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Bridging the class divide

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Classism in Everyday Life

Tis Better to Give than to Receive?

December 22, 2015 by Taylor Chapman 1 Comment

Every year in preparation for the holidays, there’s a lot of talk about how it’s better to give than to receive. Many people say we should “give to the needy” and make the holiday about “family instead of stuff.” The idea here is that to want gifts is frivolous, shallow, and greedy. While this could […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Classism, Classism among Kids, Classism in Everyday Life, Consumer culture Tagged With: holidays

Language Matters, Too

December 15, 2015 by Laurie Sheridan 2 Comments

My brother, sister and I were all brought up to speak a very clear, accent-less English with good grammar and syntax. We were not “perfect,” but we were obliged to try. Our mother harassed us constantly about the way we talked. And she stressed that we would never be able to get a job or […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class cultures, Class prejudice, Classism, Classism in Everyday Life, Dealing with privilege, Dismantlng Classism Tagged With: class cultures, classism, downward mobility, privilege, snobs, speaking up, stereotypes, working class

3 Things to Keep In Mind as a Non-First Gen or Low-Income Student Leader

September 14, 2015 by Isabel Staccuneddu Leave a Comment

I dedicated the last two weeks this past summer to being a student leader for the incoming class of 2019. I’m an academic peer tutor, meaning that I serve as a residence-hall-based resource who fosters academic and personal well-being in the hall. As a low-income, first gen college student, I noticed that the standard summer […]

Filed Under: Class in Higher Education, Classism, Classism in Everyday Life, First Generation College Students Tagged With: academia, classism, education, first generation college students, privilege

Fugg Off

July 16, 2015 by Class Explorer Leave a Comment

One wintery day I settled into my seat to enjoy a snack at a Finagle a Bagel not far from my office. The shop happens to be in a wealthy suburban neighborhood just outside of a major city, and there is an interesting mix of patrons there on any given day. On this particular afternoon, […]

Filed Under: Classism among Kids, Classism in Everyday Life, Consumer culture Tagged With: consumerism

Taken-for-Granted Social Class Privileges

January 19, 2015 by Nicole Braun 4 Comments

CLASS PRIVILEGE MEANS…  A list compiled by the students in my sociology course on inequality: I can pay to have dental work and therefore keep my teeth intact. If I speak out, I am assumed to be worthy of a voice, and people will respond to me in a prompt and respectful way. I can […]

Filed Under: Classism, Classism in Everyday Life Tagged With: class privilege

Women “having it all”

January 6, 2015 by Tina Rodia 1 Comment

It seems not a day goes by when I’m not reading another headline arguing whether women can have it all, or, more accurately, why they can’t. In this week’s New York Times magazine, Jennifer Szalai’s “Had It All” does a fine job deconstructing the very origin of “having it all” as both a myth and […]

Filed Under: Classism, Classism in Everyday Life, Women and Class Tagged With: women

Broke vs. “Broke”: Bothered by Humble Brags

October 9, 2014 by Nicole Renee Brown 5 Comments

This summer, I had a “stay-cation,” meaning I stayed put in DC where I moved last year to attend grad school.  My “stay-cation” was awful, imposed on me because of my lack of funds; I was completely broke.  I take issue when people flippantly use the term “broke” to describe their financial situation (e.g. the […]

Filed Under: Class in Higher Education, Classism in Everyday Life, First Generation College Students, Poverty Tagged With: first generation college students, graduate school, poverty, pretense

Demolition Derby

August 16, 2014 by Pamela Haines Leave a Comment

I remember my first demolition derby, years ago as a young parent. It was the thrill of illicit activity that drew me there.  My parents—middle class academic types with progressive values—would never have dreamed of lending their support to such an uncouth spectacle; their disapproval would have been unconditional. A theme of my adult life […]

Filed Under: Class cultures, Classism in Everyday Life Tagged With: class cultures, classism, cross-class bridge-building, working class

Top 10 Classist Things about College

August 7, 2014 by Lynda Lopez 9 Comments

I attended the University of Chicago, one of the most elite universities in the country and world. Privileged places like the U of C are making strides in opening their doors to low-income students like myself, but this didn’t automatically eliminate the classism that existed and still exists today. In reflecting on my experience, here […]

Filed Under: Class in Higher Education, Classism in Everyday Life, First Generation College Students Tagged With: academia, classism, first generation college students

Should Americans Talk About Class?

