Women and Social Class

Abstract

Once upon a time there was a story of three people looking into a mirror — a white man, a white woman and a black woman. They are asked who they see. The white man sees a person, a human being, generic; the white woman sees a woman, not just a person, but a gendered person; and the black woman sees a black woman, a person who is visibly defined by both gender and race (Kimmel, 1990: 94). Who do I see, looking into that mirror? I see a working-class girl growing up in the heart of the working-class community of the East End of London in the 1950s. Or rather, working-class communities — communities with differing identities, cultures, hopes and oppressions. I see a working-class Jewish girl trying to make sense of her enclosed world. I see a young woman, leaving school at 15, with no educational expectations nor aspirations. I see a woman with two children, tentatively reaching out to start some adult study, beginning a journey of lifelong learning. I see a woman gaining qualifications, embarking on and developing her academic career. I also see a woman unsure of her identity. To what extent has she had to, or wanted to, hide her working-class roots? I see a middle-class woman gazing deeply into the eyes and soul of the working-class woman gazing so intently back.