not adjusting to college the way I thought I should. I forgive her for that, for making me miserable through the winter of 2023. I am a better person now for it.
grey: On Thursday, I chose the wrong size t-shirt and cut too much of it off for a white lies party. It became more of a bracelet by the end of the night, and now it's in the corner of a random (*very clean) bathroom on Broadway.
Around 1am it started raining.
Lila and I got soaking wet, and we danced in the rain. All happy bits this week!
what you should bite into:
bella: Here are some actual food recs from me this week.
My everyday smoothie recipe. 40g of protein and plenty of fiber. A day is not complete without it. If you guys are good, I’ll post it.
Vanilla Nutpods. I have it in my coffee every day (I refuse to drink anything but the red La Colombe Cold Brew. It’s also high taste.)
Sweetgreen’s Chicken Pesto Parm Bowl.
grey:
Okay, the Sacheu Lip Stain is actually really great. I love the nude shade. You'll just look like a freak for ten minutes while it dries. I also finished and repurchased another tube of Clinique's Almost Lipstick in Black Cherry.
I love goodles. They're especially good with broccoli and peas.
I don't understand why it's a big deal to have bugs in the house. Can't we co-habitate?
