Social Class

Social Class, Gender, and Identity

• Crompton suggests a shift in the nature of work with a decline in traditional manufacturing industries and a rise in service industries, leading to the emergence of a new working class.
• Goldthorpe et al. argue that the new working class has developed new forms of identity, emphasizing a home-centered instrumental approach to work.
• Devine suggests that there are still significant differences between the new working class and the middle classes, with the former retaining a strong sense of 'being working class'.
• Middle-class identities are constructed around various occupational identities, including professionals, managers, intellectuals, services consultants, and routine service workers.
• Upper-class identities are based on the landed aristocracy and the business elite, with the latter representing a major section of the upper class.
• Self and Zealey note that 21% of the UK's total wealth is owned by the wealthiest 1% of its population, while 7% is owned by the least wealthy 50%.
• In India, the top 10% of wage-earners earn 12 times more than the bottom 10%, with 42% of the population living on around $1.25 a day.
• Globally, the world's richest 1% own 40% of the total global wealth, with 60% of this 1% living in just two countries: the USA and Japan.
• Connell et al. argue that gender identities are socially constructed, with differences in male and female identities not occurring naturally from biological differences.
• Connell identifies two dominant gender identities: hegemonic masculinity and emphasised femininity.
• Schauer suggests subordinate, subversive, and complicit forms of masculinity that challenge and undermine hegemonic masculinity.
• The text also includes an activity on describing cultural practices for identifying class distinctions and discusses the challenge to notions of hegemonic masculinity.

Masculinities and Femininities: Socialization and Identities

• Marginalised masculinities are experienced by men who feel pushed to the margins of family life due to long-term unemployment, unable to fulfill traditional masculine roles as the breadwinner.
• Willott and Griffin (1996) observed the development of this masculinity among long-term unemployed working-class men as traditional beliefs clashed with their inability to provide for their families.
• Research by Frosh and Phoenix (2002) on boys aged 11-14 in London revealed their negotiation of gender identities, emphasizing the importance of being seen as different from girls, being 'hard', excelling in sports, and downplaying the importance of appearance.
• The study highlighted the pressure on boys to conform to traditional masculine ideals, such as being successful in sports, having a casual attitude towards school work, and focusing on football.
• The boys worked continuously to re-establish their masculinity, showing the early formation of attitudes about masculinity and its importance for boys' identities.
• Oakley (1972) suggested that female identities are shaped in childhood through socialization into gendered roles, involving different treatment, clothing, toys, and verbal appellation for girls and boys.
• Children are socialized into gender roles through manipulation, canalization, verbal appellation, and different activities, reinforcing traditional gender norms and identities.
• In contemporary societies, Oakley identified three main forms of feminine identity: contingent, normalised, and sexualised identities, which are shaped by male beliefs, behaviors, and demands.
• Assertive feminine identities reflect the changing position of women, involving breaking free from traditional ideas about femininity without completely setting themselves apart from men.
• Different types of assertive identity include 'girl power' identities, modernised femininities, and ageing femininities, each with specific characteristics and contexts.
• Autonomous femininities involve competition with men on female terms and are often associated with highly educated, successful, professional, middle-class, career-focused women without traditional family commitments.
• These femininities represent a new gender regime that frees women from traditional constraints, such as pregnancy and childcare, enabling non-committal heterosexual attachments.