What class do you consider yourself to be?

[paddy]

There isn't much of a class divide on here, or there doesn't seem to be, which is a good thing. But I'm just interested what class people consider themselves to be. Me personally, I don't really consider myself to be anything. But I suppose if you look at the fact I'm at uni, I grew up in a nice area in a valuable (but terraced) house, my Dad runs his own business and has a fairly posh car. I guess I'd be seen as middle-class.

We've got a weird reverse snobbery in this country, in my experience anyway, where people would much rather than claim they're working class than upper or middle class. Not sure why this is, but it's a definite phenomenon I've noticed. At uni there's a definite class divide. It's basically those who went to private school and those who went to comprehensives, and there's a definite hatred (maybe not the right word) of the perceived upper class (or 'rars') from those who aren't in that group. Not sure the resentment is so strong in the opposite direction, but I could be wrong.

So what class do you see yourself in?

[Hanky]

Probably the bottom one.

[tomzep]

i went to university and my parents are both professionals, yet i consider myself to be working class based upon how i spend my time, my interests and a lot of initial reactions to scenarios. I know both my parents consider themselves working class as well, though they never had the same opportunities within education as i did

[Chindie]

Dad is a retired carpenter and joiner who worked for the councils housing association, mom's a school cleaner, come from Kingstanding, but am currently at university. I'd consider myself working class and very much so. Funnily enough one of my best mates at uni is quite upper class, we get on well but have very different philosophies.

[blandy]

I'm working my way up, through them.

Gimme 20 years and I'll be in the Lords,.....and then the revolution'll come and they'll cut me 'ead off, and rightly so.

mustn't grumble. I know my place.

[The_Randy_Villan]

Mage.

[leviramsey]

Rather working class upbringing in an upper-middle class family.

Probably the best hybrid imaginable. Growing up in a mill town, living somewhat hand-to-mouth, but having a decent-size trust fund...

[Davkaus]

Mage.

Wonderful.

[tomzep]

Mage.

[Designer1]

World. :wink:

[El Zen]

I would've liked to say this isn't an issue anymore and that today there are no classes just a society. However, we're not quite there yet so here goes:

I come from a fairly wealthy family. Definitely not upper class, but certainly in the upper segments of the middle class. I grew up in the comforts of the suburbs, had everything I needed and then some, and I'm on my way to a decent education. I know I'll never be in any major financial difficulties thanks to the wealth of my grandfather. I've been incrediably lucky, in that department anyway.

I have working class roots, though, and my own and my family's political sympathies have always reflected that. It's interesting what you write, Paddy, because even though I am upper middle class myself I have always looked at the working class with a considerable amount of admiration and a feeling of wanting to be working class. The upper class, on the other hand, I have always felt some sort of antipathy for for some reason. I have no rational reason for this, as I know that really there are plenty of bad working class people out there just as much as there are many good upper class people.

[OutByEaster?]

It's become more difficult to define in the last twenty years since the people that did working class jobs became able to afford middle class status symbols and the working class stopped working.

I think we need some re-definitions of class.

[paddy]

I have working class roots, though, and my own and my family's political sympathies have always reflected that. It's interesting what you write, Paddy, because even though I am upper middle class myself I have always looked at the working class with a considerable amount of admiration and a feeling of wanting to be working class. The upper class, on the other hand, I have always felt some sort of antipathy for for some reason. I have no rational reason for this, as I know that really there are plenty of bad working class people out there just as much as there are many good upper class people.

I'm in a similar situation I guess with the working class roots. My Dad grew up in Aston (hence supporting Villa) having been born in Dorset. Worked in a factory making sports bags, then joined the glass industry and never looked back...

And I've often wondered why we seem to wish we were working class in this country and whether other countries have the same attitude. I get the impression we're fairly unique in this, but I could be wrong.

[ianrobo1]

no option for Working/middle class

the thing with class is it about attitude or is it about the circumstances you live in ?

for example I have a mortgage, a kid, I have a decent abover average pay in what would be defined as a professional job, Wife works 18 hours a week, 2 cars, some foreign holidays.

Now where I live those circumstances would be working/middle classin ters of area ut if I lived 20 yards away in an house which would be detached and oly 40k more expensive you would class me as full on middle class

no one could claim I am middle class in attitude ...

now you could have someone who is on the dole in council housing but loves to read the Daily Heil, adnd has middle class so called thoughts and ideas

you could also have some very rich people with working class thoughts and attitudes

[ahamaad]

I think in 20 years time the term will be obsolete.

It's also not a particularly useful term.

[acwilliams]

Our family is, and always has been, a typical white British working class family. It perhaps isn't so obvious now, as both my parents have worked hard to put them and me, their only child, on a solid financial footing. My Mum has a middle-class job, but my Dad is a very worried, considering that most work is going abroad, factory worker.

Even hundreds of years back, after doing research, our family was a white Welsh working class family.

[Chindie]

Not sure why a class thread needs a racial qualification, acwilliams.

Bit of a pet peeve of mine.

[acwilliams]

Perhaps it doesn't, but it (race) has certainly played a big part in my heritage so I am therefore keen to acknowledge it.

[ianrobo1]

I think in 20 years time the term will be obsolete.

It's also not a particularly useful term.

will they ?

I agree they are not useful but lets be hinest and you knwo this a professional say on £40k or more a year has different life views and aspiratiosn to those on £20k a year

whether it is wokring class vs middle class there are clear and not so clear divisions there

[ianrobo1]

Not sure why a class thread needs a racial qualification, acwilliams.

Bit of a pet peeve of mine.

I would say the welsh, scottish and English working class all have slightly different views on life