Do you ever find yourself having to defend your snobby interests? (light hearted)

[GirlySwot73]

....which are actually far from snobby? I'm an ordinary working class girl, and I happen to like classical music. I am currently being driven insane by Capital radio in the office at work, including bloody Capaldi seven times a day. But if I dared to suggest having a change to Classic FM, or, god forbid, Radio 3, I'd be seen as 'posh' or a snob, or just plain weird. I'm really not! Is this just me? Am I so unusual?! What do you have to defend yourself for?

I do not hide it. My accent betrays me and encourage people to go to the opera, drink expensive wine, listen to radio 3, attend Chelsea Flower Show and read crime thrillers which are ancient and snobby but scary.

If you did you wouldn't know about it as I make it in secret for fear of being accused of snobbery! It tastes like a perfumed, sweetly spiced apple puree with a more pear like grain to it.

I like your style.

Exactly

Why does it have to be an either/or dichotomy?

You can enjoy classical literature and appreciate harry potter for what it is (it's been included in english degrees for at least the last 20 years so must have some merit to people who youd like to assume know their stuff!)

I don't imagine even foodies only eat quail or foie gras for every meal and don't appreciate the odd cheese on toast

Or wine snobs dont agree theres also a time and a place for an ice cold cideron a sunny day

Snobbery in any form is unnecessary - the only thing surprising here is that so many posters have had experiences where their very normal interests are considered to be so unusual and elitist - the literary, theatre, and classical musical industries are worth millions in this country so a fair amount of people must be into them! Nothing that's been mentioned so far is particularly niche imho!

Shakespeare WAS the mainstream TV of his day BTW - fart/sex jokes, reliance on special effects and recycled plotinus and all...

Hunting. Is. Disgusting.

I also come from the South East and live elsewhere in the country so the assumption is that I’m ‘posh’ as soon as I open my mouth. When I mentioned the county I grew up in to our equality manager at work she went ‘ooh posh’ until I pointed out that even in Home County there were both rich and poor! Talk about unconscious bias!

I feel quite lucky, from reading this thread, that I have a wide range of low to high brow interests and tastes and can talk to and mix with almost anyone. If I don't like something, I don't assume my view is superior and I'm often curious to know why someone else loves it.

This!

No need to defend anything, you like what you like.

What I do do with some family members though is tell them next to nothing about my life (ie grey rock) because they’re too judgemental and it’s exhausting.

I can’t respond properly because I can’t get past having to have the radio on all day, no matter what’s playing - TORTURE. Isn’t there anything you can do to sabotage it

That too. I have an enduring and ineradicable (and probably unreasonable) dislike of Emeli Sande after a temp job where Radio 1 was on all the time and her songs seemed to be on a loop. It was like water torture.

@midlifecrash We were never allowed to have to radio on when our old boss was in charge, but now we've got a new boss, he wants to have music on all day. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't all the same songs repeated over and over. I quite like the odd Dua Lipa one, but most of it is unbearable. Thankfully the radio is down the other end of the office or I think I would have packed up my desk and gone. I do agree though, anything that's on aaaaall day is really annoying, even if it's something you like 😬

Radio 4 & a lot of French music from Edith Piaf to French Rap (am not French - I speak franglaise)

I’m not sure why I should feel bad about looking down on people who like Love Island.

Luckily I don’t work so I don’t have to be with people that I don’t choose to be with. Except for my mum, who watches the soaps and reads ‘Bella’😫. And I have to say that as a result, she comes across as not very bright. She doesn’t criticise my interests though because my dad was far more intellectual than I will ever be.

I don’t have particularly high-brow interests I don’t think but I try to read classic literature and listen to classical music and Radio 4. I like learning but o do become bored very quickly. I’m autistic and this means that I comfort watch ‘gentle’ tv programmes and films. I watch a lot of Jane Austin films and tv adaptations and I watch them many many times. I’m like a toddler. It’s a good job I’m single.

What is it with crime thrillers?! My mum has only ever read crime stuff. I've not a single bit of interest in it.

I love detective fiction and also read my fair share of philosophy - mostly idealism but also some of the ancients - and am hooked on the modernists who are notorious for being up their own backsides and difficult. Love Christie and Dorothy Parker - and PD James is a very literary if formulaic writer.

Classical/opera and Radio 4 are great. So is 6 music and heavy rock.

Zero apologies to give. These silly class prejudices are so British!

Like many things in life, a lot of people find it difficult relating to people who they perceive are in some way different to them. It makes them slightly anxious and not feel at ease, and to combat this feeling they try to pull in reinforcements to "their side".
Snobbery or reverse snobbery is all about creating a protective group.
If you are a person who enjoys a wide range of activities spanning different social groups then you will be fortunate in that you can probably relate easily with many people.
If on the other hand you only enjoy a few activities, and they all are traditionally associated with similar social groups, then you won't have as good an opportunity to relate to different people and therefore are more likely to show snobbery or reverse snobbery.

Looking down on people for what kind of TV shows they watch is a dick thing to do. I don't watch it myself but I judge people based on whether they're nice and kind, not what TV they like to watch. I'd rather be friends with a nice person that watches Love Island than be friends with someone with a snobby attitude who thinks they're above such things.

You’re a saint.

@Allthegoodnamesarechosen - I have kept hens for over 20 years and have unfortunately lost some to foxes. I still find the idea of fox hunting barbaric.

Same! Maybe we're lucky?

Because people don't always fit into neat little one-dimensional boxes, so it's silly to judge based on one metric?

My close friends and I are very intellectual. Multiple languages, degrees from prestigious universities with jobs to match. That doesn't stop us from liking Love Island.

Even more so as we are in male dominated professions who think we're stupid because we like 'girly things'. I love the looks on 'the menz' faces when they find out that I'm the technical lead and they have to run things by me. It's even funnier when I start asking the hard questions and they wished they hadn't tried showing me up...

My friend has a law degree and likes Love Island. I'm not educated past GCSE level and I think it's shite. We're all different!

Odd one this, my family think I'm posh because I live in a different county and listen to Radio 4. My colleagues think I'm common because of where I'm from and how I talk. I met a similarly positioned woman in a job years ago and she got it - I'm not common or a snob, I just like what I like. All my colleagues were telling me where I'd like to eat in London (all chains, no judgement but I have the same chains at home). She wafted in, told us all she'd had a nice bit of tea and a few cocktails at the OXO tower and she reckoned it was more up my street. She was right, we had a lovely evening there (I tried quail for the first time there)

I've had a fox get in my chicken run. I rode horses. But unless you are talking about clean boot it's very hard to defend. Too many trail hunts take the piss and ignore the law. Your comment suggests that your hunt kills foxes.

I've got a History degree and i still agree with you!

Love Island is complete shite.