Reverse snobbery
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Reverse snobbery is the phenomenon of looking not up at a social 'elite', but unfavourably on them, and all distinctions of social class, in particular any but one's own class or subculture. It now encompasses the phenomenon of disrespecting a wide variety of human distinctions not simply those of class, but also of achievement, taste, accent, nationality, residence, employment, etc. Essentially, it is an outgrowth of the phenomenon of class consciousness.
See also class envy, anti-establishment attitudes and tall poppy syndrome, as well as the politics of envy, social resentment, social embitteredness, social marginalization, political correctness, and social entitlement. Compare also, for example, attitudes toward social class in socialism, communism, aristocracy, monarchy, democracy, Marxism, punk rock, the hippies, and youth culture.
In the post-Second World War period, the phenomenon of the poor or middle class aping the rich, or of deeming them to be 'their betters', classical social emulation (see also snob), began to give way to the voicing of resentment against social distinctions, particularly in, though not confined to, post-war Britain.
This led to the adoption of the reversal of deferential attitudes toward what had previously been admired and copied as 'socially superior' (see upper class). This renewed phenomenon was observed before under different guises: for example, in the English Civil War (see also Levellers), French Revolution (see the literary character, Madame Defarge) and the Russian Revolution (see also class warfare).
Monty Python's comedy sketches occasionally parodied this phenomenon, such as a coal miner son trying to reconcile with his author father who has disowned him.
Common terms of abuse include: Sloane ranger, Hooray Henry, Toff, or, sometimes, The Pashmina Brigade.
People who went to independent schools and/or have very posh accents are sometimes derided or stereotyped as being snobs. Public figures such as Stephen Fry or David Cameron have come under fire in the past for their accents or previous schools.
