I'm a few chapters into Ijeoma Olua's book on race where she's acknowledging her privilege as a middle class black person, compared to working class black people. It's struck a chord with me because I always struggle to identify whether I myself am working or middle class too, and I feel as though there are aspects of both classes that shaped my upbringing. Let me explain.

I grew up in the UK and am part of the first generation of my family to attend university. My grandparents generation were tradesmen and housewives mostly. They were all born working class in council houses (state housing) with very low wages and spent a lot of time working in factories. They left school at around 14.

My own parents also grew up working class. My dad came from an abusive single parent household. He left school at 16 and became a programmer. My mum left school at 16 with few qualifications to learn admin at college.

My parents managed to enjoy a certain degree of economic mobility when they got together. Firstly, Thatcher's law allowed them to buy their council houses and get onto the housing ladder where they proceeded to move a couple more times into a more middle class community where I was born. Neither of them had exceptional opportunities growing up but did really well for themselves, so they strongly encouraged my sister and I to get an education (I'm currently a master's student).

My upbringing didn't include any real hardship that a working class family might face. I didn't even adopt a working class (local) accent because my nan encouraged me to "speak properly" - probably because she knew in her time it was a sign of class (although working class herself).

That being said, I definitely had a lot less than other kids I went to school with. I even won a scholarship for a private school but my parents strongly discouraged me from attending because I would probably get bullied for not indulging in the Swiss Alps Chalet Lifestyle of the other boys. Irrelevant but I got bullied anyway in the state comprehensive by the insane psycho kids with knives haha!

The financial crisis ruined us. My mum had already given up work for many years to raise me and my sister. My dad lost his job, started a business, failed, got in debt, used my mum's cards to pay the debt, left and ran away abroad with his new woman. My mum now supports herself and my grandad with her minimum wage supermarket job. I'm waiting to start my PhD or get a job next academic year so I can help to support her.

My life has been full of privileges and opportunities she never had. I've travelled to 24 countries (I financed myself) and gotten an education (loans). But at the same time I still compare myself to the middle class kids at uni who I see as pretty rich and pompous. Working class people hear my accent and immediately assume I come from money, and compared to many if not most of them, I do. But that doesn't make me comfortable or welcome in middle class circles among people I can't relate to at all.

Just wondering what people's thoughts are on this matter and what box they'd put me in. Would also love to know if anyone else can relate to this. I've just been reading about social justice/race/intersectionality stuff recently it's pretty interesting. Also as a white dude, if a black woman can acknowledge her class privilege, then so can I.