In this article, I examine everyday ways in which residents of Madurai, Tamil Nadu work to gain and maintain recognition as middle class. In the intersubjective production of identities, people define not only what it takes to be a member of a specific local class category, but also what it means to be treated as fully human. I explore the critical importance of visibility and recognition in daily life, and the modes and meanings of the consumption through which people strive to achieve them. Focusing on two key consumption practices—presenting oneself in public according to local standards of ‘decency’ and marking class belonging through one fetishised consumer good, the cell phone—I consider the relationships among visual apprehension, counting as a social being and dignity.
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