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?

@sunja I think you are right. Her mother is from a wealthy Austrian family and her fathers family are very renowned Harley st doctors

My first thought was UC but according to this thread, you have to be titled. So if they're not, then UMC but really, from what I can see on the Instagram, I would think UC.

Her families lifestyle is idyllic, from what I saw on insta the Fogles relocated from London to the countryside.. I still think MC or umc at a stretch as no title on the Hunt or Fogle side

There are so many variables factored into what it is to be Middle Class that it's a total minefield, although I would say the key ones are: education, how long families have been MC, profession/job, cultural capital, core values and wealth. So many permutations of overlap that it's a total challenge to unpick.

@sunja Her grandfather was a non hereditary peer - not sure if that counts though 😁

That's enough for me, UC 😂

Well not quite at Duke of Westminster landlording levels, but enough to give her a choice in how she wishes to spend her life.

Im sure I’m not the only MC person in this situation, there are several families on the road where I live who have children with the same choice not to go to university unless they wish to follow a profession for which a degree is requisite.

Thinking back to one of my earlier posts on this thread, that which becomes desirable because it was aspirational rapidly becomes monetised in a capitalist society, and that includes university education. We are in a situation where degrees have lost value, except for some prestigious institutions, because they were aspirational. Now universities will find a space for anyone to get a degree, and because the student is a paying customer, will get that degree. The only exception I can think of is medicine but those degrees and subsequent training are controlled to maintain their monetary value.

I suspect this is an area where ethnicity will play a big part. I know my Asian friends would be horrified at the idea of their children not getting into university, whilst the families mentioned above who are more blasé are all white.

To sum up, degrees are definitely no longer as aspirational as they used to be, therefore the MC may start to care less about such things.

And she gets to look into Bens eyes whenever she wants.

Im sure she’s a lovely person but for some reason I find myself hating her.

I'd gaze into DoW's eyes any day, he's gorgeous

is the epitome of mc for me, I've recently started following & it's all horsey, outside activities complete with the required black lab...

Tread carefully. Apparently they've given up soap 😆

What's that all about?

Re barriers to working class kids and university.. a huge one we’ve found is accommodation in second year and beyond. First years are guaranteed a space in halls if they want (and the cost is covered by their student loan) but second years onwards usually rent privately. Now I live in a northern city with cheap rent. A share of a 2/3 bedroom flat is fairly easily affordable for a student getting full loan. HOWEVER.. all the landlords require a guarantor.. a parent etc who earns over X amount, can provide Y months of bank statements and so on. Ds was lucky, and my parents were able to step in. But so many working class kids don’t have that option, and don’t know the issue until too late because maybe going to uni isn’t the norm, so families don’t have that knowledge of “how things work”.

Ironically, and despite their reputations, this is a major advantage of Oxbridge and a good example of how both Oxford and Cambridge can both provide excellent support to students from deprived backgrounds. Many colleges offer subsidised accommodation for three years and there are various generous sources of financial aid. My experience of accommodation at Cambridge was a world apart from my sister’s at Birmingham, for example.

Personally I think this MC stuff is outdated. My granny had a title, my grandfather disinherited my mother. I married a person of colour and had people not attend my wedding. I sent my children to private school because I lost my place due to poverty in childhood, I was a fish out of water. I like designer clothes and I own antiques (and I sold some when skint due to Covid). I earn a lot of money but I have also been threatened with homelessness.
Nobody is a caricature. I was really upset this morning by sarcastic comments. This isn't ment to be a 'jones' thread. Walk in someone else's shoes, or as I believe 'if you are more fortunate than others build a bigger table not a higher fence'. Great for marketeers, open to trolls.

WitchWithoutChips

I agree, DS actually has a contextual offer from Oxford and there is a lot of help availible. However I think the issue is less Oxbridge and more the "bog standard" Universities. Which to be fair confer a much more marginal benefit for a young person whose parents will not be funding them.

@sunja

The average household income for a waitrose shopper is .....................£50k

Most people I ask this question to reply £100k

What if you get an OBE or CBE? Would that automatically bump you up to MC?

@Pipsquiggle interesting as me and DH earn over £100k combined and only do some of the shopping in Waitrose not all as a full shop is expensive!

No - but it's chicken and egg. The types and levels of achievement for that type of honour mean they are pretty much the preserve of the middle classes.

Depends which country of the Union you live in, and then which part of these countries you live in... Urban or rural, rural or very rural. Mainland or island.

Your late DF sounds like a true original!
I love unpasteurised butter too but find the Bungay one quite salty -- I prefer unsalted.
I usually buy it in France, sometimes in supermarkets, or in specialist dairy or cheese shops like Philippe Olivier.
Love that tang!
(So very MC.😉 )

Well off pensioners with no mortgage to pay, and no commuting or other work-related costs, could well have an income of £50k

Income isn't everything.

I don’t know. I would be surprised to see a MC child who wanted to go into one of the careers you listed not go to university or art school. It’s a good place to make connections. For example for arty types Central St Martins, Goldsmiths, fine art at Oxford, or history of art at the usual universities. Cambridge land ec for property. I don’t think degrees are aspirational in the sense that getting one will help you change class nowadays but when I was leaving school (I’m 27 so not that long ago) getting one was just the default and it would have been unusual for someone who was capable of going to university not to have gone.

I think that an MBE can be earned from one's own efforts, the other two are generally given for mobilising and managing others, so perhaps higher income but someone like Dave Fishwick will always be proudly WC despite the big house, Ferrari and helicopter.
I would be interested to hear of anyone who has received a knighthood with a net worth of less than £1million.

If you earn 50k as a household and shop at waitrose, i can only hope its for a top up shop or down to lack of transport only otherwise you are a mug.

I think the same for those who are on over 100k but thats besides the point!

You need a title to be UC? What about Princess Anne's children? Have they been relegated? Has anyone told her Majesty? She'll have to take them off her Christmas card list.