Cultural Representation Of Social Class

Cultural Representation Of Social Class

Social class is a reflection of more than the material conditions of the lives that people live. Objective resources such as income are responsible for shaping up some cultural practices as well as behaviors which signal social class. These signals end up creating cultural identities among the people in the upper and those in the lower classes. This makes people get rooted perceptions that are subjective in terms of social classes. The paper will look at how culture which is related to social class impacts identity and pride within individuals within specific social classes.Social classes have a great influence on people thoughts, feelings and their actions. Social class is a form of cultural identity which is constituted in various processes. First of all the social class that someone belongs to is determined by symbols such as wealth, preferences and social behaviors such as the language they use and their manners. The signals which are class related are responsible for invoking some inferences as well as perceptions of the particular social class one belongs to compared to another (Gabrenya, 2003).

Wealth, occupational prestige and education are some of the objective substances within social class. These objective elements are what bring about distinctions in the material lives between people in the lower and upper class. These elements are what give rise to the differences in culture between the two distinct social classes. The culture related to social class impacts the identity as well as pride within specific social classes. The identity and pride of the people in the upper class is based mainly on the fact that they are wealthy, they have prestigious occupations and their children attend the best schools. This is what makes them to be identified against those in the lower class. They pride in the fact that they are wealthy and consider themselves superior to those in the lower class. On the other hand those in the lower class are not wealthy, they do not have prestigious occupations and their children do not go to the best schools. They have no reason for being proud and their identity is based on these characteristics (Menon, 2011).

The culture that is related to social class helps in keeping other outside a special social class. This is because within a specific social class there are certain behaviors, actions and beliefs that the culture advocates. This means that people might be kept out of special social classes simply because they are not used to the particular beliefs, behaviors or actions which are normal in that social class. Moving from one social class to another can be quite difficult. This is because one is accustomed to the culture that is found within their specific social class.it is not easy for someone who is from a lower class to pass as upper class. Similarly it is also not easy for someone from a higher class to pass to a lower class (Gabrenya, 2003).These two movements are equally difficult since everyone is used to and is comfortable within their social class. This is because they are deeply rooted in the culture that is found within their social class. Therefore even if they move to a different social class they will stiff find themselves acting or behavingin the same way they were in this new social class. They will thus end up not being comfortable since they will not blend in well with other people in that social class.

Culture reproduces social classes from one generation to another. This is because people are used to the existence of these social classes and they are comfortable with .They end up carrying these social classes forward from one generation to another since they considered them part of life and normal. People end up staying in the same social class they are born in since they are used to that particular lifestyle. They get used to the social class and that is what they perceive as normal (Menon, 2011).

References

Gabrenya, W.K. (2003).Culture and Social class. Retrieved June 26, 2013 from http://my.fit.edu/~gabrenya/social/readings/ses.pdfMenon, D. (2011).Social class as culture. Retrieved June 26, 2013 fromhttp://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/social-class-as-culture.html