An expert in social class studies has shared some surprisingly obvious clues that can reveal whether someone comes from a wealthier background.
TikToker Dani Payne, who specialises in education and politics, took to the platform to break down how you might be able to tell if someone comes from a middle or upper class family—just by observing their behaviour and mannerisms in everyday life.
Now, whether or not it’s particularly useful to know, it’s definitely intriguing. And let’s be honest—we all love a bit of people-watching, don’t we?
The conversation was sparked when one of Dani’s followers asked:
“Can you give an example of the types of rules or behaviours that would make it obvious to members of the middle class that someone comes from a working-class background?”
Dani, who is based in the UK, explained that she had actually conducted research on this exact topic—and admitted she’s “absolutely fascinated” by it. She went on to break down what the question really means, and what these social indicators can look like in the real world.
There’s some tell-tale signs as to how to tell where someone is in terms of social class (Getty stock)
Essentially, she summed up as, ‘how does the upper and elite classes signal to society’ that they are part of the class they were brought up in.
Payne said: “So there are lots of different ways that someone might signal that they’re part of or have come from a certain class background – and a lot of the theory around this comes from a French sociologist called Bourdieu, who came up with this concept of cultural capital.
“Which was essentially how the upper and elite classes hoard certain resources, certain experiences and certain types of knowledge that signaled to everyone else that they’re part of that privileged class.”
She then went on to explain how the indicators have changed over time, with a lot of people gaining college degrees and higher education, so now the onus is on what they talk about.
“So the upper and middle class needed other ways to signal that they were upper and middle class, and one of those areas is behavior.” Payne continued.
Activities like skiing is an indicator (Getty stock)
“So like, how do you act? How do you talk, for example, and that’s not just accent, although accent is a really big thing in the UK, but it’s also, what are you talking about? Do you know what’s polite conversation? Do you know it’s extremely impolite to ask about money and wealth, etc? Do you have a wide vocabulary? Are you well read and well spoken?
“All of these things signal kind of allegiance to a certain certain class structure. Another is experiences and like, membership to certain, like, elite groups.”
Payne detailed how activities like going to art galleries, ski holidays and other cultural things help determine your class, as well as knowing which is the best course to apply for at college, how to apply for a job and so on.
She added: “All of these things mean that you might have the exact same grades, educational background, etc, as someone who is middle or upper class, but they still have an inherent advantage, because they know all of these kind of like social rules.
“They know how to act, they know how to get heard. They know how to navigate the education and employment system, and that gives them this inherent advantage in life.”