To think being “common” isn’t bad and much more fun than being “posh”

[NeedAHoliday2021]

I’ve read a few articles on Fb (I know I need a life but it’s my downtime) and recently there have been a few with “posh” people talking about what makes someone look common. Reading the 5 things that make you common I tick a few boxes and thought, being “posh” by these standards sounds insufferably dull; like you have to be full B adult and anything childish is frowned upon. Things like coloured nails ffs. I’ve concluded that common and happy might be something to aspire to.

To be fair, properly posh people are sometimes very entertaining and fun. I'm thinking more of the not common people who label other people as common for doing fun things like putting Xmas decorations up early or having a bar in their garden.

There was another thread about strange etiquette rules and a lot of people said their parents forbid them from xyz because it made them look “common”. I’m so glad I never had to worry about that. It sounds very stuffy and restrictive.

That’s me. Boring, middle class and dull.

Happy though.

Nothing wrong with a bit of reverse snobbery imo. The life of a posh person has many advantages over that of a common person so a little gentle punching up isn't going to cause the posh any lasting harm. They're highly unlikely to care what the common people think anyway.

Dh's family think we are posh because we buy French cheese and watch Sky Arts.

You can’t judge a whole chunk of people by their perceived class. It’s called stereotyping isn’t it?

Just don’t read articles that are full of shit. I can guarantee that some “posh” people and some “common” people are fun. And some posh people and some common people are miserable cunts.

I’m also common and well off (via my DH - nothing particularly fantastic I’ve done!). I have lots of ‘posh’ friends and I have to say, they are brilliant fun. Swear like troopers, drink like fish, love a party and will get on with anyone. The ones who don’t seem to take to me are the middle class wannabe types desperately trying to be something they’re not and obsessed with matching hunter wellies for the family and fake farmhouse vibes. My true posh friends drive old bangers and have a bit of dog hair under the kitchen table.

I'm common as muck and dgaf who thinks that's a bad thing.

I think it's being self-consciously middle class that isn't much fun.

My in-laws are solidly upper class and are extremely chaotic and fun. As a collective, they like drinking, fighting and fucking.

100% this. ^

Absolutely! Always find these 'oh look at me being all judgemental but obviously so much better than people that I think are being judgemental about me' honestly most 'posh' people don't give a fuck about you or your nail colour, you don't even appear on their radar you don't matter.

I am actually neither. Not posh - OR common. I'm just me. I don't like these labels tbh, as I think class, and 'common' or 'posh' is bullshit. As has been said, I don't know why some mumsnetters have this obsession with class and 'poshness.' Are they trying validate themselves? Gain approval? Impress people? (Random people on the internet?) Why?

And saying 'I'm a big fat tattooed gobshite with green and pink hair, who smokes 50 a day, burps and farts like a navvy, and calls everyone a cunt, and I'm proud of it!' is just as cringe as 'I earn £250K a year, have 2 university degrees from red brick universities, and own 60 acres of land and a 50 room mansion, and people think I am soooo posh...' cringe

Some really nice kind people I know are working class and poor and have no education, and some really nice kind people I know are upper middle class/upper class, and solvent/wealthy and highly educated. I also know plenty of unpleasant, rude people in both categories.

There is no specific way to be 'posh' or 'common.' It's all a load of guff, really... Like a few others here, I cringe inwardly when I see a thread like this.

One thing I will say is that I have never ever in any place I've lived in my life come across anywhere as obsessed with class as I have in the UK. It's something of a national kink. Also among threads on Mumsnet which will definitely get to multiple pages include sahp/wohp and most certainly class. It's just bizarre.

I agree. To those of us living elsewhere it certainly is bizarre. Just live your own life and don't try putting others into boxes.

Oh god here we go. Cue : dog/cat hair / tatty sofas / old bangers / etc
Various posters claiming to be posh, and others celebrating their solid working class roots despite their pots of cash. I also predict inherited poshness via a dh, and several references to try hard middle classes.

Depends what you mean by common. People who eat with their mouth open, screech with laughter, don’t look you in the eye when they talk, are incapable of holding a civilised conversation and are just generally loud and coarse and ignorant, with filthy manners and zero charm or refinement, revolt me.

But swearing, painting your fingernails green, getting a fake tan, etc doesn’t make you common. And neither does living in social housing. I have chatted to Big Issue sellers who had more class than a horrible oaf like Prince Andrew. The ridiculous little class signifiers (whether you say ‘settee’ or ‘sofa’, ‘dinner’ or ‘tea’, etc) also mean nothing to me.

Like it or not, classy people are sexy and attractive. Common people (by which I mean ignorant, crude, oafish, coarse, ill-mannered, etc) are a turn off. But being common has nothing to do with money or having fun. You can live in a council bedsit, wear bright clothes and get pissed in the local pub every night and yet still have class. Equally, you can live in a detached house, hold candlelit dinner parties and speak with a fake upper class accent but be hideously common. It all comes down to manners and charm.

If anyone was playing posh/common MN thread bingo, I'm one pair of wellies and an unsightly tattoo from a full house.