If we take status to mean only and specifically "position of direct authority", I agree with Sally...however, in my experience that is not the common understanding in the US.

I frequently observe the the false assumption of power differential based on age differences, when one member of a couple makes more money than the other, when one partner has more power in a general sense than the other, or when one is more well-known or has higher social status of another kind.

That's when things can become absurd.