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    Formations of Class and Gender

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    Peter Stocks
    This document discusses the concept of respectability and how it relates to class and gender. Respectability was a central mechanism through which class emerged in English society, and embodied moral authority. Only certain groups were considered respectable - the middle class, who were white, male, and non-working class. Respectability stratified society and was used by the middle class to consolidate their power and identity by framing the working class as the subordinate "other". Gender roles were also enforced through respectability, with masculinity linked to strength and protection of women, and femininity focused on passive caring roles without institutional power.

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    Formations of Class and Gender

    Uploaded by

    Peter Stocks
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    This document discusses the concept of respectability and how it relates to class and gender. Respectability was a central mechanism through which class emerged in English society, and embodied moral authority. Only certain groups were considered respectable - the middle class, who were white, male, and non-working class. Respectability stratified society and was used by the middle class to consolidate their power and identity by framing the working class as the subordinate "other". Gender roles were also enforced through respectability, with masculinity linked to strength and protection of women, and femininity focused on passive caring roles without institutional power.

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    This document discusses the concept of respectability and how it relates to class and gender. Respectability was a central mechanism through which class emerged in English society, and embodied moral authority. Only certain groups were considered respectable - the middle class, who were white, male, and non-working class. Respectability stratified society and was used by the middle class to consolidate their power and identity by framing the working class as the subordinate "other". Gender roles were also enforced through respectability, with masculinity linked to strength and protection of women, and femininity focused on passive caring roles without institutional power.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    44 views1 page

    Formations of Class and Gender

    Uploaded by

    Peter Stocks
    This document discusses the concept of respectability and how it relates to class and gender. Respectability was a central mechanism through which class emerged in English society, and embodied moral authority. Only certain groups were considered respectable - the middle class, who were white, male, and non-working class. Respectability stratified society and was used by the middle class to consolidate their power and identity by framing the working class as the subordinate "other". Gender roles were also enforced through respectability, with masculinity linked to strength and protection of women, and femininity focused on passive caring roles without institutional power.

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    Formations of class and gender: becoming respectable (1997)

    Beverley Skeggs

    Chapter ONE social positions and positions in knowledge. Access,


    power, capital, are controlled.
    Respectability is one of the ubiquitous signifiers of
    class. It uniforms how we speak, who we speak to, White and male forms of knowledge become
    how we classify others, what we study and how we centralised (becoming the normalised) forms of capital.
    know what we are (or are not). Respectability is usually Wills (1977) studied ‘lad’ culture. Men occupy
    the concern of those not seen to have it. Respectability stereotypical macho roles, with physical fitness,
    is desirable as it is the property of ’others’ who were strength, and ability to protect women central to this
    legitimated and powered. role. Women occupy stereotypical female roles;
    Respectability was a central mechanism through which passive, carers of children and husbands – seek
    the concept class emerged. Respectability was central protection and security from males.
    to the development of Englishness. It was a key Males identified in the ‘Lad’ culture possessed symbolic
    characteristic of what it meant to be worth and to be and social capital that cannot be exchanged within the
    individual. It embodies moral authority. Individuals were service economy. They can exchange their protective
    the respectable, the moral, the worthy, the English, the qualities to gain power (but not capital) in relations to
    white, the non-working class who could sit in women.
    judgement of others.
    Femininity is utilised in trade for power in marriage but
    Respectability has always been a marker and a burden not institutional power.
    of class, a standard to which to aspire. Working class
    formed as the other, produced from middle class
    anxiety about social order and an attempt of the middle
    class to consolidate their identity and power as other.

    The possession of capital, in all four sense: Economic


    capital. Cultural capital, social capital and symbolic
    capital is linked to class. The higher classes possess
    capital and moral authority, their possession of power
    and class enables them to dictate the moral code of
    the other. They are able to frame the other through
    their capital and values to re-affirm their identity as
    other and to ensure their continued exclusion.

    From being born into gender, class and race relations


    we occupy the associated social positions ‘women’,
    ‘black’, ‘working class’…. We also inherit ways of
    understanding, we inherit the meanings associated with

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