[CP19371]

I was checking out the new posting form and the "socioeconomic class" category really puzzles me. How do I know what class I am? Which are the factors that determine one's class: Income, education, values, standard of living, etc? and if there is a discrepancy between the factors, which are the most important? My husband and I live on a low income and will soon have to do without a car, as we cannot afford the repairs. However, I will soon have a B.A. and then plan to begin a Master's; my parents are elementary school teachers but I have lived away from home since the 17. So what class am I?

User Detail :  

Name : CP19371, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 21, City : Montreal, Quebec, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : University student, 

[Christopher D.]

In this society, we tend to relate class and individual qualities with economics. One's class is a unique point of view that cannot be attributed to economics. I believe most people in this world are of first class. This in turn leaves the word socioeconomics null and void.

User Detail :  

Name : Christopher D., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 23, City : Arlington, State : TX Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[John-B29414]

Class in the United States and Canada is partly determined by income, education and how you grew up; that's why this case is confusing. A rough rule of thumb is that you belong to the class you realistically expect to end up in. Given that you're pursuing a profession, and came from a professional home, and have advanced education in an occupation, I'd say you're middle-class with a temporary low income. The use of 'Class' as a word to mean 'style, grace, savoir faire', confuses the issue in an unfortunate way. In that sense, 'class', like 'breeding', is used to suggest that the well-off and powerful are the standard of behavior by which the rest of us should be judged.

User Detail :  

Name : John-B29414, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 42, City : Rural, State : CO Country : United States, Occupation : College professor, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Gary W.]

From everything I have seen in the popular press, it is usual in the United States - indeed almost de rigeur - to identify oneself as middle class. To identify oneself as upper class sounds arrogant (how many politicians do you know who stress their upper-class backgrounds?); to identify oneself as poor can sound self-pitying, and lower class self-derogatory.

Basically, I'd say that in the United States, if your income comes from employment, you're middle class. If you don't have a job, you might be either lower class or upper class. Sub-dividing the middle class probably requires a complex matrix based on income, education and occupation; but since such a matrix has not been published here, I'd say the safest thing is to call yourself middle-middle class.

User Detail :  

Name : Gary W., Gender : M, Age : 51, City : Golden, State : CO Country : United States, Occupation : Accountant, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[MH22276]

The British are fond of saying that "everyone in America is middle class"; in other words, we don't like to admit that, yes, socioeconomic class structure exists in America. It does. I recommend Paul Fussell's book Class for a slightly outdated primer on American class structure.

According to Fussell's definitions, you are 'X' class. Outside of the traditional three, X refers to the educated underclass of loan-paying lecturers, Ph.D. candidates, fellowship recipients and people trying to make a living in the arts.

According to these definitions, you were born into one economic class, and through education (schooling or living) are able to live in another.

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Name : MH22276, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 30, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : Middle-manager, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Kat26804]

The money I make would infer that I'm middle class, if not upper middle, but would the fact the many of my friends live in older mobile homes or low cost "real" homes make me lower-middle instead? What about the fact that I drink domestic beer, talk about cattle and pigs and occasionally tell a bawdy joke, rather than regularly attending the opera or turning my nose up at a dull glass of chardonay? If the guy who shoes my horse is also a surgeon, then what? He's blended a high-brow, white-collar life with a back-breaking, blue-collar hobby of sorts. So what do we do with him? I for one was very uncomfortable answering that particular question. I think education, occupation, some of the other questions were far more revealing than to basically ask 'How much money do you make?'

User Detail :  

Name : Kat26804, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Methodist, Age : 28, City : Birmingham, State : AL Country : United States, Occupation : Software Consultant, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[annonymous]

Okay, so we still don't have some clear-cut answers, right? Can someone define the mindset for middle class as well as the income bracket? Lately, I've been identifying myself as lower middle class (it just seems that raising two kids on my salary isn't bad, but I'm not sure how middle is defined). I'm still confused. Is anyone else?

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Name : annonymous, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 34, City : Detroit, State : MI Country : United States, 

[Rhea]

I dont define class by the amount of money people make. I define it as what you are doing with your life. If you only make $10,000 a year but your an upstanding person who works hard to support your family then I think highly of you. But if you are someone who makes well over $100,000 a year but I see and know that you beat your spouse and do drugs well then you are the scum at the bottom of my shoes, lower than low class.

User Detail :  

Name : Rhea, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 22, City : Albany, State : NY Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, 

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