Bohemia Village Voice

By Diane Haberstroh, Bohemia, Long Island, New York.

Bohemia New York town sign

Though many of us citizens of our great American democracy don’t like to admit to it, there is a class system in America. While our Declaration of Independence states that “All men are created equal,” we really aren’t in many ways. The amount of money available to us in particular, including that of our parents or even ancestors, make us different, or at least has a major effect on our life’s view and opportunities, among other things. It also changes the way in which other people view us, and produces a form of class system somewhat different from those based in old European society with its historical layers of nobility and gentry.  In America, those with wealth or born of wealth, form, intentionally or not,  society’s upper class by and large, and attached to this class traditionally are certain characteristics and symbols.

One “symbol” that can indicate someone’s position in life is their name. What’s in a name? A WASPY (white Anglo Saxon Protestant) sounding name gives the impression that someone was born into a well-established family with money and clout. For example, in the sitcom Gilligan’s Island which ran on television here in 1960s, the uppercrust millionaire’s name was Thurston Howell III. The name, both given and family name, suited this stereotype of an old Yankee monied elite sort of character. I admit that my own first name (Diane) was given to me by my mom, who read the society announcements in the New York Times, because she noticed that Diane was a popular name with the upper-class. Of course, my mother knew my name would never work as a magical open-sesame phrase for getting me into society parties and events, but she liked the association the name had with the elite nonetheless.

A different sort of indication of class in America is education. Graduating from a prestigious university such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, or another Ivy League school usually brands someone as having come from a high and wealthy class. This has been changing somewhat over time because many universities have revised their admission policies and also provide loans and scholarships for more socially disadvantaged students. However, graduating from one of these universities will still likely provide a person with more opportunity to climb the social ladder.

Yet another indication of class is where someone lives. On Long Island many of the elite live in East Hampton, and a handful of other prestigious areas. Some wealthy New Yorkers live year round there; others just spend summer weekends there. It was in East Hampton, Long Island that Paul McCartney met his current trucking heiress wife, Nancy Shevell. So, if you want to hook-up with an heiress (or heir), the “Hamptons” is a good place to start your search.

Our area of Bohemia, New York, is considered to be a middle-class neighborhood. You will not find any heirs or heiresses of note in our neck of the woods. I am, along with most of my neighbors, what my father would describe as being “just plain folk.”  Or should I say that I am just plain folk with an upper-class first name.

New York Social Diary: http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/nysd/thelist

New York Times article about The Social Register http://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/21/style/the-social-register-just-a-circle-of-friends.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm