That certain types are more welcome on Mumsnet than others

[pigeontowns]

Mumsnet is quite snobby. The serviettes thread made me think this but also baby names, people being told to get jobs, get off benefits, people being asked questions about home ownership as if everyone is in this position, likewise pensions and so on.

For many of us, we don’t work because of childcare costs and it’s all quite normal.

No I think mumsnet is quite welcoming and people who sneer at least others are quickly shut down .
You're only snubbed on here for not being very intelligent .

Well, being here isn’t compulsory. If you find it snobby there’s a really very simple solution......

And I think it works both ways -
On every thread, you get polarised positions. ‘How do I roast a chicken for Sunday lunch?’ “A CHICKEN? My family only eat organic partridge” “A WHOLE chicken? We make a chicken last 3 weeks and there’s 9 of us.” Etc.

And you don’t think there’s a correlation between people who don’t earn much and aren’t as intelligent? Not to say it’s true in every case of course.

Just try going on baby names and saying you want to name your daughter Ashlee or your son Jaiden.

Yes, just like real life. Funny isn't it ?

I've had advice about my council house. About help to furnish it when I left the women's refuge. About benefits. About food banks.....

I don't think MN is snobby. There's a huge mix of people from all walks of life on here.

I'd say it's no different than any group of random parents, some are snobby, some aren't. Likewise, some people are interested in home-ownership and pensions, some aren't. You don't have to read and/or comment on every thread.

I don’t.

Not sure about snobby necessarily but MN is bloody obsessed with social class and class signifiers. Some of them are funny but some are really snobby.

Glad I missed the serviettes thread.

Not sure about snobby necessarily but MN is bloody obsessed with social class and class signifiers.

Yep.

I agree with you op. I think it shows that in rl life people are quite siloed. So my dc go to a prep school and I don’t meet anyone with dc trinitee or Kaylee. I’m not a snob at all - my family comes from a council estate and I don’t care about things like that, but I can see how lots of people never meet those different from themselves in rl. So people have prejudices and a lack of understanding

Also in rl people aren’t honest so you don’t hear what people really think. I’m sure many people do think get a job etc but they can’t be honest face to face

And you don’t think there’s a correlation between people who don’t earn much and aren’t as intelligent? Not to say it’s true in every case of course.

I don’t. I think it’s snobby of anyone who thinks this.

As someone who gets labelled a snob because I have a decent paying job and a ‘posh’ accent, I sometimes feel the reverse, so I expect it’s coloured by our own perceptions. Generally I find MN very open and welcoming, unaccepting of presumption and generalisations, but very good at spotting the ‘real issue’ under superficial concerns and not fooled by bullshit. And a fab place for getting a sense of other ways of viewing and experiencing the world that your own.

Dinah, you probably don’t say anything on here that triggers the response op is taking about

I agree reverse snobery is a thing. I once was chatting at a soft play and a group mimicked my accent (boring rp and not at all posh)

Trans people and men.

You definitely get a lot of polarised opinions but also some genuinely helpful ones. But it can feel a bit isolating if people decide to take your post the wrong way and argue every detail. I also find certain sections of mn a bit of an echo chamber.

I must admit I steer clear of certain topics - I would love to enter discussions on feminism for instance (being a woman with views!) but have found I am not erudite enough, or educated enough to be able to put across my point of view without some totally irrelevant minor thing from my posts being picked upon and pulled apart, so I don't go for it any more.

There are many of us in this position and I think it is sad. It would be nice to have a topic on feminism for those of us who want to just chat about it without being educated in "the right way to feel".

There is certainly "snobbishness" on some of the board.

I do think middle class culture and assumptions dominate on mumsnet. Especially on subjects like finances and education. For a long time I assumed mumsnet was majority middle class. In fact, I assumed that I was pretty badly off by mumsnet standards. (I'm lower middle class, C1). It wasn't until I joined a Facebook group with some mumsnetters who were all due to give birth around the same time (as random a sample as your going to get) that I saw this was not true. So now my theory is that mumsnet is socially mixed but that middle class posters are more assertive and more prone to presenting their own experiences as the default norm.

"For many of us, we don’t work because of childcare costs and it’s all quite normal"

It may be normal, but it's not necessarily desirable. Are posters who think that unwelcome on MN?

If you think what people on MN are posting is wrong, then the solution is at your fingertips and you need to post on the thread in question rather than start a thread about an awful lot of unspecified threads that people might or might not remember.

"I also find certain sections of mn a bit of an echo chamber."

I think I know which topic you mean.!

I don't know about types, but there are more and more people who let their inner arsehole out because they are just 'words on a screen'

I think there is an elitism over intelligence and I insightfulness on here but not really social class.

I think as long as you're relatively bright and can think critically, you'll do alright on MN.

"There are many of us in this position and I think it is sad. It would be nice to have a topic on feminism for those of us who want to just chat about it without being educated in "the right way to feel"."

There was a thread in site issue not so long ago, asking for a 'liberal feminist chat topic'. Pity that so many posted against it. Because the current topic is beyond parody (awaits the entirety predictable accusation that any criticism of that topic mean you're silencing women - no I am a woman fed up of being silenced by other women whose trans-exclusionary views I do not share)

Reverse snobbery isn't a thing, just like reverse racism isn't a thing.

I think there are some elements of snobbery, but the majority centre around language, from what I've seen, which is more academic snobbery than anything else. This also mostly applies to the name boards, I think.

Aside of that, you get opinions from all sides on most other subjects - including benefits, SAHMs vs WOHMs, politics, weddings etc. etc. - I don't think you can say with any certainty that one side outweighs any other.