Take the Opinium Posh Test
Take the Opinium Posh Test
- Almost two in three people would not want to be considered posh
- One in nine people say they would not marry a posh person
- Spending more than £10 on a bottle of wine is considered posh
More than one in three Brits (36 per cent) consider themselves working class, three in ten (31 per cent) middle class, and only five per cent said they don’t believe social classes exist. The main factors in determining social class are regarded as a person’s upbringing (49 per cent); income (47 per cent); owning more than one house (45%); education (44 per cent); job (39 per cent) and family money (21 per cent).
More surprisingly, it is the little things that seem to mark people out as posh more than the main factors, such as:
- Going to the opera/ballet (37%)
- Having a cleaner (35%)
- Wearing clothing brands such as Hackett, Barbour etc (33%)
- An interest in horses or sailing (32%)
- Spending more than £10 on a bottle of wine (25%)
- Telling people what school you went to when you are in your thirties (21%)
- Shopping at Waitrose (19%)
- Saying supper instead of dinner (18%)
- Greeting with a kiss on both cheeks (17%)
- Having an Aga (16%)
Also making the list were; drinking Earl Grey or other specialist teas (14 per cent), knowing what Prosecco is (13 per cent) and eating hummus (4 per cent).
The research also shows there is a deeper stigma attached to the label of posh?. One in nine people (11 per cent) say they would not marry a posh person and almost two in three (63 per cent) would not want to be considered posh.
James Endersby, managing director of Opinium Research, comments, ?What people consider to be posh seems to be really wide ranging. Most people look to a person’s education but will also judge people on little things like where they shop and what type of tea they drink.
?It’s interesting that whilst, 63 per cent of people would not like to be thought of as posh, nearly three quarters (73 per cent) of us would marry somebody that is. Sounds like most people like that type of lifestyle, just not the label.?
The research also underlined the North/South divide, with 40 per cent of Londoners describing themselves as middle class and 55 per cent of those in the North East describing themselves as working class.
The self described working classes said they associated being posh with going to private/grammar/boarding school (65 per cent) or taking a gap year (15 per cent).
The four per cent of respondents that consider themselves upper middle class believe education is the most important factor in determining social status, followed by their upbringing (59 per cent), their parents’ occupation (18 per cent) and their political views (14 per cent).
Research conducted online amongst a national sample of 2,017 UK adults by Opinium Research LLP, between 30th ? 4th May 2010
