Middle class identifiers 2022

[Pullandpush]

I read a similar thread a few years ago & the main middle class markers were hummus, organic food, private education, boden, ski trips etc, farrow & ball..
Are these unchanged for 2022 or have the identifiers shifted?
Since the pandemic I've seen a rise in the "hipster" style MC especially the men, maybe the working from home has allowed them to relax into the unshaven, casual look which wasn't there a few years ago...
Private education seems to be on the wane but that may be due to the cost of living..
Any other main MC identifiers I missed?

Looking at the long list just up from here (not copying it in my post for brevity), the only marker I seem to have is Gin.

I don't count owning a wetsuit - because 10+ years ago I was a regular at scuba diving. tagging along with military dive trips quite often as DH was a dive instructor - the spouses would go too, booking our own flights and rooms. I also have a drysuit which is not glamourous at all.

And I don't count growing herbs, but that is because I cook a lot - and make cupcakes, bread and scones that are also spells. It's good to have hobbies, right?

But I have been looking up what counts these days (for a creative writing project) and while it's not the greatest source material it is a fairly good initial reference - Wikipedia link en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_class_in_the_United_Kingdom

In case anyone was interested. I'm enjoying the most middle-class dog debate. I'd quite like to see a revival of the Pekinese. Nippy little bastards (the only dog that's bitten me). I'm a cat owner - rehomed moggies - but I love the whole getting a savannah cat and I think a modern middle class trait is about being thrilled to pay more per 'wild' gradient and increasing personal danger.

Oh bloody hell. I've just sold the piano. How will my neighbours classify me now - not to mention MN. Will I have to move house?

I don't think I've ever consciously labelled anyone MC/WC/Whatever in my life. I acknowledge that I'm firmly in MC territory, according to what I read on MN over the years, but I truly don't give two hoots about any of it.

Our car is almost 20 years old and I couldn't care less about labels, the 'right' stores or clothes at all really. We both work from home, freelance, so slow food, slightly untidy house and very unimpressive outfits! It's odd that even these things are defining though.

The most valuable thing that having a certain level of financial security provides - in my view - is being rich in time to spend doing things we love, which is something I'm enormously grateful for.

@ComputerQueen that's interesting. We have employed someone from outside the UK to join the team this year and she remarks on the cultural differences frequently but positively - the way people work, the lack of hierarchy. I have no idea whether she became from a working-class or middle class background - I don't even know how well-traveled she is, I think she fits in just fine - but maybe she feels slightly out of place too - I hope not because it's not the way we feel about her.

Everyone around me was widely read, had a proper hobby (sports/music/etc), well-traveled.

Yes, this is the cultural capital thing. There will also be the kinds of entertainment they seek out - they might also discuss galleries they've visited or theatre productions they've seen. Or they'll recommend specific restaurants in an overseas destination to each other.

Now, I'm not saying WC people don't go to the theatre, because that would be bollocks, but there is a cultural code that MC people are brought up to speak which means they fit in well with other MC who speak it.

If you're not widely travelled, for example, it's pretty difficult to fit into a conversation where people are discussing exactly which alpine valley (out of dozens of valleys across several countries) is best for late-season skiing.

i used to be really interested in these types of discussion, then after learning to meditate and creating a life i loved, they seem really odd and desperate.

I used to feel rather put out by life, my circumstances, and felt better identifying with my horsey, MC youth. This sort of distraction seems to dissolve once you seek awareness of yourself and give yourself some honest answers. It can also be a sign of depression or a loveless marriage. Wanting to measure up or identify with a social group is very human but often a symptom of dissatisfaction. We need to feel special and have the reassurance that someone is seemingly 'beneath us' - in our tastes, finances and life choices.

MN is riddled with this. I woul love to see it's happiness score!

I identify with many walks of life, from a free spirit, coastal wanderer, domestic goddess, train user as opposed to car, cats instead of dogs, yoga instead of gym, whiskey rather than wine. My weird, animal farm type childhood with skiing holidays just sounds embarrassing in real life conversations now. I can't imagine why one would wish to make it public, unless you are terrified of being regarded as working class.

Don't hem yourselves in ladies.

