To think mumsnet isn't white middle-class and is actually very diverse

[jnfrrss]

I got flamed on another another thread and said I wasn't allowed to talk about a "black woman's" lyrics as I was white. I'm mixed Indian and the said rapper i was told I don't have the authority to comment on due to my race is also mixed Indian.

I've seen it happen a few times people assume that a poster is white middle-class even where there is no evidence.

MN is no doubt like Britain and full of all people of all classes and races these days right?

What is the bar??

We are both from what is classed I suppose as working class.

We both still work.

He has a super high salary. I have a middle of the road salary. What is the definition of middle class??

i have no idea the race or gender of socioeconomic status of people in political though however mumsnet is not diverse political thought mostly left wing

White, middle class, mixed race marriage, accused of racism for asking someone who I’d been speaking to regularly at work and knew he did not come from the UK, where he was from. He spoke the same language as DH. Another colleague who knew nothing about me, assumed I was being racist.

Hey I'm totally non political. At all. What does left and right wing mean in general. Sorry if I sound thick.

I have a really good job believe it or not. I'm just not into politics at all. Ever.

So am I middle class? We earn a lot between us?

Ok can someone please define middle class for me please?

In the UK it traditionally tends to mean anyone with a degree or educated to degree level. So a teacher is middle class as they have a degree, but so is a chartered accountant who may not have a degree. It has no bearing on your financial status so while footballers are rich unless they have a degree they won't be considered middle class.

I’d say that Mumsnet is predominantly soth-east based, female, intelligent and young (18 - 36)

See, I think that most posters are a lot older than that, maybe 30-60ish. Agree with intelligent but not South East, I think we come from all over - I've noticed a lot of Scottish people on here and Australians

Both my husband and I are upper class, and on 7 figures between us. We both went to Russell group universities, (both have PhD,) and are both in professional careers, and both regularly head-hunted by top ranking employers. Also both in our mid 40's, and planning to retire at 50, on a very healthy final salary pension. Prefer to keep our ethnic origin(s) to myself.

DEFINITELY not from the South East. We are from a very upper class village, (with lots of wealthy people,) in Cheshire.

Ok thank you bluebug

We are deffo still working class then. I thought my partner's pay rise may if bumped us up.

As it stands, we will always be then couple that "did well"

It makes me laugh though.

This class thing.

Userv

As are we. Just wondered what the difference was between classes.

I hate the middle class thing. It just comes across like I'm better than you. I don't see the point in it.

Neither of us went to uni.
My partner is much more higher ranking than me.
I have a good job which I love. I worked hard to get to the level I am at which is about middle management. I'm good at it.

I work full time. Had to with a small child.

My partner is amazing at what he does and has risen to the top.

What do you do if it's not rude of me to ask?do you have children? How did you manage your career?

Not being funny at all, but if you can rise to your career advise others how to manage it

@Bluecoatbunny I should have added to my original post in other countries they view class differently e.g. on earnings. So while in the UK you have to basically be an aristocrat or a member of the royal family to be upper class you don't in other countries.

Also the BBC published an article with a quiz about a new class system a few years ago. In this system it was a mixture of assets, friends and culture capital that stated what class you were.

So some traditionally middle class people went down a few rankings due to having few hobbies and mixing with people with a very narrow range of jobs, while some traditionally working class people went the other way.

From the threads I read, I'd say it's more white and lower class.

I'm neither of the above.

We’ll never know. MN doesn’t reflect reality because people invent/create/lie about who they are and their circumstances.

I’m not sure how diverse MN is because I think we all make certain assumptions about posters which may or may not be correct.

I’m late 50s, white other, working class and live in Yorkshire.

I'm in the US, and class is determined by income. So I'm white and upper-middle class. I get very confused about class in the UK.

Posters would love people to think mn is white middle classed. It isn’t.

Where were you flamed op?

steff13 jilly cooper (I think) wrote a book on class and that’s where I learnt about the middle classes. It’s not about income!

Middle class is best defined as the group of people who define themselves as a class. No one else cares! Those who say they are upper class are normally upper middle class and those who define themselves as working class are normally lower middle class.

MN is very middle class IMO because about 80% of the population of the UK is middle class.

No way is 80% of the U.K. middle class although the U.K. obsession with class seems to mean people aspire to MC and then think they are because they meet some of what they see as MC markers. The definition seems to depend on who you ask...

MN is pretty mixed in my experience but you have to bear in mind that certain threads draw responses largely from posters who relate to the subject. So you certainly could imagine that most are London/South East if for example you're reading the many threads about house prices because people in Yorkshire or Liverpool aren't as likely to post on a thread complaining about the price of houses. Unless to encourage people to move to where they are .

You could just as likely read the numerous threads where posters are on very low wages or completely dependent on benefits or wondering how to make a few pounds stretch to feed their dc for another week and think that MN users are largely very low income.

We don't actually know what colour or class or even nationality other posters are and I've seen it happen quite a lot that a poster assumes white British MC about another only to be told that Actually...

I was on a thread one time where the Op didn't like the advice being given and accused me (and a couple of other posters) of being MC snobs who didn't have a clue how the other half lived and should fuck off back to our 4 bed semi detached houses. I'm WC, Irish, no university education and raised in a part of Dublin many wouldn't choose to live in! Though I do have the 4 bed semi-d .

Very difficult to say who is middle class and who is working class in UK today.Think its become more how people identify.

And because I like statistics 60% of British people see themselves as working class (Guardian survey 2016).

Quite common for working class people to think they are middle class, and for middle class people to think they are working class, because of either having aspirations, on the one hand or pursuing covert prestige on the other..

Regarding my own class 'status' make up your own mind ; if you can i.e.

Left school 16, to do factory work, live up north in a 2 up 2 down. Modest income. My house is a listed building in a 'good' area and I have postgraduate education.

Re MN users; even more difficult to decide on the class composition of the forum as people are presenting themselves according to how they want to be seen and you can be anything you want to be online.

I just read that 64% of British people are middle class based on income.