To not actually know what social class I am?

[TheDogAteIt]

Their seems to be a lot of middle class vs working class vs chav etc on AIBU. So what criteria do you need to fill in order to be in one of these?

Maybe all the knowledgable MN's out there can help, so I can behave accordingly?

Education - Uni
Job - Public sector worker (wage £23000 pa)
Married - Yes
Child - One
Age I became a mother - Mid-twenties
BF? - Was crap at it, gave up at 6 weeks
Home - Average 3 bed semi (owned) in non-posh, non-rough area

Other suggestions for class criteria welcomed

Ok then, this is my definition. If you care about what word you use for something, you are definitely middle class. Proper posh people wouldn't comment. And working class people don't care. Debate over

Hullygully are you the tooth fairy?

Pig - only for my Saturday job.

Hullygully you are obviously a Russian billionaire.

There's a book that deals with this debate ... the language of different English classes: serviette/napkin, sofa/couch, living room/lounge etc.

It's very good. And PigValentine, it comes to pretty much the same conclusion that you have, except rather less succinctly.

I am an oligarch.

You are all oiks.

Except me obviously, who is a proper toff. And Hullygully, who is a pikey.

I'm not an oik, I'm a loser

You sounded alright and failry middle class, then you used the word 'crap' on mumsnet which has brought you down to lower middle class.....

Had you been scraping doggy doodles off your shoe then it would have been ok to say crap.!!!
lol lol !!!!

Amusing, I suppose.

I am a lawyer turned writer.
DH is a lawyer.
We live in a listed house in the home counties.
DC in private school.
Dogs, horse and chickens.

My life could not be more middle class.

Yet, like getorf I feel completely working class and what's more I don't want to be MC.

Lequeen

If you are not middle class who the chuffin hell is? "Gabby"

I was once called an arriviste which I think meant I had more money that the person calling me it, and they didn't like it one bit.

if serviette is not a word what do you call serviettes?

bog roll

Snot rags!

I don't think there is anything wrong with not really knowing what class you are, in fact I think it's a good thing. 50 years ago no-one would have been in any doubt - they would almost ALL have been exactly the same class as their parents and grandparents. That's no longer true, and the indicators have been become blurred.

What I do find hilarious though, is the way the media and the government define class. Just about everyone is middle class to them provided they are not on benefits or in a council house, right up to Kate Middleton, who is also, apparently, merely Middle Class. It's a bit like saying a whale and a squirrel are the same because they are both mammals.

Blame William the Conq.

You are not supposed to use any words of French derivation eg serviette, toilet etc as it shows you are a French parvenu bastard circa 1066 onwards.

Pig is right of course! Caring about your class and other people's perception of it is iredeemably common

But truly posh people do care, clearly, otherwise they wouldn't spend obscene amounts of money sending their children away as soon as they can hold a knife and fork, just to stop them mixing with the locals and diluting the gene pool, picking up a regional accent, and risking the family silver falling into the hands of someone called Lee.

They are just very well practised at pretending they don't notice class, and too polite to comment when someone makes a social faux pas according to their rules.

I was bought up middle class - very large house, tonnes of siblings, father a Dr, mother a teacher.

A levels,
Uni,
Good job with prospects
Married at 28
Kids at 30 and 33

Now single parent, in a not posh, not rough area.

Kids go to a satisfactory school
£23 PA (but part-ime)
culture vulture
speak slightly radio 4 (compared to neighbours)
tiny two up two down house (slightly falling apart)
eat stuff past its sell by date as long as it isnt furry / stinking or green...

I was MC - but am I still?