Sociology AS - Class Identity

Sociology AS

Class Identity
A short guide

Class identity is formed through the agents of socialisation (yes, as with every other identity in existence). If you don't know what these are (then go back to your books and start again) they are listed below:

• Family (Primary socialisation)
• Peer Group (Secondary)
• Education (Secondary)
  
• Media (Secondary)
• Religion (Secondary)
• Workplace (Ditto)

Right, we know what establishes class identity, but what exactly is class identity?

In the UK, we have a fairly established class system, however (as with everything in sociology) this doesn't make class identity straightforward. Many sociologists would argue that class is disappearing, as people in traditionally working class positions can now engage in White Collar occupations and so on. Within sociology, we can see class in two ways:

• Objective class identity
• Subjective class identity

Objective class identity is based on that official system I was talking about earlier. This system is the National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification (NSS-EC) and sorts people into their objective social class based upon their occupation. You can find this here:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/about-statistics/classifications/current/ns-sec/cats-and-classes/index.html

A person's objective social class cannot be changed. They will be working, middle or upper class regardless of what they think their class is.

Subjective social class is rather different. This definition of social class comes from your own perspectives. It can be based on your occupation, parent's occupation, education, housing, patterns of consumption or anything else you think signifies your class. For example, I come from a working class area and I have working class parents. According to the NSS-EC I am working class (my OBJECTIVE class identity). However, when I go to university I will be living in a middle class area and have a middle class education. So I can classify myself as middle class (my SUBJECTIVE class identity). Basically, objective is based on fact, subjective is opinion.

Traditional characteristics of different classes:

Traditional Working Class Identity:

• Willis (1977) found that traditional working class identities were based on:
  Manual/unskilled labour occupations
  Traditional gender roles
  Boys following in the footsteps of their significant male role model
  Strong sense of community
  Links with the Labour Party
  Immediate gratification (doing things in the moment, not in the future)
  Cheap housing in less desirable areas
• Recently, there have been changes in working class identity, and working class norms and values have moved away from those listed above. The changes include:
  Less community based cultures
  Employment more office based instead of manual based
  More equal roles between men and women
  More money to spend
  More social mobility
• The reasons for these changes can be seen to include:
  A decline in industries requiring manual labour (think coal mines, shipping industries etc.)
  More goods being imported, so less UK manufacturing
  More non-manual working opportunities
  More educational opportunities
  More freedom to choose your occupation

Some studies have found various changes to working class identity itself. Skeggs (1997) found that women from working class backgrounds took on traditional middle class values in order to distance themselves from other working class women. They…