Anecdotal Note on the British Class System

OK, the British class system is a lot less pronounced now than it used to be. As I've mentioned before, it's socially crass (and occasionally illegal) today to judge others negatively based on their class. (And yes, this should cut up and down across all groups.) 

But there are still things which are commonly acknowledged as indicative of certain classes. And these are sometimes gently mocked in the UK, particularly by the classes which actually exhibit them. For example: the eating of Mediterranean chickpea spread, hummus. Hummus is cheap and ubiquitous in UK supermarkets, but has long been considered a 'middle class' thing - alongside pesto, sundried tomatoes*, craft beers and other artisan foods. Holidays to places like Tuscany in Italy, the South of France, spas or yoga retreats also fall into this category. Middle class people (and the media) will make jokes about this. I suppose what makes some of these things 'middle class' is that they're slightly unusual, popular with other middle classes - or are a sign that you consider yourself cultured in some way. Why have fancy Greek hummus on your toast, when you could just have good old, traditional English jam?

The other day I was reminded of a conversation with a creative (middle class) UK friend, just before I started business school outside London. I should probably preface it by explaining that SPAR is similar to a less glamourous 7-Eleven convenience store chain.

Friend: What's the town like near campus? 
Me: It's a village. Really basic. There's nothing there, only a SPAR. 
Friend: Oh, a spa! How lovely! Well that's something.

* (I think the Mediterranean foods thing kicked off when middle class British Prime Minister Tony Blair once stated he liked eating Italian pasta with sundried tomatoes - and was lambasted by press for saying it!) 



Also on this blog:

Unravelling the British Class System