Klassernes fortsatte forsvinden

The notion of intersectionality has become important in order to understand the condition of the subject in a society that among other factors are characterized by changing gender relations.  The notion relates itself to a society in which categories such as gender, class, ethnicity, age, sexual preferences, etc. interact with each other in novel and a more fluid and fluctuant way than earlier. Even though, internationally, feminist research has begun to focus on the intersection between different categories, it seems that the attention directed towards class is still minimized; class somehow seems to continue to live in obscurity, which is why a reflection of a distant past comes to mind as the class category by various means has a history of marginalisation within the feminist agenda. The article thus emphasizes the need to develop new feminist ways of thinking and writing about class

Den subjektive oplevelse af klasse

Denne artikel bygger på forskellige kvinders fortællinger om sig selv og deres forestillinger om hverdagen og dens sammenhæng. Den refererer til afhandlingen På jagt efter klasse, i hvilken ærindet har været at studere klasse på ”mikroniveau” og ved hjælp af interviews belyse, hvordan klasse, i processer der interagerer med køn og andre sociale differentieringer, præger kvinders erfaringer og oplevelser, deres opfattelse af dem selv og andre og de muligheder, der er tilgængelige for dem. I interviewene afvises sociale forskelle i udgangspunktet, eller de pakkes ind og underspilles for så alligevel at dukke op bl.a. i de skillelinjer, kvinderne selv fremdrager som vigtige og i måden, hvorpå de betragter og vurderer sig selv og andre. Klasse giver sig langt hen ad vejen til kende i form af grænser mellem os og dem. Afstandtagen til andre viser sig især i moralske distinktioner, og når kvinderne mere eller mindre direkte henviser til folk, der tænker, handler eller prioriterer anderledes og indimellem uforståeligt for dem. Søgeord: Klasse, køn, social differentiering, moralske distinktioner, Bourdieu, symbolsk grænsedragning. ENGELSK ABSTRACT: Stine Thidemann Faber: The Subjective Experience of Social Class This article is based on the dissertation “The Pursuit of Class”, a study of social class on a ”micro-level”. Through interviews with women, it explores how class – through processes that interact with gender and other social differentiations – leaves its mark on women’s experiences and perceptions of self and others as well as their perceptions of opportunities accessible to them. In the interviews social differences are initially rejected, muffled and underplayed. Yet, in very subtle ways the women do in fact discuss social differences, although the word class is never used. Above all, class is revealed through borders drawn between them and us. This distancing from others is communicated mainly as moral reservations and moral condemnation. In that sense the women indirectly refer to people who think, act or prioritize differently. Motherhood appears to be a particularly important factor when the women assess themselves and others. Key words: Class, gender, social differentiation, moral distinctions, Bourdieu, symbolic boundary drawing