to be unsure which class I belong to?

[Thankgodforcaffeine]

It isn't really keeping me awake at night, but I am curious.

I am not British and did not grow up in the UK, so I do not have this "6th sense" most Brits have which enable them to tell which class people belong to.

How can I tell where I would fit in, considering that in my case accent and vocabulary are irrelevant (I learnt English at school)?

Trivial I know, but I keep wondering.

Is that "caing about class" though Greythorne, or is it not just disliking certain words because they sound horrible?

caring even

sorry - breast feeding and typing is harder than it looks

I agee with tabulah, it depends on the criteria as to what class you are. If it's my own interests and education level (post-grad) I am resolutely middle class. I own two properties, have a 'middle-class' job and go to see a lot of plays and classical concerts etc and sundried tomatoes and rocket are always on the shopping list!

However, if we're going on the criteria of your parents class, I would be below working class (my single mum was on benefits and both parents left school at 15 and their parents were farm hands etc). I am the first generation to own property.

So it's really hard to say. It depends on the criteria.

It doesn't matter really does it? I have friends who are proper upper class, with manor houses and titles and family who work in factories. I get on with tham all just as well.

But it is a peculiarly British obsession!

*them all

caring about class is the most middle-class of all pursuits.

the working classes and the true upper classes are actually quite similar in that they don't give a shit about that sort of thing, & just try to enjoy what life offers them.

if you're wondering what you are, you're probably mc. Being mc = being "aspirational", basically. So the true mc analyses the upper class in order to emulate it, and analyses the working classes out of terror that they may appear working class.

i am middle class as fuck, myself.
i have a mild streak of working class, but my family was aspirational and v anxious about "getting ahead" and "keeping up appearances", and i'll probably never escape that completely.

My XH is a low-life who last had a job 20 years ago, lives on benefits in a filthy bedsit and has never paid a penny towards his kids. He does, however, say napkin and loo and papa. He tells my DC their stepfather is "working class" because he (SHOCK) works to support them. Who cares? In the end, it means absolutely nothing.

u can only b BORN INTO UPPER CLASS > U CANNOT BUY YOUR WAY IN ,U WOULD B SPOTTED A MILE OFF, if u rant on endlessly on MN re underclass and associated benefits , u think u are middle class, and most likely are. working class like upper class , dont give a toss, 2 busy getting on with life,and ! 6 weeks after u die, only!! your very close family remember u!! apparently ! i worked 4 many upper class people they were so f*ing polite , obliging ,|>pretend middle?oh dear, mouths like sewers!!

Upper case on the other hand would seem to be far more accesible

As a general rule of thumb, if the question "what class am I" pops into your head at any point in your life - you are middle class

I don't have any doubt or ambiguity about my own class. I do have doubts and ambiguity about the class system and its relevance nowadays. So I'm glad you don't know what class you are. Hooray for that!

i recommend class by jilly cooper it's very funny and i keep it by the loo

The funny thing is that I have said loo all my life without thinking too much about it. When we moved to the US for a while, everyone (esp BIL who was mortified by it) thought it was terribly lowerclass of me to say it. That I should say toilet instead. I don't think it's really related to wealth although of course that is often a part of it. There are many upper class people who live very frugal existences. Even if they do have a large house (unusual after the estate taxes came in), it doesn't necessarily mean there is a lot of money left in the family..