Not to know what is middle class

[Goldchilled7up]

Inspired by another thread in chat, what does middle class mean to you?

I seriously don't know. Aibu?

mrsjay I would say most of the people I know whom I would consider to be MC haven't worked hard to get there at all - quite the opposite. They were born to wealthy parents.

I wouldn't consider those people to be middle class though I do think Modern middleclassdom is to do with money and how much they earn in whatever job they do.

Not that i would know I am piss poor

The term middle class makes me think of people who are a bit poor but think of themselves as a bit posh, and who like to witter on a lot. Right or wrong, that's how I see 'em.

depends on the definition of poor I suppose, I am poor in comparison to a lot of people I know but not as poor as others IYSWIM

I am one who straddles WC and MC due to having a different life to my family.

My parents are upper working class (a nurse and a designer, both jobs that required 'college' rather than 'a degree' in their day, they owned a house but through a housing association).

My brother is a chef and his partner is a care assistant. They rent a very nice flat. They are WC and happy. They enjoy their jobs, they are not 'poor' but they probably won't own their home. But they are WC.

I was very academic and went to a university dominated by upper class and middle class students. I married a man who is a director in a profession and I do an acadmic professional job requiring a higher degree. We own a house bought on the open market. I'd say we are lower MC (not upper MC like Cameron and his private school folks) we will send our kids to state school, but we have the means to choose a 'good' school by moving house etc.

If someone mentions MC then I always think of Margot & Jerry from the Good Life.

So are there now, in fact, 3 divisions within each class then?!

Lower working class, middle working class, upper working class... etc....?

In which case what would 'lower upper class be'?!

mrsjay - yes it does.

My description would actually fit a pretentious person so somehow I am confusing pretentiousness for middle class. Or just generally confused.

By the way, someone mentioned the Middletons upthread.

Carole Middleton was brought up in a Council flat (not that there's anything wrong with that) and worked as an flight attendant (nothing wrong with that either). By this thread, that would make her working class wouldn't it? But she would now seem to be upper middle or even upper - dining with the Queen and all that? It really is a minefield, no wonder foreigners can't make sense of it!

WAD I'm more interested in the working class. I think I am middle working class because i have education but hardly any money and I don't have any interest in horses.

See WAD in my mind the Middletons are so upper class it's ridiculous. I mean a think marrying into royalty pretty much trumps everything other than being royal oneself

Hmm, after reading this thread I think I must be upper class

DH buys the Sun sometimes when he's having a pint
DD drinks fruit shoots and eats Happy Meals
I put ketchup on everything
I listen to Lady Gaga in the gym
I have a tattoo
I swear like a sailor
I have a degree from an ex-poly
DH didn't even go to uni

But I'm definitely not Working Class - I think I'm closest to Rupert Campbell Black really. I think that putting blue stuff down the loos so that the dogs can't drink from them is terribly common.

My description would actually fit a pretentious person so somehow I am confusing pretentiousness for middle class. Or just generally confused.

I think I am confused as well but some people who think themselves MC are pretentious .

FWIW we are working class parents stay in a council house dad was a miner mum did 'various'

I went to college did childcare dh trained to be a plumber now works with gas

we own our flat but it is still a flat on a council estate a nice 1 no drugs or violence round these parts .

I think some people should actuallt take care to read posts carefully before handing out biscuits.

Note the words 'with', 'only' and 'visible'

Not that that is a marker of class only stupidity.

I've seen literary fiction in Sainsbury's, not just holiday trash and Mills & Boon. Is that because it's an MC supermarket?

are the 'classes' expected to behave in a certain way ?

. Is that because it's an MC supermarket?

they also had 50 shades on offer a few weeks ago

Grandpa in my Pocket family - achingly Middle Class, right down to Working Class Grandpa

What would you class hyacinth bucket?

Household income £75k - check
2 cars (one posh BMW one my 10 year old runaround) - check
Own home - check
"professional" jobs - check
Shop in M&S food and sainsburys - check
Only 1 tv in house and definitely smaller then book collection - check
Own several good designer items, shoes and handbags - check

Now add:
Both left school with only GCSE's, no university education
My parents:policeman and "non career" mum with odd part time/full time jobs
His dad: worked in factory whole life
No parents educated above o level

Upbringing completely different to adult life, so that throws spanner in lots of the theories!

only WC or lower MC brag about owning designer items

As to TV families, from this www.comedy.co.uk/guide/tv/top/ list of sitcoms it surprising how many have class as a main theme.

It's American so doesn't really count but Roseanne was a good working class programme which was told from the WC perspective without poking fun at it ( although the terminology is different as they say white collar/blue collar rather than MC/WC)

I'm so working class that we have one designer item in our house (a coat for dd)

And everyone knows about it!

'oh that's a nice coat'
Me nodding sagely ' it's designer'

'don't get that coat dirty! It's designer!' lol

Lol@Kayano

I wasn't bragging Margery, merely looking to show difference in my upbringing compared to my current lifestyle. Any "designer" items I own are understated and certainly not emblazoned with emblems, logos etc that let everyone know they are designer. If I was bragging I would be listing it all to try and make myself feel superior/others feel inferior. I was just creating a list similar to those others have.

I believe quite often the "LC" that buy designer items do so on some form of credit so they can brag about "affording" them. Complete opposite to my situation thank you

(because typing can't portray tone please read in tongue in cheek manner it is being said in my head!)

What would you class hyacinth bucket?

Pretentious working class - you only have to look at the rest of her family, apart from the infamous but never seen Violet, room for a pony, and cross dressing Bruce who probably might have been upper middle class