11/12 Blog Entry & Discussion Question: Becker

I found Becker's article to be very interesting. Before reading this article, I had honestly never heard of the "slumpy class" itself. I know what 'slumpy' is on its own, but I had never heard the two put together. Just for clarification purposes, the slumpy class means: Socially Liberal, Upwardly Mobile Professionals One piece that I found to be the most interesting was the topic of "affordable" liberalism. It is in this context that Becker calls gay-themed television "affordable" for the slumpy class, which means that it offered an opportunity to affirm one's open-mindedness, to consume cultural diversity, without having to think about ongoing economic inequality, or support policies that sought to address economic inequality, such as affirmative action or welfare. Do you agree with Becker in which the slumpy class correlates with "affordable" liberalism? Why or why not? If not, which other points do you think correlate better with the slumpy class? Can you think of any other points besides the ones Becker brought up? Lastly, when thinking of gay television-themed shows, do you believe it is for pure entertainment, or is it mirror characteristics towards the gays themselves?