Competitive poverty claims
Judging homes with photos on walls

My mum is in her 50s and I think she epitomises middle class women. She:

• Lives in a small, rural village
• Grows her own fruit and veg
• Bemoans the cost of living but still shops in Waitrose and M&S
• Owns a (rescued) working breed dog named George.
• Is a member of a wine club
• Is very concerned about trans people
• Does pilates
• Keeps her shoes on in the house and is always dressed until bedtime (no lounging in front of the tv in her PJs)
• Organic veg/dairy deliveries
• Absolutely loves a charity shop
• Is slim and has short blonde hair (as do all her friends, in fact you can't really tell who is who from behind)
• Has recently acquired white trainers and mom jeans
• Impressive Jo Malone and Liz Earle collections, from John Lewis
• Radio 4
• The Guardian
• Says she votes labour but probably doesnt

@goodcall101 Not for young midde class. but i think its a english middle class thing that as soon as you are into your thirties and have children you stop getting manicures and start wearing Boden. Tragic in my opinion!

I don't get why the middle classes are always regarded with such derision!! Why do the upper classes get off. There are apparently 7 different sets of middle class, just as no doubt there are many subsets of working class. What one person might regard as middle class, another night regard as upper class. I've always regarded private education, for example, to be aligned with the upper classes and upper middle class (if there is such a thing). These assumptions are tired and just seek to pigeon hole people (particularly women/mother's).

£5 a tub here in the DEEP DARK NORTH

Absolute 100% class marker.

Block butter (even Nordpak) = MC
Tub of spreadable = WC

Again, why is the focus always on middle class women?!

Photos can fall into one of two camps...

• Family snaps, or family photos taken by a photographer that you pay for a session
• 'Art' photos, preferably ones you've taken yourself, but if not then by an artist. Possibly edgy, but definitely not twee.

One of those is definitely MC

But you don't have to be part of the group being discussed to be join in talking about it. I'm far from middle class - a single parent in rented accommodation working in a near minimum wage job (where I see the impact of socioeconomic factors daily). It's not any need to be part of anything and I don't look nip or down on anyone based on their perceived class. I just find it interesting!

I've never had a manicure in my life - I really like plain nails! Plus I garden, ride, grow veg, keep chickens, paint, etc. There'd really be little point, even if I wanted my hands to look more 'MC'

My weird, animal farm type childhood with skiing holidays just sounds embarrassing in real life conversations now.

Wait, you grew up on a farm where the animals staged a revolution, but ultimately the leaders of the revolt adopted the same corrupt practices as those they overthrew?

Threads like this one are fascinating for me as an American, as notions of class are quite different here.

😂😂😂

This is the most middle class post on the thread.

but seriously I agree class aspiration and lifestyle competitiveness is so limiting really, doesn’t stop it from being amusing all the same. It is after all part of what defines the culture of a time and place. One thing I’ve noticed from the intensity in the class system in the UK (as an outsider) is that anyone who seriously buys into it seems doomed to fail to meet it’s standards. You even hear people who are “upper class” making snidey comments about royalty or the upper aristocracy, who presumably should be somewhere near the “top” of the pile, not even they seem to win outright though, they are always so close to falling from grace.

Probably performers or artists come closest to embodying the ideals if anyone does.

Shackets.

I'm nearly your mum @WanderingWildflower (although ten years younger)

Lives in a small, rural village
Grows her own fruit and veg
Bemoans the cost of living but still shops in Waitrose and M&S
Owns a (rescued) working breed dog named George Badger.
Is a member of a wine club Gave up drinking wine due to alcoholic tendencies
Is very concerned Couldn't care less about trans people
Does pilates
Keeps her shoes on in the house and is always dressed until bedtime (no lounging in front of the tv in her PJs)
Organic veg/dairy deliveries
Absolutely loves a charity shop
Is slim and has short blonde brown/grey hair (as do all her friends, in fact you can't really tell who is who from behind)
Has recently acquired white trainers and mom jeans
Impressive Jo Malone and Liz Earle collections, from John Lewis
Radio 4
The Guardian
Says she votes labour Green but probably doesnt usually votes labour

These are both interesting to do.

The BBC great British Class Calculator:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/2013/newsspec_5093/index.stm

And the Institute for Fiscal Studies, where do I fit in?

ifs.org.uk/tools_and_resources/where_do_you_fit_in

Have you been looking through my front window? Although we do have carpet upstairs.

English asparagus, Jersey Royals, and forget Lurpak use Bungay Raw Butter instead!

I knew you'd get a backlash for this; you've got the right to post in dissent and it would be better if more people did. I agree with you. It's weird that some grown women are so obsessed with class and what other people's class is. Tacky, very tacky. 🙄

On the plus side, these threads usually get so raddled with froth that they don't last very long.