Help - What Social Class am I?

[Cappuccino33]

This may seem strange but I am keen to know what social class I fit into. I switched careers recently and now work in publishing. I hear so much chat about "middle class writer" "working class writer" "upper class" and bourgeoisie! I never came across so much emphasis on social class before and I never gave a huge amount of weight or thought to where I might sit but I'm super curious. Here are some of my bio points:

I grew up on a farm (in a picturesque area).
My mum worked in a low level management role in a large company.
Went to a small village primary school.
Church associated secondary school (fee paying but the fees were small in comparison to larger public schools- students were from most walks of life)
University College London Degree
Masters degree from a lesser prestigious uni.
I live in London in a dual income home (renter, 32 years old)
Hobbies - literature, drama, horses, architecture, yoga, art house film.

I'm in Ireland where we don't have the British class system. We do have salaried people of high/middle/low income - that would make you working class if you work for a living, alternatively you might be independently wealthy (from lotto win or inheritance), retired or unemployed.

The only thing potential in-laws would be concerned with would be how many acres/cows/quota/road frontage does your father have and do you have a brother who will inherit the land?!!!

It’s all on your current job/income.
It doesn’t matter what class your parents were - that just defines them, not you.

I'm don't know if its a class indicator but you have an extremely weird definition of fun

I think it’s reasonable to think about this. I also puzzle people and frankly myself because I have had some kind of a hybrid life. And weirdly we continue to do so and confuse people. So it’s really about how you fit into other people’s expectations I think.

You're a class below the one you think you're in....

(What I was taught in the dark ages).

I agree with this I think. I had a very middle class upbringing.... private school, nannies, university degree. But I've never had a decent job or career. I'm a bit fat. Middle class people view me as a bit common and working class people know I'm not exactly like them. It's a bit weird

The best class test I ever read was on here the other day. Imagine that you and your (opposite sex) partner are travelling in a car with another couple.

Working class- men go in the front, women in the back.

Middle class- one couple goes in the front, the other in the back.

Upper class- one chap goes in the front with the wife of the other chap, the other chap goes in the back with the wife of the first chap.

That is brilliant!

Sounds firmly middle middle to me. Not that it matters or should matter.
I'd say the factors I might begrudgingly use would be parents in professional or semi professional roles, and your possession of uni education and a masters.
But please don't think about 'class', as it's such an outdated notion.
I'm lower class than my family if you look at in terms of using some 'traditional' markers. But it doesn't bother me one bit!

None of the “defintions” of class ever work because they can’t cope with social mobility.

Did your father own his farm? Or was he a tenant farmer?
If you had private education I would be thinking middle and fairly solid middle.
Did you have a pony growing up?

Class in the UK definitely doesn't work like this.

The rural/urban divide is also big IME. Class differences are fewer in the working countryside.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1870718759725920

Do you wipe your arse with caviar?

Seriously it is toe-curlingly cringe when people talk about “class” and it’s usually always some form of humble brag from someone who knows full well they would be considered “middle class” like that’s the best compliment in the world. FYI- it’s not. It is class-less to be still thinking we as human beings belong in this ridiculous hierarchy in 2024 even if you are trying to pass it off as lighthearted.

Have absolutely never thought about this . Father was a bbc correspondent,I went to private school, kids went to State Grammar schools,I work in a care home as a registered nurse. Daughter is a SW , Son 1 an ecologist ,son 2 earning massive money ….do I care ? Nope 🤦‍♀️

I think the class indicators are confusing between rural and urban situations. You could be sitting on £2 million worth of farmland and well educated (plus rubbing shoulders with landed gentry), but still be considered uncouth in literary circles.

I think this is what is confusing OP.

@Howbizarre22

I grew up in France hence not really being in touch with the social class ideology - should have made that clearer perhaps. Personally, I don't believe middle class is even a real thing. I don't find being put into any form of social stratification any sort of compliment - I was just interested (to understand how colleagues might view me). As I mentioned in the original post, I never heard so much chatter about social class until I took up my new job. I became curious and just wanted some feedback.

Are you now in the UK then? The French have a different form of social structure though don't they? Of course, all that was supposed to have been swept away by the revolution, but that's not really true is it?

As an outsider, you don't fit into the British caste system (it's not really a class system) unless you are Irish, in which case you're assumed to have an uncouth background.

💯☝🏽.

Why do you care?

This makes more sense to me than lower, middle & upper class

Seven new class groups

Ha ha, really????
my dad shared an outdoor toilet with the family who rented the top floor of this terrrace (they rented the bottom half) and he shared a pre pot under the bed with his sisters (they all shared a bed).

I’m assuming that makes him lower??!!!!!

i have a multi million pound property portfolio, 3 children at private school. I still clean our 3 bathrooms, so where does that put me?????!! I love these class conundrums!

Same. They had a tin bath that was filled weekly by the fire in the kitchen. That was about 75 years ago, how things have changed!!