What makes someone middle class?

[lilibet]

Just had a conversation with a mate and a mutual freind has described themselves as middle class.

He works in a shop for a living, his parents work for a living, to me he is therefore working class.

I appreciate that a brain surgeon is obvioulsy a bit higher up the social strata than me ( I work in finance in the NHS), but to me if you have to work for a living you are working class.

Thoughts and opinions?

Here's one!

I don't have an electric kettle.

I have a whistling kettle for the cooker!!

Deffo middle class!

Aga's deffo middle class (don't have one tho)

Built in wine racks and even better - wine COOLERS deffo middle class.

Hmm I I lived in Turkey and the equiv of Dixons was called Arcelik I don' tthink I would like them... Does arcelik still exist? It always makes me

I didn't know you lived in Turkey???

Yes,all my white goods are from Arcelik (God,I never thoguht of that you smutty girl.It's pronounced Artchelik though.)

notasheep, the in laws have one of those in the morning room. In the main rooms there are still the bell pushes. When I first took ds2 there he was fascinated and told my mum that they had bells to call the servants

sorry that should have read

If I lived in Turkey

No but have been there a lot I love Turkey

"We have a box fitted above door in kitchen with all the rooms listed -at some point the owners must of had servants"

Ooh..ooh.....we had one of those in our house when I was a kid. If you pressed the bell in a bedroom a little curtain swung in front of the name of that room in the kitchen. Sadly there were no servants to do anythnig about it. Dad unwired them in the end 'cos my brother and I drove them mad! Mysteriously there was one room on the box in the kitchen that we never identified......

"Hmm,I reckon kitchen gadgets are a bit upper working meself"

Howabout a deep fat fryer?

Houses like that just give me the creeps, b/c everyone I've been in w/bells like that is haunted.

I had a dream that my elder daughter married a man who lived in an old castle and I didn't like it b/c the place was haunted.

potato ricers are surely the best kitchen gadget ever made

I got my potato ricer (and a mouli [gein]) when I was weaning ds. Still use the potato ricer, but hardly ever get the mouli out.

I could be really controversial and say that "breast feeding makes you middle class"! [shoxk]. In the West of Scoltand at least, breast feeding is highly post code related, wth a very good take-up from the so-called middle class areas and a very poor take-up from the so-called more working class areas.

"I agree with custy middle class are just that middle of the road and terrified to do anything that might not fit the image of 'nice'people living a 'nice'life"
No - that's definitely Hyacinth Bucket lower middle /upper working class.

I have an Aga too. Well, it's not an Aga, but it is a range. Does that count?

I've not read all this thread, but I'd put money on the fact that DumbledoresGirl will be on here as soon as she gets back from her holiday later! lol

Someone told me joke once. What makes someone middles class. They have fruit in the house even when nobody is sick. i thought it really funny and told everybody. MIL and SIL didn't think it funny and said was ridiculous. Then I realised they never have fruit in the house UNLESS someone is sick. Perhaps it is true!

I honestly don't know. I've been sitting here (on one of my non-matching kitchen chairs), drinking a cup of de-caff, planning this evening's supper (need to use up the chard from the organic veg box), wondering where I'm going to find a new cleaner, absent-mindedly rubbing a passata stain on my boden flippy skirt and looking out some dried apricots for Saskia's party bags... and I just don't know.

Is there a list somewhere of what makes one middle class then? Can someone tell me where, can't be arsed to read whole thread although I think by Custy's definition of herbs I am although I seem to remember she threw something in about gold taps once which we def don't have.

Well, Naswm, here I am, but only because you told me about this thread! I can't be bothered to read the whole thread either (I was hoping for some conversation tonight!) but I wanted to say that the opening post is nonsense. I quote: "to me if you have to work for a living you are working class".

Balderdash. I could give you a lecture on the historical conecpt of the middle classes, but I expect others have said it before me.

It's simple.
Toilet, midday dinner, tea, lounge, patio =working class
Loo, lunch, supper/dinner, living room, terrace=middle class.
Clean, coordinated children with brushed hair=working class
Scruffy, ragbag children who look as if they've been through the proverbial hedge backwards=middle class

Iliked a definition sometime last night "middle class means charity shop clothes and new shoes"

The best definition I've ever read of class is in "Watching the English" by Kate Fox. Its an anthropologist's eye view of English behaviour and goes far beyond defining people by which jobs they currently hold. Apart from being the funniest thing I've ever read; it has a whole chapter on what define's each person's class.

e.g. People who wash their cars every weekend and keep them spotlessly clean are lower middle class.
Those who have filthy cars are either very upper class or very working class

I highly recommend it and would provide a handy link to the book; if only I knew how

Agree Curlew, except it is sitting room for the middle classes, not living room. At least, maybe both.

Sorry, but if someone said sitting room - I'd assume working class.

Also sofa for middle class; settee for working class

Glassofwine! Am shocked!

Agree with glass of wine; sitting room is working class ; living room middle class

I always look down on living room people! I thought sitting room was maybe intellectual middle class?