{"id":73146,"date":"2021-02-01T09:00:31","date_gmt":"2021-02-01T14:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/?p=73146"},"modified":"2021-01-31T14:01:07","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T19:01:07","slug":"the-mask-of-the-middle-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/2021\/02\/01\/the-mask-of-the-middle-class\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mask of the “Middle Class”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I love this podcast conversation<\/a> with Rachel Sherman<\/a> and Anne Helen Petersen about Sherman’s recent book, Uneasy Street: The Anxieties of Affluence<\/em><\/a>. It is a great source for introduction to sociology courses looking to open up a conversation about differences in social class, especially because it draws attention to the fact that people do a lot of work to hide<\/em> that social class position. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When we think about wealth, it is tempting to focus on flaunting riches through conspicuous consumption<\/a> of flashy clothes, large homes, and other reality TV fodder. Sherman’s work makes an important point: phrases like “middle class” actually do a lot to hide our economic positions in society, and wealthy people often work to manage others’ perceptions of their wealth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The podcast pairs well with a recent Twitter thread from John Holbein tracing research from around the world on how people’s perceptions of their economic position line up with their actual income and wealth. In case after case, many people report a social class that doesn’t line up with what they actually have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This figure is striking.

It shows the relationship between where people think they are in the income distribution and where they actually are.

Observations below the line indicate that people think they are poorer than they really are (and the reverse above the line). pic.twitter.com\/U5gi7EzJOi<\/a><\/p>— John B. Holbein (@JohnHolbein1) January 25, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>