I am looking for examples and anecdotes of the the extent that people
will go to gain social accpetannce and status. The point that I am
trying to bring out is how important social status is to some people
or better yet many or most people.

Desmond Morris touches on this in "The Human Zoo" and, to a lesser
extent, in his other works.

This article may be of interest:

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/260-06022005-497362.html

The British comedy "Keeping Up Appearances" is based on the adventures
of Hyacinth Bucket (that's pronounced "boo-kay"), who goes to
incredible lengths in her hilarious, doomed to failure social-climbing
efforts. Perhaps her adventures might give you a few ideas. Homepage
of the show is here: http://kuacentral.com/ If you've never seen it,
try to catch an episode. Although out of production, it's still
broadcast fairly regularly over PBS stations in the US.

There is a difference between social "accepance" and "status".