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DYSPRAXIA AND CLASS
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THE THEORY OF CLASSISM
What is Class?
According to Thompson, (2003) there is a wide range of theories regarding class. Marxism defines class position by means of production. Weber relates class as a person’s position in society. Weberian analysis has influenced the Registrar General’s Classification which is based on occupation and income.
What is Classism?
Classism is a form of external oppression. According to Bridget, (2002)
“Classism is discrimination against lower class people based on the belief that middle and upper class people are superior to lower class people”.
Thompson, (2003) sees classism as a form of oppression that comes from social division. All models of class show oppressive patterns related to socio-economic position. This leads to economic deprivation which results in poverty. This causes poor psychological wellbeing which effects self-esteem .Low incomes marginalise groups of people because low income causes social exclusion. Economic deprivation causes insecurity because it is difficult to plan for the future. Access to resources such as health and education are limited.
Class- Phobia
Class- Phobia is an internal form of oppression.
According to Bridget, (2002)
“Class-phobia is the recognised or unrecognised fear or hatred of lower class people that is present in upper, middle and lower class people. Everyone is thought to be class phobic.”
LOCATION OF SELF REGARDING CLASSISM
I originally came from a Jewish middle -class background. My dad was a doctor and my mother a housewife. My brother had a physical disability which turned out to be a severe form of dyspraxia and he did not live up to my parents middle class expectations in educational achievement. This is particularly important to Jewish middle-class culture. Jewish peoples’ history of Anti-Semitism and persecution has made Judaism become a very competitive culture in order to survive.
I was expected to make up for having a disabled brother by being a high achiever at school. My parents were in denial that I might have a similar disability to my brother because it was not as obvious. (In my experience there is no blue print for dyspraxia or Neuro-diversity). I was labelled as an under- achiever and a lazy child and did not pass my eleven plus. I found myself in the lowest stream in secondary modern school which mainly consisted of economically disadvantaged working class girls. Although I have always been more at ease with working class people because they are more accepting of my diversity, I found that some were very suspicious of me and not accepting because I did not speak in a strong regional accent, I came from a well off family and was not good at sports or dancing.
I was also marginalised and ostracised by my Jewish peers at Sunday School. They saw me as being stupid because I found learning Hebrew difficult .I found it hard to motivate myself to learn about my religion and culture while I was being bullied.
At twenty I left home with very middle class values which rapidly changed. As a young woman with undiagnosed dyspraxia I experienced long periods of unemployment. I then became one of the underclass who existed on housing benefits and income support. Although I have been in reasonably well paid work since, I am at present part of the underclass after facing medical retirement as a disabled woman and exist on a low income. My life experiences have given me a more understanding of classism than if I had been “Neuro-Typical”.
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