Only the middle class and above think that Class isn't a thing any more.

[FindingMeno]

Just that really.
If you're working class it's as plain as the nose on your face.

I really don't understand the emphasis on class on Mumsnet. I have friends from a range of backgrounds and no one ever seems to care about it.

It's the same as any ism. The people who aren't affected, don't see it or don't care

Is there some context to this…?

No, I think everyone knows it’s there but it bothers some people less than others clearly.

Same here. I can’t understand the obsession some on MN have with class. Other than when reading these regular MN threads, it takes up no space in my mind.

Maybe the OP is correct though. I once had a conversation with a man who inserted “I’m working class me, and proud of it.” between every sentence.

I really didn’t care.

Like Angela Raynor saying she likes a dance because she's working class 😂😂😂

Speaking as an achingly middle class person, it's like people saying they "don't see colour". They may not, but black people sure as hell do. They have to. It's often one of the features of privilege that you don't see your own privilege.

Come on then OP how can you tell someone's working class?

Yep!

Are you “middle class”?

Their relation to the means of production

I suspect you care more about perceived class than most others.

People just generally crack on.

Not really.
Just something I was discussing with dd.

Very well put.

If you're working class you know you're working class.

I am from a middle class background but when I was 6 we moved to a very 'working class' area. There is definitely a difference for the most part.

I agree that class is a hard thing to transcend. I think there is something evolutionary that encourages us to make snap judgements of people and extrapolate from that all kinds of perceived traits. Part of this is to quickly understand if they are like us or pose a threat to us.

This is why studies show a huge amount of unconscious bias even in cases where the people being studied are adamant that they don't discriminate on race, disability etc. I think perceived class is subject to the same levels of bias. Working class people are automatically considered less intelligent, less capable and less cultured than their middle class equivalent.

You know you’re working class when you struggle to get your passport photo signed.

Perhaps.
But if you take the time to think about it, it's there.

Class also works quite differently in different countries and cultures. The Indian middle-class, for example, would be educated (often highly so), and generally English-speaking, but have a different standard of living than many in First World countries.

I actually don't know whether I'm working class or middle. So there!

Ha! Guess there's my answer then

Totally agree

I partly disagree. Because I'm WC and no one I know gives it a thought. We are what we are and do what we do and give far less thought to what people with different lifestyles get up or what label they give us than you'd imagine.
The people who do talk about being WC as a source of pride are typically those like AR who wants to demonstrate how far she's come against the odds, or those who are in traditionally MC circles, and have experience of being looked down on for their accent or background and have taken a beat em rather than join em approach. There is much to be proud of in being an educated, professional or wealthy person who achieved that without the leg up from a privileged background so I can see where they're coming from. And when they have to deal with people carping on about their speech and etiquette and being snidey about them as well, of course it's 'a thing' for them.

I think socioeconomics status, rather than the "your station in life" class, is much more important.

Without matching wealth, it is hard to pass on the traditional middle class advantage these days.