The Deprogram

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"As revolutionaries, we don't have the right to say that we're tired of explaining. We must never stop explaining. We also know that when the people understand, they cannot but follow us. In any case, we, the people, have no enemies when it comes to peoples. Our only enemies are the imperialist regimes and organizations." Thomas Sankara, 1985

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Fun Question/Experiment: What Clothing Brands or Styles Do You Associate With the Working Class? Discussion on class markers, stereotypes, and first impressions. (lemmygrad.ml)

submitted 5 hours ago by Mantiddies@lemmygrad.ml to c/thedeprogram@lemmygrad.ml

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[This post was originally shared in r/TankieTheDeprogram. Since some people misunderstood the intent of the question, I'm reposting a slightly edited version here with a disclaimer to better clarify what I'm asking.]

DISCLAIMER: : I'm not suggesting there's a single "working-class look" or that class can be determined by aesthetics. I'm interested in the assumptions people make about class based on appearance and presentation, and whether those assumptions are actually accurate.

I hope this isn't too out of place, and that the flair fits. Maybe we even need a flair for fun questions.

Recently, one of my professors was surprised when I mentioned that I'm from a working-class background. My father went from being a victim of child labor, to working as a carpenter, and later as a cook; I however didn’t tell my professor the exact life of my father though or his profession.

Their reaction got me wondering: did something about the way I dress, style myself, or present myself not fit their idea of what someone from a working-class family looks like?

I usually wore like muted or neutral colours (black, olive, beige, dark navy sometimes light pink). I always had timberlands on. Wore makeup, and put my hair in a braid.

So, in the spirit of a little amateur Bourdieu, I'm curious:

What brands, clothing styles, hairstyles, makeup, or other aesthetic choices do you associate with the working class?
Do you think there are noticeable class markers today, or are they much weaker than people assume?
If you're from a working-class family, have people ever been surprised to find that out?
Bonus question: how accurate or inaccurate do you think popular depictions of the children of cooks, tradespeople, factory workers, and other working-class people are?

Just for fun, share your experiences. What do you wear? Have people ever completely misread your class background?

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[–] bluestem@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

Probably depends on where you live exactly. I'm originally from an extremely rural area of Nebraska, U.S., and the typical working class person there will be significantly different to even other parts of the U.S. I'll take a swing at it anyway:

Brands: Maybe Levi and Harley Davidson, but beyond that there's no brands that stick out to me.

Aesthetic: Jeans, denim shorts, athletic shorts, t-shirts (especially with the sleeves ripped off), hoodies, plaid button downs work shirts, maybe the occasional denim jacket or chore coat, cowboy boots, work boots, maybe tennis shoes, trucker cap, the occasional cowboy hat. One surprising thing might be accent - higher class people have more of a flat affect where working class is more "redneck" or "hick" for lack of a better word. This isn't completely one to one though, some working class people might have more of a flat affect, especially if they live in a bigger city. Music is primarily country, classic rock, and some nu-metal. Food is frequently pretty stereotypical meat and potatoes or casseroles, with the occasional trip to the local Mexican restaurant.

I'm not sure about class markers except the accent thing. I think it'd probably be how big and new your truck is or how nice your house is. People don't really go for brand name clothes or luxury cars here afaik.

I think maybe there's been once or twice someone might've been surprised I was from a working class background. I dress pretty similarly to what I did growing up and drive a shitbox car so it most people probably aren't surprised.

No clue on accuracy of depictions of people around here. There is almost no popular media that depicts people from around these parts. If Nebraska ever comes up, it's mostly only jokes about how no one lives here. The closest thing I can think of is Superman's parents (from Kansas) in the Superman movie from last year - they were maybe somewhat accurate except they had southern accents for some reason.

[–] Mantiddies@lemmygrad.ml 2 points 1 hour ago

I also wear levis and my parents still like admire today for being a good pair of jeans (sadly the quality declined significantly). I live in belgium but I am half-german, half italian, but most people of my party (ptb-pvda) who are also from working class background also style themselves similarly to me.my accent in english well its barely there but it became more german due to the pandemic and isolation.

My german is high german ( the clearest form of german) but i noticed with my grandmother (and my mother sometimes) that she uses a lot more sort of her socio-economical dialect (she was born in poland to russian woman and a german father, who was a guestworker in siberia). I wasn't allowed to learn Italian due to discrimination as my Italian family is from the south and griko. as for cars we mainly have had fiats or Renaults.

German television tends to depict the working class and the poor really badly. They have entire reality shows and channels about it to portray them as dumb and trashy.

I think in belgium only a few people really care about class markers and those are the bourgeoisie they often also isolate themselves more.