Am I middle-class? I don't think I am

"Just because I'm from working-class backgrounds doesn't mean I don't have higher-class ambitions. You know, it's not where I'm from, it's where I'm going that matters." Lizzie Magee, Young Apprentice semi-finallist 2011

This blog post isn't really political as such, but I'm writing it because I had a conversation recently with a couple of friends about whether or not I am middle-class. There is a bit of a backstory behind this. The school I went to until I was nearly nine was a private school, so was plainly and simply extremely middle-class. The school I went to for the next three years was in quite a working class part of Bristol, so by the time I had finished there I had had experiences of both kinds of lifestyle. The secondary school I went to for five years had everything really - people from every background and culture that you could think of. You were never surprised by anyone you met there, and that was why I loved it. And this is really why I do not feel that I am middle-class.

I grew up in a household without a huge amount of money, my mum has been a single parent for most of my life, she is a professional person but the only reason we have more money than some people is because we take in lodgers. The college I am at at the moment actually is in a more middle-class part of Bristol. I know why people think that I am middle-class, it's because on the surface I appear to be everything that middle-class people stand for. I want to show people that just because I have a nice accent, a passion for good theatre and an olive fetish, does not make me middle-class, it just makes me George Millman. I suppose because of my upbringing I've learned to not think about different social classes at all when I talk to people. In fact, the time that I have thought about it the most in my life is on the coach trip when this conversation arose, and then I just couldn't get it out of my head.

What is more, I don't think that upper-class really exists any more, in the UK at least. Middle-class has become a very broad term to make upper-class sound more acceptable. If upper-class did exist I would probably be more likely to call myself middle-class, but the term 'middle-class' has so much stigma attached to it that I simply do not feel right calling myself by it. I would not say that I was working-class by any means, but I don't feel that I am at all part of society's hierarchies. Class is not just about money and profession, it is about values and frame of mind - and my values are about everyone being equal in society, and not being part of a caste system. We need to wake up and realise that we're not in India, or in the 1950s - we should show the rest of the world that these systems are not necessary for everyone to live together and be happy with one another.

One more reason that I don't think I'm middle-class... I don't want to make a sweeping generalisation, but I don't think middle-class people challenge the status quo very much. The way things are seems all right for them, so they are happy to live with it. I'm not like that. If I think something is unfair, I challenge it. That is what this blog is for in the first place, and I think that everyone should have an equal place in society.

My nomination for someone to love and admire in this blog is Lizzie Magee, who made the statement I've quoted at the top of the page. I admire Lizzie because she comes from what some would call a working-class background, but from the statement she doesn't see herself as being working-class. I think that is wonderful, because so many people are pushed into this box their whole lives, and they accept that and never come out and open their minds to new experiences and new ways of life. I felt an affinity with Lizzie earlier this week when someone told me I was middle-class - my situation was the other way around to hers, but the principle is the same. I was being told that I was someone who I didn't feel I was, and I felt that needed to be addressed. So I've done that here on this post, which I am proud of.

So anyway... feel free to leave any comments if you'd like to agree on any points, or to vent your frustration about anything I've said... always happy to listen!

Take care, rabid readers

George

Update: Someone pointed out that Lizzie didn't actually say she doesn't see herself as working class, she said that just because she comes from a certain background doesn't mean she should be a confined to a certain lifestyle, and that she may well identify herself as working class. That is a really good point - which is why I am writing it down - but the overall meaning is the same as what I was saying. The whole point of social classes is to confine people to a certain lifestyle, and I'm trying to break away from that. Apologies to Lizzie if she reads it and doesn't agree with what I've said about her statement. I think you're great, honest!