8. Social Class Identity

• What is social class?


  Your social and economic position in society
• What are some factors we might consider to decide a person's social class?

  • Money/Income + Occupation
  • Possessions - car, gadgets
  • House + Television viewing habits
  • Lifestyle/Leisure/Hobbies + Dress/Style
  • Holidays
  • Accent/Speech + Norms/Values
• Who are the upper class?


  The group at the top of the social class hierarchy - with the highest status in society
• What percentage of the UK population are the upper class?


  7%
• What are the 2 types of upper class?

  1. The Traditional Upper Class
  2. The Super Rich
• Who are the Traditional Upper Class?

  • 'Old' title families which include aristocrats, royalty and also large landowners
  • Their statuses are ascribed
  • They inherit wealth and titles
• Who are the Super Rich?

  • They made their fortunes through hard work
  • Their statuses are achieved
  • Media focuses on them as celebrities
  • Media focuses on their conspicuous consumption
• What are the norms and values associated with the upper class?

  1. Tradition - old upper class are conservative in their values and politics
  2. Authority - society works best when it is organised into different levels or ranks
  3. Social Closure: Mackintosh and Mooney (2004) - Education, leisure time and daily lives are separated from partially invisible to the rest of the population
• Who are the middle class?

  • They are below the upper class on the social hierarchy
  • Associated with those who have professional or managerial careers and don't undertake manual work
  • Agreed to be the largest social class
• What are Savage's 3 types of middle class identity?

  1. Professionals
  2. Managers in private businesses
  3. The entrepreneurial group
• Who are the professionals?

  • Doctors and lawyers
  • They adopt an intellectual identity gained from a long and successful education
  • They value cultural assets like knowledge and qualifications
• Who are the managers in private businesses?

  • Includes managers of large businesses and small self-employed business owners
  • They work for either their own company or other large corporations
  • They define success in terms of their standard of living and leisure pursuits
• Who are the entrepreneurial group?

  • Works mainly in the city or in the media
  • Identity based on the consumption of a mixture of high and popular culture
  • Made up of younger individuals who have jobs in the radio, etc
• What are the 7 norms and values of the middle class?

  1. Social Capital
  2. Educational Achievement
  3. Home Ownership
  4. Cultural Capital
  5. Deferred Gratification
  6. Social Anxiety
  7. Child-centeredness (King and Raynor)
• Who are the working class?

  • Below the middle class on the social hierarchy
  • They are majority of the population
  • Traditionally made up of manual workers and those with practical trades and skills (plumbing, etc.)
  • Expanded to include "low skilled" jobs like cleaning and factory work
• What are the 7 general features of working-class culture and identity?

  1. Jobs based in manual and unskilled labour
  2. Traditional gender roles within the family
  3. Clear employment paths
  4. Strong communities
  5. Left-wing
  6. Immediate gratification
  7. Cheaper housing
• What did Skeggs find in her study of working class women?


  Those who felt humiliated by the way in which others judged and dismissed them due to their working class background made a strenuous effort to show they were "respectable", taking care in how they dressed up
• What is social class mainly based on?

  • Occupation
  • Wealth
  • Income
• What does class affect?

  The economic circumstances of an individual's upbringing, and related issues such as

  • Housing
  • Health
  • Schooling