classism Flashcards
what is classism
- The institutional, cultural, and individual set of practices and beliefs that assign differential value to people according to their socio-economic class, and an economic system that creates inequality and causes basic human needs to go unmet.
- There is a silence we have about class, we do not discuss it
what is class based on
Social class is based on power. We often think of class in terms of different incomes or life styles, and it is true that those differences exist. But the basis of class differences is in the different amounts of power people have, at work and in the larger society.” (Zweig, 2000).
break up of classes in the US
- Working class and poor makes up about 62%
- Rich/Capitalist class makes about 2%
- Middle class make up 36%
- *We buy into this notion that everyone is in the middle class, but this is not true it is what the system is set up to teach us, not everyone is on an equal playing field
is class based on just money?
Class is more than the amount of money you have it is
- Opportunities-Educational/Employment
- Security
- Options(Food)(When we marry)(Children)
- Women, People of Color, LGBT youth, and Elderly are more likely to live in poverty
what is the working class
people who, when they go to work or when they act as citizens, have comparatively little power or authority. They are the people who do their jobs under more or less close supervision, who have little control over the pace or the content of their work, who aren’t the boss of anyone
explain the silence of class
- Children who grow up in privileged families are more likely to become professionals than those raised in a working-class family.
- However, one point to be made, education still matters.
- Most teachers don’t talk about class. They will talk about the injustices of being a person of color; gender; sexual orientation – but they avoid the discussion of class.
- Class markers – even when someone has made it big and moved out of poverty, the class markers remain.
- Middle class is about maintenance and mobility, upper class is about preserving and accumulating wealth, lower class is about survival
what is the myth of meritocracy
- “get out what they put in”
- Worked hard to get where they are
what are some inequities across classes
educational, environmental, judicial, employment, healthcare
cultural invisibility and social exclusion of the poor
- Poor/Working class people appear less in the media.
- When they are shown, they are typically made out to be lazy, promiscuous, dysfunctional, or drug-addicted.
- Poor/Working Class people are also physically excluded from public life (e.g., prohibition against sharing food, illegal to sit or sleep in public spaces).
- “the criminalization of poverty.”, assumption of bad behavior, police come to congregations in poorer areas, asking homeless where they got that food
mental health implications of poverty
social stigma, access to care, continuation of care, misdiagnosis and early detection
mental health implications of affulence
- Affluent communities may cultivate norms of competition among neighbors and minimal support
- Elite schools, gated homes
- Social prestige
- Community recognition
Families with demanding careers are noted as potential constraints on affluent parents’ time and emotional investments in their children
- Pressures for achievement may also be high in affluent families, which may be linked to youth internal distress
- Pressure to hold a wealthy job regardless of satisfaction
clinical implications
- Increase your understanding and awareness of social class privilege.
- Psychologists do not pay attention to issues of poverty.
- Theory, research and practice are largely inaccessible to poor people.
- Outreach!
- Many counselors may hold classist assumptions.
- Accessibility, pro bono work, limited hours, etc…
- Supplement your knowledge of social class, poverty, and related issues.
- Learn about the everyday realities of life in poverty.
