Do you think there’s still a class system in place in the uk

[Lardlizard]

?

[OddshoesOddsocks]

Yes

But an often misplaced one and one with different boundaries to what it used to have. There may even be more levels to it than there used to be. I don’t think it’s as simple as working, middle and upper anymore and I think there’s an awful lot of people who wrongly identify as middle.

[LolaSmiles]

Have you missed all the threads on MN that link to class and how they almost inevitably turn into a bun fight?

[BillHadersNewWife]

Are you for real OP? What do you want people to say? No?

Of course there bloody well is! It's the reason I left the country.

[MonstranceClock]

Of course there is. Just look at mumsnet! It’s very middle class. Perfectly normal working class behaviours are sneered at and looked down on.

[BillHadersNewWife]

Monstrance Yes and I also think that MN is a very valuable resource for working class Mothers. I arrived here 13 years ago....very working class with no idea about the things most of the Mums on here knew about and I learned a tonne.

Things like NCT classes and school applications...also learned a lot about Feminism. So I've always felt the snobbishness was worth putting up with.

[MonstranceClock]

Sounds like you’re assuming working class = ignorant though? I’m “working class” but I’m not ignorant. Although, I’m not British so don’t really identify with the whole class thing.

[Apileofballyhoo]

I'm Irish. I find the class discussions fascinating. It's not as structured in Ireland I suppose.

[BillHadersNewWife]

Monstrance who me?? I AM working class and I WAS ignorant of certain things which middle class Mothers are not generally ignorant of.

It's to do with what you're exposed to. Not your intelligence level.

[MonstranceClock]

You weren’t exposed to school applications?

[BlythesEyes]

In two posts above MN has been described as working class and middle class...obviously it means different to different people!

[Mumtown]

@MonstranceClock I’m upper middle. I’ve never been exposed to school applications and have a child in school! Surely most people wouldn’t be familiar with the system until they’ve sent a child to state school?

[aurynne]

I'm Spanish and I find the class system in the UK hilarious. Especially when the people don't notice it, it is so obvious for anyone who has grown without a class system!

[MonstranceClock]

Clearly we’re on very different pages.

[EnthusiasmIsDisturbed]

Yes it’s at the very core of British culture

[BillHadersNewWife]

Monstrance of course...but on MN I learned of the lengths people would go to to get their child into a better school. As a working class Mother, I just assumed my child had to attend the closest school.

It's not a huge stretch for your imagination surely? People in my situation didn't think of pushing to get a better school place...I didn't know the difference was so much...between our local.....poorly performing primary and the one 2 miles away in an affluent village.

Just doesn't occur to most.

[ssd]

Have you seen the government op?

[Whatisthisfuckery]

Lol, fancy asking a question like that on MN. It’s one of the most MC places I frequent online or off. It’s not a criticism, MN can be snobbish at times but there’s plenty to like about it. I suppose I notice it because I’m as WC as they come, so all the MC stuff is way outside my sphere of experience.

Maybe class is like privilege, in that the further up the hierarchy you are, the less you notice it?

[MonstranceClock]

@BillHadersNewWife ok. Not my experience at all.

[BillHadersNewWife]

Evidently.

[SpaceCadet4000]

1000% I've now moved to the US and the difference is stark.

I remember when I landed my first job at a big company in London how many people tried to guess which school I went to or referred to how certain people came from "good" families. I was, and still am, the only British person in my team who didn't go to a private school. My boss was fascinated by how frugal I was, probably because everyone she'd previously hired had a trust fund or a flat bought for them!

It's not like America doesn't have a class system but it doesn't have the same hereditary/exclusionary culture around it. In the US you're upper class if you make enough money, and there are still barriers to that but they aren't enshrined in the culture in the same way. Although the US has the additional dynamic of race which is much worse in some ways.

[Barabajagal]

Lazy op.

[BillHadersNewWife]

I also remember some years ago arguing on here about the NCT being something all Mothers would benefit from but that it's too expensive for many low income families.

I was shot down! People saying "Oh it's cheap!" and so forth. I've just checked prices and an 18 month membership is 57 pounds...yes, that's 'cheap' for what's included but absolutely not attainable for many.

I think there needs to be a government incentive to pay for a certain number of women from low income backgrounds to be able to join.

It's a very good resource and as it stands, out of reach for many.

[FloraGreysteel]

Yes, definitely. I'm surprised you ask.

[pineing]

There will always be privileged people, as there are in countries everywhere else in the world. Likewise people at the very opposite end of the financial spectrum, who will also lack most of the opportunities available to the privileged.

The way that some people look at that disparity and categorise everyone up or down by their perceived 'class' is what perpetuates the class system. It doesn't happen in other countries like that.

Ergo: If there is still a class system, then it only exists in the minds of the people who care about it.

[HeIenaDove]

Just read ANY social housing thread.