From a scale of 7 to 10 how middle class is this forum?

[smutchin]

There is no bar on members from any part of society, it requires folk from those parts that are 'apparently' missing to apply...and you can't force them to do that so it is what it is by nature, not design.

You can't force people to join but if we wanted the forum to be more representative of a wider cross-section of society there might be things we could do to make the forum more appealing and welcoming to a broader audience.

Or maybe that's not important, maybe we don't want to concern ourselves with being more "representative" - maybe it's OK for the forum to stick to its core audience of middle-class (including the middle-class-who-think-they're-working-class), middle-aged, white, heterosexual males. After all, we're a dying breed and we need our own "safe space" (to use the trendy jargon) where we can express ourselves freely, protected from the interference of liberal metropolitan elite PC busy-bodies who want to turn us all into black, one-legged, lesbian transsexual lentil-knitters.

 

[Rooster1]

why do you object to it?

As opposed to possibly some of the posts?

My bad, there's nowt wrong with the post.

 

[colly]

I have none to give, and even if I did have, I wouldn't.

 

[Time Waster]

There's more than social classes. The last time I could be bothered with it there was 7 classes. I did an online BBC test and depending on how I answered just one question (which tbh could be honestly answered both ways) put me into two opposing classes. One answer put me in the affluent middle class. The other answer to the same question put me into the striving working class. It whatever phrasing they used for the same thing.

BTW it was at least 2 working and 2 middle classes in that list. Kind of underclass then middle and upper working class (possibly one of those was working class that's better off than middle class and didn't really fit into working class being me shopfloor bumped up into management).

If I was in the affluent middle class category then apparently I know more professors, bank managers, barristers and senior police officers than labourers, production workers, plumbers, builders and the like. Or some such split in occupations.

Whatever your split if you've got a nice living due to your own hard work I think you're probably middle class.

 

[Blue Hills]

This forum used to have a plethora of academics, solicitors and so on. They've either been ousted or walked away.

Comes as news to me that this place is a seething stew of academicism, solicitorism, so-on ism.

 

[MikeG]

Comes as news to me that this place is a seething stew of academicism, solicitorism, so-on ism.

It's not. They've gone (apparently).

 

[booze and cake]

@smutchin I lol'd at lentil knitters. Not heard that one before, a good alternative to yogurt weavers

 

[stephec]

Class has little to do with income. Its about breeding, education, and outlook. Class cannot be bought.

You're in a class of your own.

 

[Racing roadkill]

Class ( ification ) is a bit like entrepreneurial spirit, or psychopathy. It’s based on other people’s observations of a subject. If you identify as them, you’re not.

 

[Tin Pot]

We did this a few years ago, this is the new class system:

• Elite: This is the most privileged class in Great Britain who have high levels of all three capitals. Their high amount of economic capital sets them apart from everyone else.
• Established Middle Class: Members of this class have high levels of all three capitals although not as high as the Elite. They are a gregarious and culturally engaged class.
• Technical Middle Class: This is a new, small class with high economic capital but seem less culturally engaged. They have relatively few social contacts and so are less socially engaged.
• New Affluent Workers: This class has medium levels of economic capital and higher levels of cultural and social capital. They are a young and active group.
• Emergent Service Workers: This new class has low economic capital but has high levels of 'emerging' cultural capital and high social capital. This group are young and often found in urban areas.
• Traditional Working Class: This class scores low on all forms of the three capitals although they are not the poorest group. The average age of this class is older than the others.
• Precariat: This is the most deprived class of all with low levels of economic, cultural and social capital. The everyday lives of members of this class are precarious.

And the BBC Quiz

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22000973

 

[Tin Pot]

And shame on you guys for not getting more fighty!

 

[slowmotion]

[QUOTE 5194014, member: 43827"]I went to Waitrose this morning so aspire to be middle class, but I didn't buy any quinoa so failed the test.[/QUOTE]
I went to Lidl and bought some of their Shark 5 razor blades. Aristocratic or what??

 

[nickyboy]

Your "class" (and I really hate the idea of shoehorning individuals into these stereotypes) is a function of your upbringing. It's your upbringing that defines your values and its your values that define your class. By the time you leave school it's set in stone

You can be poor as a church mouse, but if your parents were quite well off and you lived in a nice house and had a "good" education, you cannot be working class because your values are not those of the working class. The opposite is also true. My Dad was a plumber and I was one of the poorest kids in my class at school. I've done alright for myself, but I could never define myself as middle class by dint of my upbringing

 

[flake99please]

And shame on you guys for not getting more fighty!

How very middle class of us, eh?

 

[Pale Rider]

Your "class" (and I really hate the idea of shoehorning individuals into these stereotypes) is a function of your upbringing. It's your upbringing that defines your values and its your values that define your class. By the time you leave school it's set in stone

You can be poor as a church mouse, but if your parents were quite well off and you lived in a nice house and had a "good" education, you cannot be working class because your values are not those of the working class. The opposite is also true. My Dad was a plumber and I was one of the poorest kids in my class at school. I've done alright for myself, but I could never define myself as middle class by dint of my upbringing

To mangle the sports reporting cliche: 'Money comes and goes, class is permanent.'