Occupational appearance codes stay confined to insider networks unless publicized.
Evidence
Restricted coding schemes such as this one are available to only a few people, not only because their usefulness to a wider populace is limited, but also because they are created and perpetuated by word of mouth among networks of persons who know one another personally. Unless learned by someone who has a reason and the means to publicize them more widely (as in this case), they remain the exclusive property of whatever little world gave them birth. — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 570
Categorization
Category: Causal Relationships
- XREF: Connects to Lofland’s broader theme of stranger categorization — appearance codes are subcultural knowledge, not universal literacy, complicating the claim that city dwellers share one coding system.