Critical Analysis: Sociological Perspectives on Class Ambivalence

This essay provides a critical analysis of class ambivalence, exploring its impact on individual identity within the context of sociological theories. It begins by introducing the concept of social class and its influence on individuals, referencing the works of Pierre Bourdieu and his concept of "Habitus" and "Cultural Capital." The essay then delves into the recent interest in class identity, incorporating perspectives on gender, ethnicity, and upbringing. It examines the theories of Karl Marx and Max Weber on class division and the emergence of class ambivalence, referencing Beverly Skeggs' work on working-class women. The analysis further explores how consumerism and globalization affect class awareness. The essay concludes by discussing the varying degrees of acceptance of class identities, highlighting the ambivalence that exists in modern societies, and referencing relevant studies and surveys. The essay aims to offer a comprehensive understanding of class ambivalence from a sociological perspective.

Running head: CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Critical Analysis
Name of the Student
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Author Note

1CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Social Class or the class division in the society has a huge influence on the lives of the
individuals. The class in which an individual belongs to at times determines the future of that
individual. There are wide gaps in opportunities existing between the various classes in the
society. According to Pierre Bourdieu, the prominent French sociologist different social classes
has different kinds of cultural systems and social ideologies he called that as “ Habitus”, he also
mentioned that the upper class people have “Cultural Capital” which indicates towards the social
assets which the people belonging to the upper classes have like intellect, dressing sense,
education and manner of speaking. In the current scenario, as well the matter of class identity has
attracted a huge amount of interest. Some of the important recent works mentions that apart from
the general idea of class ambivalence in sociology class ambivalence also includes the features of
gender, ethnicity as well the area in which the individuals grow up. The works of Savage,
Bagnall and Longhurst portray that the individuals are reluctant to accept the division of social
class when it comes to refer it to themselves but they accept that the class concept exists in the
society (Payne and Grew 2005).
To understand the concept of Class Ambivalence and how it influences the individual
identity it is important to understand the meaning of Class itself and what role it plays in the
society and how it impacts the identity of an individual. According to Karl Marx the “class”
depended on the relationship of an individual with the means of production in the society in other
words, the economic position of an individual in the society determined his class. There are only
two divisions in the society according to his theory the proletariat or the working class and the
bourgeoisie who own the means of production. Webber’s theory is also somewhat close to that of
Marx he also said that the class of individual depended on the individual’s economic position in
the society but the status of an individual was determined by the individual’s prestige and power

2CRITICAL ANALYSIS
in the society. The concept of class ambivalence begun with the works of Beverly Skeggs, which
was based on the lives of the young working class women belonging from the Midlands in
central England ((Savage and Warde 2010). He said that class was important in the lives of the
women yet they were unaware of the structure instead they were more interested in highlighting
their respectable feminine identities which was more acceptable in the society (Savage and
Warde 2010). They put stress on the moral values associated with their work.
According to a survey conducted in the UK in 2013 most of the people who called
themselves as “whites” stated that class structure can be defined on the basis of economic and
social assets as well as cultural perspectives. In today’s scenario identities of individuals has
become more flexible, the people can change their outlooks and behavior to mould their
identities. Consumerism has almost replaced the class culture and now the consumer culture
influences the identities of individuals rather that the primitive class structure theories. People
have always been reluctant to accept the social stratification in personal terms as it was observed
by Savage et al. (Payne and Grew 2005). The research conducted on 178 individuals proved that
individuals were vague when it came to identify their own class but were comfortable to discuss
the topic in a general manner (Payne and Grew 2005).
Since the beginning of the 20th century the sociologists in Britain has noticed that while
the inequality between the various classes in the society seems to have increased the appearance
and the outlook of the classes seemed to tell a different story altogether(Savage and Warde 2010)
. Some sociologists believe that the class awareness has decreased due to the advent of
globalization. People do believe that they belong to societies, which has unequal stratification
depending upon several factors like economic, cultural, and others but when it comes to their
own identities the people tend to highlight the philosophical sense of the classification in human

3CRITICAL ANALYSIS
society(Savage and Warde 2010). Many people belonging to the middle class finds it difficult to
be straightforward with the identity although others tend to accept the class as it is considered
“neutral in nature”. The several belonging to the working class on the other hand seems to accept
their social class with pride.
It can be said in the end that class ambivalence does exist in the societies but the
acceptance of the individual class identities varies from person to person, most of the time people
tend to deny belonging in a defined class but they accept the general concept from social
perspectives.

4CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Reference List:
Payne, G. and Grew, C., 2005. Unpacking ‘Class Ambivalence’ Some Conceptual and
Methodological Issues in Accessing Class Cultures. Sociology, 39(5), pp.893-910.
Savage, M., Silva, E. and Warde, A., 2010. Dis-identification and class identity. Routledge.