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our next speaker is code one one for the
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title a fable on labels
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Thin Mints Samoas tagalogs
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these aren't just the names of the three
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most delicious cookies to ever grace our
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world their way of life for many of you
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these wonderful treats are like Santa
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Claus they come once a year and they
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bring utter a join jubilation to
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everyone they encounter for me these
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cookies are the foundation and backbone
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of an organization have been a part of
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for several years the Girl Scouts I'll
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be the first to admit that my fondness
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for being a Girl Scouts didn't happen
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right away you've seen the Girl Scouts
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they various levels and labels that you
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acquire and aspire for everyone starts
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off as a daisy what little girl doesn't
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want to be named after a pretty white
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flower but the next level is where I had
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a problem the next up on the Girl Scout
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hierarchy brownies
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after keeping the Girl Scouts of
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borderline racism for the better part of
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five minutes I was told that brownies
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was a reference moreso to the chocolate
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dessert that we all loved that day I
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learned that labels are merely a method
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of sorting things but don't necessarily
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define what something or someone is
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labels today let's first meet our troop
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and introduce the concept of labels then
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fill our boxes of Thin Mints and really
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look into the commercial side two labels
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and finally let's are in our integrity
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badge as we pledge to never allow labels
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to define who we really are from the day
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we're born we've been given a label our
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name names help identify and distinguish
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people from one another take Walt Disney
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7 tours for example all of them were
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named after the most prominent qualities
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for example the leader of the group doc
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was always in charge of the others and
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you can always count on sneezy to get
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everyone sick with the intent of
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establishing such unique identities the
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creators labeled all the other dwarves
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with human emotions happy and grumpy
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provided a perfect balance and sleepy
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dopey and bashful all described my prom
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date last year
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this idea of a label that particularly
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suits its owner is called an afternoon
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while the names of the doors and snow I
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appellee through their behavior
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character in Lux options can often fit
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its owner's profession as well this
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labeling concept like the coining of the
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term nominative determinism which
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explains why people are so drawn to
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their profession due to the virtue of
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their name for example the manufacturer
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of toilets Thomas Crapper
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a lawyer named sue you a me manager
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named Brad slaughter a meteorologist
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named storm field Jamaican sprinter aka
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the fastest person ever saying bolt and
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Republican politician wait for it rich
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white
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this labeling phenomena dates back to
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1182 in England where surnames often
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determined one's occupation men with
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last names such as Baker and Taylor for
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example inevitably ended up working as
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Baker's and tailors it seemed as though
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the generational tradition of passing on
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last names also labelled the job you
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held so if your dad is a baker the newer
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Baker I know a guy named Brian uber
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driver he up to one day drive for lift
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and label still affect our occupations
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today starting from the moment we get
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educated according to the US Census
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Bureau people with labels of their
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degree have a much easier time moving up
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the professional ladder PhDs median
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salary of $100,000
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masters 63 bachelors 56 associate's 42
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and high school diploma is earning
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thirty two thousand five hundred dollars
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oh and let's not forget current high
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school students who earn an average of
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the coins mom has left in her purse
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these labels make you as a product of
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society more marketable for various
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lucrative career options but what
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happens when misled marketing uses
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labels to lure sin to buying products
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that we don't actually want okay think
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about the last time you were in grocery
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shopping did you notice how many
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packaged foods claimed to be good for
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you but in very ambiguous ways it's
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because companies aren't trying to make
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you healthy they're trying to sell you a
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product and the best way to do that is
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through their labels like many of the
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consumers you probably rely on the black
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and white labels of nutritional facts to
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make healthy decisions about what foods
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you eat what you may or may not realize
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however is how inaccurate and misleading
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these labels can be in fact the FDA
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allows calorie counts on these labels to
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be off by as much as 20 percent before
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they even think about getting involved
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best companies will purposely reduce the
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serving size of their product by about
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25% and then claim that their product is
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now it's 25% less sugar but guess what
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in the United States any amount of fact
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or sugar under 0.5 grams per serving can
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be listed as zero grams the food
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industry use of these devious tactics to
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take an unhealthy product and fortify
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with labels that lorrison for a society
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that relies so heavily on the abundance
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and information that labels provide how
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do we buy products and labels speak for
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itself
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on one hand we have labels with too much
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information trying to help us out and on
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the other hand we have labels would use
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to a single word hoping to convey all
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the information we need to know with the
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brand name now in countries like India
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brand names didn't represent the clothes
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he wore or the bag you held but rather
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your place in society rooted in religion
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and based on a division of labor the
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Hindu caste system in India had four
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main classes called varnas in a dictate
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the type of profession one can pursue
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and the social interactions that they
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may have at the very top where the
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Brahmins who were priests scholars and
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teachers kasaya chose came next as
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warriors and rulers vices as farmers and
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traders shuja's as workers and servants
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and at the very bottom were the
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untouchables who the outcasts in society
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the obvious problem with such a labeling
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system is that under its firmness the
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lower castes never had a chance to climb
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higher and therefore economic progress
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was restricted now although we don't
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have a caste system here in America
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we're still sorted branded if you will
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by our clothing it's no secret that
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fashion designers and consumers live off
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of the reputation of their labels
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something as simple as clothing can be
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transcended into something more grand
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and complex because clothing labels
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signify the wealth status and power
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in society much like the Hindu caste
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system in India in fact clinical
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psychologist dr. Jennifer Baumgartner
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states that Americans rely on products
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as a social and economic indicator
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because we don't have any official marks
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of rank such as a caste system or an
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aristocracy from handbags to sneakers
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little labels signify their price and
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for many of us our value as human beings
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a study this year by Northwestern
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University examined a concept called
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enclosed cognition researchers define it
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in the report as a systematic influence
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that clothes have on its wearer
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psychological processes meaning what
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your clothes are saying to you not about
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you sorry what's that okay just two
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minutes to test his theory of include
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cognition researchers handed out
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standard white lab coats to participants
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telling some that it was a doctor's coat
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and some dye it was a painter's smock
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all participants were assigned to
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perform the same task however those with
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the doctor's coat were more careful
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inattentive compared to those the
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painters mock it seemed as though the
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contrasting actions by the participants
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were heavily influenced simply by the
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different labels provided for their
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clothing now labels don't just affect
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the way we think of ourselves they also
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influence the way we're perceived by
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others in another experiment in october
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university in amsterdam researchers
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showed volunteers to videos of the same
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man being interviewed for a job in one
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video his shirt featured a brand label
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in the other it didn't volunteers way to
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the man with the label shirt as more
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suitable for the position and proposed I
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here nine percent more as we can see
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conspicuous displays of luxury labels
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elicits favorable treatment in human
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social interactions so wearing that
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Gucci suit won't just make you look good
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it'll make people rank you higher too
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Oh where did that come from
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labels seem to pop up everywhere in our
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lives in movies
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ancient history the workplace the
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grocery store and especially in our
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wardrobe awesome regulate and restrict
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our lives others provide social and
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economic benefits but regardless of what
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kind they are all labels have one thing
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in common they provide structure but it
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is our responsibility to use this
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structure as a mirror outline for the
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way we live our lives so repeat after me
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on my honor I will live by the Girl
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Scout law to be honest fair and
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label-free