Social Class

Social class is the division of society made up of people possessing certain common social characteristics (lecture slideshow)

The groups include:
UPPER
UPPER MIDDLE
MIDDLE MIDDLE
LOWER MIDDLE
WORKING CLASS
UPPER LOWER CLASS
POVERTY CLASS

Most people think that class is all to do with the amount of money someone has in the bank. That is not true. It is said that class is dictated by money, education (qualifications), occupation and family background. Someone can be born into a specific class and change into a different class when they have grown up later in life. Someone originally born in a working class family with a Northern Accent who recently became a millionaire is not automatically upper class. This is because he/she would still speak like a working class citizen, dress like one and act like one. Similarly, someone who is born upper class and later on in life fails miserably in a job and declares bankrupt is not automatically categorised as working class because he/she would still speak the Queen's English, eat the same, and act the same.



This video was shown during the lecture which generalises the stereotypes and descriptions of each class.

Mintel also shows the socio economic groups
A (Upper Middle)
B (Middle Class)
C1 (Lower Middle)
C2 (Skilled Working)
D (Working Class)
E (Lower Class)

This next video shows the stereotypical family of each class. Working class families tend to have a lot more children than upper and middle. Middle class families have 1-2, and upper class families have 2-3.





During the Lecture, 3 boards were also made by sticking images out of newspapers and magazines which related to each class. The board for working/lower class consisted of cheap cars, cheap supermarkets, discount phones, the Labour party candidate Gordon Brown, Football and teen pregnancies. These all were seen to relate to the working class as they tend to be interested in these things. Football is there main sport and along with it on the board came an article on a father dying during a match as an opposing fan had thrown a bin on him. This too relates to this class as there is usually more violence and swearing. Cheaper phones and cars come into the equation as this is what they can afford.



The middle class however, are in between. They like luxuries, but they also like there discounts. They also tend to copy the upper class a bit by trying to seem a bit more well off. A lot of middle class families can now afford to send their children to private schools if the state school in their catchment area is struggling. They also tend to buy nice cars but balance it out with modest food and holidays.



Upper class includes luxury cars, big houses and a favourite sport of Rugby, Tennis and golf. This is a contrast to the working class who are favourable to football. There children almost all go to private schools in which some board and their holidays are usually extravagant.