Like the answer to a riddle, status is all around us, but it can’t always be seen or heard. The silent switchboard behind our professional and personal interactions, status dictates our place on the guest list, in the room, at the table; through its connections to class, race and gender, it affords some of us power and wealth and others empty promises.  

But why does status so often go unnoticed? How does it influence everything from social inequality to personal relationships? And what changing forces have come to bear on the high or low status we’ve ascribed ourselves and others over the centuries?   

In this edition we consider:

• The new ways we’re performing social class
• The fortitude and self-belief required to become a first nations agent of change
• The devastating effects that come with precarious academic employment
• The rise of the extreme right after the fall of mass politics
• What happens when doctors are incentivised to prioritise income over holistic health

Featuring new work from Kate Pullinger, Diana Reid, Bebe Oliver, Rebecca Harkins Cross, Sam Elkin, Shahar Hameiri, Jeff Sparrow, Beau Windon, Anna Broinowski, Haruko Koga, Jess Ho and many more, Griffith Review 85: Status Anxiety grapples with the fallout of our status anxiety and explores what happens when we don’t measure up. 

Published August, 2024
ISBN: 978-1-922212-98-6
Extent: 196pp
Paperback (234 x 153mm), eBook

Cover image: Pierre Chatel-Innocenti, Work from ReMix 2021