It feels like all my relatives listen to this shit.
It can totally be conspicuous consumption. Have you ever tried to buy a new pair of cowboy boots? That shit is expensive. As is a lot of the other trappings of the genre/aesthetic like big trucks. Plus there’s an entire subset of people who spend a ridiculous amount of money to look like they’re dudes helping out on the family farm.
That’s not a country only thing but it definitely rubs people the wrong way.
Basically. White reactionaries in the middle class actually spend a good deal of money just so they can LOOK like poor people. Personally, I like to call them “cosplay cowboys”.
If you’re a poor fool like me who’s born in North America AND can’t afford to live in megacities like NYC, Montreal, Toronto, LA, etc. You know what I’m talking about.
I think the culture surrounding music is relevant when discussing it but even if we want to stick only to the actual music: steel guitars are super expensive and the lyrical themes of many country songs involve lifestyles most working class people are priced out of.