WORKING-CLASS VS. MIDDLE-CLASS Presented by Shelma Guan Oct,22 nd,2002

Different attitudes: how to use their homes for entertaining friends:  Middle class: home is a comfortable and congenial place,invite friends to a meal,have parties,etc.  Working class: a clear distinction between home and outside,only for family relatives entertaining.

The two classes differ in:  Component of people  Economic conditions  Living style  Leisure activities

Component of people:  Middle class:business and professional people,bureaucrats, and skilled workers (e.g. doctors,engineers,supervisors,etc)  Working class:people who work for wages,usu. at manual labor (e.g. truck drivers,dustmen,etc)

Members in the family: Middle class:  Jobs are a single-person enterprise.  Wife spends all of her time at home.  sometimes employ a work force to cover the chores Working class:  husband and wife both have jobs in order to meet the financial need.  the wife do all the housework

Economic conditions Middle class :  Higher occupations leads to higher income.  Jobs stemmed from business partnerships,or financial security came from trusts ---- steadier income  Bigger,better furnished and more delicately decorated house of their own Working class :  Jobs with lower income  Threat of losing their jobs----unsteady income  Smaller and simply furnished rented house or flat

Living style Middle class :  In need to have social contact within or outside the class  Emphasizing friendship and partnership  Enjoying life Working class :  In no need to much social intercourse  Emphasizing family happy gathering and union  Eking out their livelihood

Leisure activities(after 1850): Middle class :  Not only respectable but also productive  Outside home: rambling(mainly in parks); hiking;going to seaside;going to pubs; playing golf, cricket, rugby, tennis, and football  At home: holding parties;friends gathering Working class :  Comparatively limited  Outside home: going to local pubs;gambling;sports(e. g. watching football match, jogging)  At home: watching TV; relaxing; shielding from outsiders; having joy with family members

The development of leisure in Britain after 1850[1]:  The promoter: the middle class  Reasons: responses to its fears of political instability in the form of Chartism and labor unrest and appalling problems of public health. Chartismpublic health

The development of leisure in Britain after 1850[2]:the outcomes  The born of new athleticism  Establishment of town parks  Exploitation of seaside resorts  re-establishing through leisure a moral and codified framework which would stabilize and transform society.  purchasing of grounds and buildings for leisure activities,and establishing various sports clubs  The appear of ordered football match, constructions of football grounds and stadiums

The situations in china[1]:class structure  No clear distinction between middle and working classes  The majority are the proletariats  People identified by profession,community and sex

The situations in china[2]:how to use the home for entertaining  Traditional ways: family gathering,festival celebrating (e.g. the family reunion during the Spring Festival),wedding ceremony,etc.  Modern ways: mainly for family members entertaining e.g.watching TV,or VCD

The situations in china[3]:how to use the home for entertaining  Professional men: regard home as a private place for relaxing and refreshing after work  Common people: a place for watching TV, playing with children,occasionally inviting friends to have a tea and chat

The situation in China[4]:how to use the home for entertaining  Men: less staying at home but going out for social gathering for business or personal purposes (e.g. restaurants,bars,saunas, etc) home is a place for sleeping at night and reading newspaper  Women: most of the time staying at home dealing the chores and taking care of the children, watching TV

The situations in china[5]:the reasons  Higher living standard  Have better choices instead of home (e.g. going to restaurants to share meals with family relatives and friends)  More forms of entertainment are available,esp. the diverse electrical household appliances:TV set,VCD set and personal computer  People ’ s awareness of privacy at home  The stereotype sexual roles in the family

Conclusion[1]:in Britain  different kinds of jobs require different kinds leisure activities  economic limitation  different social values shapes people ’ s behavior

Conclusion[2]:the commonplaces between the UK and China  Economic growth in the whole society  The individual economic factors  Self identification and Self- justification  Development of leisure activities  Perfection of facilities

References:  Contemporary British Culture and Society   

Thanks for your attention !!