June 26, 2014 by Abraham Lateiner 1 Comment

Helllllllllllllll yes! “But why?” some ask. Good question. My short answer: because talking about class is revolutionary. American society as a whole, as judged by my Super Scientific Approach of paying attention to popular culture, has gotten steadily better at talking about gender, race, and sexual orientation. But start talking about class, and we approach… […]

Filed Under: Classism in Everyday Life, Cross-class Relationships, Dealing with privilege Tagged With: cross-class dialogue, silence about class, stereotypes

Wondering how to respond to a classist guy

January 14, 2014 by Betsy Leondar-Wright 3 Comments

Is there any point to engaging with someone who’s rigidly dug in to their classism, or other oppressive attitudes? I had to think hard about that question after a difficult conversation over breakfast at a B&B. One of the guests was beyond oblivious, into the realm of deliberately offensive. As I tell the story, I […]

Filed Under: Classism in Everyday Life, Classism in the Economy Tagged With: classism, college, foreclosures

Toothpaste, Katrina and My Recovery from Classism

January 3, 2014 by Amanda Dye Leave a Comment

During my second week living in Boston, I faced one of those frightening moments of choosing whether or not to come out in front of a group that could go against me. I’d been faced with coming out before, but this time it wasn’t coming out as a lesbian, but coming out as poor. I […]

Filed Under: Class in Higher Education, Classism in Everyday Life, Internalized classism Tagged With: classism, poverty

Holiday charity or year-round compassion?

December 23, 2013 by Katy Swalwell Leave a Comment

‘Tis the season to be surrounded with warm fuzzy news stories about people volunteering at food banks or participating in clothing drives or raising money for non-profit groups. When a reporter for a nearby wealthy suburban newspaper called me this morning for my “expert opinion” about how to teach children a “sense of charity,” I […]

Filed Under: Classism among Kids, Classism in Everyday Life, Philanthropy and Classism

Class in the Skies

November 25, 2013 by Shane Lloyd 1 Comment

Some time ago, I read a New York Times Opinionator piece, “Class Struggle in the Sky.” Reading about the growing class divisions was particularly disheartening because I spent a fair amount of my childhood traveling in first or business class enjoying the extra leg room, the doting attention of the airline staff, and generous snack […]

Filed Under: Classism in Everyday Life, Classism on the Road, Workplace classism Tagged With: airlines, internalized classism, luxury, working class

“You Don’t Look Like a Homeowner”

November 20, 2013 by Celeste Harmer 1 Comment

For years my husband and I have nurtured the dream of homeownership, and when it finally came true last year, we were in heaven…but then reality caught up to us, as we ran into people who didn’t think we looked the part. We live in a condominium complex.  All the units are privately owned, and […]

Filed Under: Classism in Everyday Life, Classism in the Economy Tagged With: ageism, classism, homeownership, renters, stereotypes

Gentrification and My New Old Neighborhood

October 29, 2013 by Melody Chapin 1 Comment

In 1999 my classrooms in Somerville, Massachusetts– a culturally diverse city bordering Boston– were mosaics of colors and cultures, with students from as far away as Tibet to students whose families had lived in town since the Revolutionary War.  Today in Somerville, hipsters are the name and gentrification is the game. In ’99, my neighborhood […]

Filed Under: Classism in Everyday Life, Classism in the Economy Tagged With: class cultures, gentrification, hipsters, neighborhood

Neighborhood Class Divisions and Hope for the Future

October 24, 2013 by Pete Daly Leave a Comment

On Halloween in my neighborhood, kids come around dressed as princesses, super heroes and ghosts – nothing that would be offensive based on class, race or religion. Why not? What is different about my neighborhood is that it is a mixture of everyone. Black, white, poor, wealthy, conservative, liberal and pretty much all the religions […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Classism in Everyday Life, Owning class Tagged With: allies, Class traitors, diversity, Halloween, kids, neighborhoods

Parading Around in Privilege

October 24, 2013 by Miki Onwudinjo Leave a Comment

Halloween is quickly approaching and low-quality polyester costumes are flying off shelves like Tickle Me Elmo on Black Friday. In the year of the Hipster, pricey immaculate store-bought costumes are out and pricey immaculate homemade DIY costumes are in. What is now the new Halloween trend is eerily evolving into an upper-crust high-cost arts and […]

Filed Under: Classism in Everyday Life Tagged With: classism, cultural appropriation, Halloween, privilege, race and class, racism

9 Classist Halloween Themes to Think Twice About

October 24, 2013 by Anne Phillips 11 Comments

I’ve been glad to see so much recent coverage exposing the cultural appropriation, racism and sexism inherent in so many Halloween costumes. Students at Ohio University have built a great campaign called “We’re a Culture, Not a Costume,” that highlights real people whose cultures are caricatured around Halloween. And one of my favorite YouTube videos […]

Filed Under: Class in the Media, Classism, Classism in Everyday Life

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

August 14, 2013 by Barbara Jensen 3 Comments

Working with couples who hail from different class backgrounds is one of my specialties as a counseling psychologist.  I offer an example from my counseling practice to illustrate how different class backgrounds, and their cultural assumptions, can confound a marriage.  One couple met in college, where she got a para-legal certificate and he got a […]

Filed Under: Class cultures, Classism in Everyday Life Tagged With: middle class, working class

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