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This paradigm seems like it's committing the common sin of trying to generalize a particular set of values to the entire human race. But I would also ask: what is the purpose of this paradigm? It seems obfuscatory to me, because it implies a certain equality of significance between 'hard' and 'soft' factors when soft factors outweigh hard ones to an almost unfathomable degree.
Status is also highly particular and contextual, Trump being a perfect example. He is practically worshipped by his core supporters and absolutely despised by about half the country. There are, of course, no lack of other examples: a gang leader is a big swinging dick in his little corner of ghetto, but his position carries negative weight in broader society. Prince William is high status, but only by association with the institution of the British Crown. A lot of professional athletes are showered in praise and money, but Respectable People would generally not be thrilled if one of them was dating their daughter.
All that and five bucks will get you a cup of coffee. No, seriously. None of this reliably translates into status. Depending on some of the soft factors, they may even count against you. In developed countries (and tbh most countries anywhere), the term for a tough, aggressive young man physically asserting himself is 'criminal'.
Similar things could be said for the 'hard status' criteria for women. Hot women are not actually hard to find - with the right diet, fitness routine, and surgeons, we can literally make them (but we don't have to). Being hot may be a foot in the door, but there's a reason why professionally hot people don't actually get paid very much until they hit celebrity status, and a lot of work that involves leveraging your looks for money (e.g. stripper) is actively harmful to your social status.
Which brings me back to: your hard status is not really status at all. These physical attributes might be leveraged to gain status in certain contexts, but in modern societies, relying on your physicality is almost always low status.
I broadly agree with most of this as a critique, but still think /u/aiislove is gesturing at something real. And your objection to hard status can be largely addressed by adjusting the definition to be slightly more tautological: hard status is not merely being physically strong or attractive, but is the status you gain derived from those. That is, if we take two men of equal and large strength and manly physical appearance and one of them grows a mohawk and becomes a thug and mugs people, while the other one combs his hair and becomes a firefighter who rescues damsels and makes them swoon, the latter has more hard status.
Or an even better example: if both men become policemen who rescue damsels, but one of them lives in a lefty city where police are hated, while the other lives in a rural area where police are seen as heroes, then both could look the same and act the same but the latter gets more hard status because status is ultimately given from the people around them.
You are correct that power =/= status. But power can translate into status with some coefficient varying with the culture, environment, and how well it's leveraged. But the status that comes from this is still meaningfully different from "soft status" which is derived without leveraging power at all. Or at least, not physical power or appearance, since money can be a form of power, and status itself is a form of power. But I think this two-axis system is pointing at something real even if it needs some refinement to become more accurate and useful.
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