SOCIAL CLASS

By Kirsty Steward

Social Class – Definition Social classes are economic or

cultural arrangements of groups in society

Unskilled Working Class Definition and Stereotypes

A worker who possesses no specialized knowledge or skill. Any worker can perform the tasks done by an unskilled worker. Examples of unskilled workers are general labourers, cleaners, and road sweepers.

Stereotypes=Unintelligent,

Skilled Working Class Definition and Stereotypes

A worker who has acquired special skills e.g. hairdresser or tattoo artist

Lower Middle Class Definition and Stereotypes

Lower-paid professionals, but not manual labourers e.g. police officers, non-management office workers, small business owners

Upper Middle Class Definition and Stereotypes

High-salaried professionals (doctors, lawyers, higher rung (were in the corporate market, yet left for a reason such as family time) professors, corporate executives).

Upper Class Definition and Stereotypes

The class occupying the highest position in the social hierarchy e.g. aristocracy and royalty

Skilled Working Class Class Example

Burt Hummel= He owns his own business but it is a low grade garage and he is skilled in mechanics. He is stereotypical of skilled working class people as he is portrayed as being not too intelligent, wearing mostly overalls and casual clothes and is quite butch and manly, characteristics usually associated with the profession.

Lower Middle Class Example

Dale Smith = Fits into lower middle by being a police inspector in The Bill. He is quite anti stereotypical as although he wears costumes consisting of mostly suits, he has quite a cockney, casual dialect and has a friendly and warm persona which goes against the idea of the lower middle class being proud.

Upper Middle Class Example

Doctor Carter = Is portrayed quite stereotypically as he is well spoken and has a posh accent which is a contrast to the rest of the Mancunian's accents. He wears costumes consisting of mostly suits, regularly attends dinner parties with his professional friends and even alienated an ex girlfriend to wear more formal costumes and speak more elegantly to try and disguise her unskilled working class background.

Upper Class Example

She is portrayed as aristocracy due to living in the manor that is Downtown Abbey and having maids waiting on her. She speaks with very good English, dresses elegantly and is always impeccably polite. However she goes against the stereotype of being pompous and arrogant as she marries the chauefer who is socially 'beneath her' and willingly volunteers as a nurse in the war giving her a more authentic sense of personality.