Reading Classes: On Culture and Classism in America

by Barbara Jensen

I have seen people on the receiving end cope with classism in a variety of ways: a reciprocal, generalized contempt for “rich people” or “yuppies” (by which they usually mean upper middle class people); a creeping dislike for their own culture and a drive to climb the class ladder; sometimes a paralyzing jealousy and sense of powerlessness. Some purposely embrace everything that might upset middle (and some working) class people, reveling in “outlaw” status, or at least the image of it (bikers, hippies, gangstas). I have seen reactions to class prejudice range from a shrug of indifference to feelings of profound shame and rage. But for those who struggle their way into the middle class, encountering classism can lead to the silencing of one’s internal voice—and the whole of one’s childhood. That denial, in turn, can lead to serious psychological obstacles inside one’s own head and heart.