To wonder what really is the majority social demographic on Mumsnet?

[CestNoel]

I see soooo many threads along the lines of:

• should I sack my au-pair?

• anybody know any good cleaners?

• my career is too important for me to go to my child's concert...

• can I get free transport to a private school?!?!?!?

• my dd has been given a non-organic fruit drink at nursery

• drats. My new Boden trousers are too short.

And then, everyone is up in arms at the idea of spending £10 on a present to take to a child's birthday party and we have all sorts of suggestions as to how to buy something suitably non-tack like for about £1.49

Is the beauty of Mumsnet I suppose.......

I'm not saying that every message has perfect English - including mine. What is noticeable is how easy the threads are to read and entertaining and well written many of the messages are (just trying to double check my English here - should "are" be at the end of the sentence? I guess this makes your point a bit rempy). If you've ever looked at any other forums there are so many spelling mistakes and gratuitous swearing and unpleasantness that logging on to MN feels like a very comfy place to be.

Proportionately there's far more addluent types here than there are in general society but it's more varied than it used to be- at one stage it was myself 2shoes Fio and a few others representing the entire working class contingent!

Ultimately it's a self selected group and certain people / grous will be more atracted to netmums / hunsrus etc. Tis the way.

I was accused of being working class on here yesterday because I watch the Queen's Speech. I thought it was incredibly funny, firstly that someone could make assessments of social class based on Christmas television habits, and secondly that being working class was something worth commenting on.

I have no idea what class I am, but I do know that MN is full of people who are obsessed with class.

I think the more qualifications than money thing is probably very valid.

Like me really - very academic in school. Got 3 A's at A Level, a 2:1 in my degree and passed my doctorate.

Now I work in an office 2 days a week and stay at home the rest of the time, logging on to Mumsnet in order to have a good standard of intellectual discussion in a high class of grammatically correct English

Which means georgimama, they are middle class.

there's a hunsrus? I'm off.....

Can I offer a different perspective? It's a small sample I know, but we had 5 MN families stay in our gite this year, and every one I would describe as "typical" MN demographic families!

• they all cared hugely that they were doing the best for their child/dren
• they all thought a lot about their choices/decisions
• they all wore Boden clothes and drove Audis (no I made that up!)

Point is, tidgy sample and all were from different locations and backgrounds etc the overriding thing is they all wanted the best for their children - surely that is the actual essence of MN?

No I think it is the decision to give a toss that dictates involvment. I don't care so I don't get involved. I don't buy boden, I may buy Hobbs or I may buy Primark, none of you lot know. The fact is that, if one buys Primark they are less likley to care if it is a bit short - mostly because they will try it on in the shop and it is cheap enough that you probably won't wear it for long before it is replaced.

However, if you spend a larger amount on some Boden from the website than the fact it is short becomes more of an issue. I don't see it as a demographic thing I see it as a time/value thing.

Posting about Primark trousers, Little time/value
Posting about Boden trousers, Higher time/value.

See - simple when you apply insanity logic

Georgi - you're going to get us all started on what class we are and how we define that. It's interesting that you don't know what class you are. Did you see the hilarious programmes John Prescott did on class?

I think one of the best definitions I have heard of class is based upon which newspaper you read and I have seen more references to the Observer and the Times on MN than the Mirror or the Sun.

I agree CestNoel, qualifications and educational background tell you more about someone's "class" than how much they earn. Plenty of my clients earn more than me, and some can hardly write their names or fill in a simple form. But then I am at the beginning of my career and they are probably at the peak of theirs.

What's wrong with driving an Audi ?

NMC hunsrus

Help! Those colours! they're blinding me!!!!

I sit in an office all day have access to fab internet and get paid to do very little apart from MN!

Its very easy to have internet these days you go to some stores they will give you cheap broadband and a free laptop job done.

I don't, I genuinely don't. I think it is because there is no such thing really, or not the sharp deliniation there used to be.

Perhaps someone could diagnose me.

I was raised by a single mother (who herself grew up on a council estate, one of 5 children of a lorry driver and a housewife - that's what they were called then )

I went to an all girls's state grammar and then Bristol University

I am married

I read the Daily Telegraph and vote Conservative

I am a trainee solicitor with a small country firm

I go to church

Tell me, please!

'I agree CestNoel, qualifications and educational background tell you more about someone's "class" than how much they earn.'

not always

2:1 degree, access but first ever at my college to pass in 50% class time-as wc as you get.

The times they are a-changing you knw: on a good day they even let me in M&S!!! (but if I say gert i have to leave obv)

Peachy apologises for silliness, 2 hours with OT can do that to anyone

Georgi - I would diagnose you as living a middle class lifestyle but from a working class background.

A friend gave me another definition of middle class - not comfortable being involved in a food fight.

I think there's richer poeple on here than I would ever meet in RL. Most of my friends are either single mums on benefits or SAHM with one income cos they all home educate. Never heard of Boden until I joined MN!
Peachy, you are allowed to say 'gert' in the Bristol M&S. Its probably compulosry

You georgimama, are middle class. Definitely middle middle, but more probably upper middle class. If using the social scale a - e, you are a.

It is not about where you have come from, it is about where you are now.

I get the feeling this site has a lot of people who are socially mobile, not in the snidey sense, just that have gained an education and thus access to more professional jobs than their parents.

I love the middle class haven that is MN. It is one of the only places I ever meet thoughtful and interesting women who are also witty and supportive rather than cliquey and nasty. In fact, I would go as far to say that it is one of the most supportive female environments I have ever encountered. I was particularly touched by the support given recently to the MNetter who was mid-medical abortion and who had changed her mind, and also the anonymous Christmas parcel enterprise for the stressed and needy. Where else would you get that kind of love and care of fellow mums?

There's definitely a hardcore of people here who are very surprised when they come across anyone who regards 'right-wing' as not necessarily synonymous with fascism or 'religious' as not necessarily synonymous with 'gullible'.

There are also a lot of people here who seem to regard 'reporting' (to social services/schools/the Brownies' District Commissioner) as an important part of their daily routines. It's so sad that they can't all go and live in the old German Democratic Republic and volunteer for the Stasi any more.

To be comfortable in a food fight would make you upper class, surely?

If you've got a degree and you are in a professional career you are middle class, even if you started working class.

What level of middle class you are I couldn't begin to diagnose. I think you have to take some sort of qualification to do that.

Only if the buns were anchovy paste, and toasted by a fag, al la Roald Dahl.

Yay, I'm a big phoney - a working class girl faking it as middle class!

I would still participate in a food fight in the appropriate setting.

In fact, I think my angst about what class I am in itself diagnoses middle class (or at least middle class pretensions). If I were properly working class or even upper class I would know it without having to ask.

I thought I was middle class before I came on MN, but then I realised that I don't have a cleaner, nanny, children in private school, DH earning a big salary etc etc. But I do read the Guardian, so does that count? But I do feel comfortable joining in the discussions, even if I feel like some people live on a different planet, so I suppose by process of elimination, you only stay with MN if you feel you have something in common with most of the posters.