Social class isnt an important source of identity

Question 1

Clarke and Saunders in 1991 see social class as declining in importance. Discuss.

Answer 1

Clarke and Saunders (1991) (Postmodernists) – social class is of declining importance as a source of identity. This is because of fragmentation of identity into a range of groups with a new range of influences on our identity – such as gender, sexuality, ethnicity, lifestyle and religion. Identity is through consumption now.

Question 2

Postmodernists argue that the breakdown of class divisions is because of five items. List them.

Answer 2

1. Decline of manual labour meant fewer jobs by which w/c traditionally defined themselves
2. Increasing access to education meant more people have A-levels and degrees
3. Mass media have broken down cultural barriers through satirising class divisions
4. Less stigma attached to w/c identity, partly through rise of popular culture
5. More disposable income means more people are able to consume goods traditionally associated with higher classes

Question 3

Pakulski and Waters – Class is dead. Discuss.

Answer 3

Pakulski and Waters (1996) (Postmodernists) – class is dead as an important factor in a person’s identity. It has been replaced with lifestyle and consumption of different status groups rather than class groups. Class identity has fragmented into numerous separate identities. Young people especially, have more choice in how they want to construct their identity, such as through sexuality, gender, ethnicity etc. Consumer culture has replaced class culture as the major influence on people’s identity. The media has a major influence on our identity through music, fashion, entertainment and this in turn influences how we dress, listen to music and spend our leisure time. However, Devine (1997) reviewed research and concluded class identity was still much stronger than identity based on consumption and leisure.

Question 4

For Feminists is class or gender more important?

Answer 4

Feminists would argue that gender is a more important source of identity, and other theorists might argue for other social identities, e.g. ethnicity or nationality.

Question 5

Lash and Urry – Class subcultures have weakened. Discuss.

Answer 5

Lash and Urry (1987) (Postmodernists) – class subcultures have weakened, and people cultural choices, tastes and lifestyles have become much more individualistic and identities have become a lot more fluid and changeable.

Question 6

Postmodernists – Fluidity, choice, individualism and fragmentation is much more important that rigid class identities in contemporary society. Continue this discussion.

Answer 6

Postmodernists – Fluidity, choice, individualism and fragmentation is much more important that rigid class identities in contemporary society. People can now ‘pick and mix’ their identities based on a range of different lifestyles presented to them in the media, through their leisure activities and also through their consumer spending.

Question 7

Traditional working class identity of collectivity, traditional manual jobs, trade unionism, ‘them and us’ attitude and a politicised identity has declined.

What has this been replaced with.

Answer 7

Traditional working class identity of collectivity, traditional manual jobs, trade unionism, ‘them and us’ attitude and a politicised identity has declined. It has been replaced with individualism, new forms of employment, such as technology industry, no trade union identity, individualistic identity, apolitical identity and ‘class’ as a source of identity has become ‘passive’ (it is meaningless to our identity).

Question 8

We have seen the decline of the Traditional Upper Class in terms of values, tradition and conservatism. There has been a rise in other forms of Upper Class.

Discuss values of the categories of the Upper Classes

Answer 8

We have seen the decline of the traditional upper class in terms of values, tradition and conservatism with the decline in landowning aristocrats and the rise in entrepreneurs and jet sets who don’t share traditional upper class values but use ‘conspicuous’ consumption (identity and status through buying expensive goods). The new upper class are rejected by the traditional upper class.

Question 9

Is Class dead? BBC “Great British Class Survey” of 2013. BBC costume dramas.

How many categories of class did the survey have?

Discuss further.

Answer 9

Is class dead? BBC dramas, such as Mr Selfridge and Downton Abbey, highlight class differences in terms of wealth, occupation, hierarchy and values. However, in the BBC’s ‘Great British Class Survey’ 2013 (sample of 161,000) devised the idea that class now has 7 different categories! This provides evidence for the view that class in Britain is utterly fluid to the point of being meaningless. It seems pointless to divide people up into traditional classes as the jobs and identities that used to exist now longer exist. In the survey, it highlighted that we can no longer be defined by abstract notions of class. To exemplify this – A young academic with two post graduate degrees is defined as ‘Precariat’ as he has a low income and rents is home. However an owner of a Nail Bar is seen as the ‘New Affluent’ because she eats out and lives in a smart urban apartment. Yet both grew up in households with average income, have friends who are teachers and IT workers and organise their social lives through Facebook. This demonstrates that social class is meaningless.