The 80's and Class Distinctions

[manekineko]

I’ve been reading a lot of threads here about people’s recollections of the 1980’s: what clubs they went to, what cliques they hung out with, what clothes they wore, and what cars they drove. I’m getting a picture (accurate or not) of a lot of wealthy or upper middle class young people in these recollections, or at least kids who didn’t have to worry about how to finance their wardrobes, hairstyles, music collections, and clubbing. This definitely was NOT my experience in the 1980’s.

My experience was much less affluent. I grew up in a working class family, where from the age of twelve I paid for everything that I needed. And I’m talking EVERYTHING: haircuts, underwear, school lunch. I never got an allowance—I got a job (actually, I got several). I bought my first car (a hideously ugly 1969 Buick LeSabre with torn upholstery) for $75, because that was what I could afford.

I left home at age seventeen (1979) and worked to support myself at an assortment of low-paying jobs. Until I got married in 1987, I lived with assorted roommates in cheap apartments. After paying my bills there was never any money left to go to college. An injury at work, and the resulting month without a paycheck, forced me even to go a food pantry. I shopped at thrift stores because I HAD TO, not because it was trendy. If I wanted to buy a new record album or go to a club, I usually had to sacrifice something else in my budget. I ate macaroni and cheese and hotdogs for a week once in 1983 so I could go to an Elvis Costello concert. (Oh, by the way, I did eventually, many years later, attend and graduate from college.) But enough of my sob story.

I’m not trying to polarize people here into socio-economic groups. What I AM looking for is how you feel music of the late 1970’s-1980’s (new wave and punk, and all their offshoots; plus metal, pop, etc.) is related to distinctions in socio-economic classes, and how people of those different classes experienced the music and culture of the decade. The 1980’s is generally known as the “Me” decade, when people were more concerned with self-gratification than social or political causes. The 80’s also spawned the terms “yuppie” and “junk bonds”. And don’t forget our conservative, Republican, movie star president, and his trickle down economics. When I think of 80’s music and its social, economic, and political climate, I generally think of punk toward the left end of the spectrum and new wave toward the right. Of course this is a gross generalization.

What are your views? There is definitely a relationship between the conditions of an era and the music of an era. After all, musicians have been singing about political and social issues for centuries. How is this related to class distinctions of the young people of the 1980's?

How did your socio-economic status affect how you experienced the 1980’s?

[WoodlandParkPunk]

Great post to begin with!
I myself grew up in a family with money. My high school years 1980-1984 were easy and there was not much that I did not get. The music I most related to was punk and hardcore. Only because of the aggressiveness of it. Much of th

[mygreen]

I grew up in a middle class family. I actually went many weeks going without lunch just so I could go to SKOOCHIES (my favorite dance club). I would save my money and buy just the right outfit. Normally I would hit the second hand shops because you could

[phillyidol]

I'm in the same boat as you Paula. I grew up having to do everything myself. Although I lived at home, I had to go to work at 13 years old while going to school. I had to do just what you did. I moved out very early and worked 2 jobs as well. It was good

[ben_at_work]

I grew up in an upper middle class family, basically because my dad worked his ass off and for the most part made me do the same around the house if I wanted an extra 20 bucks for the weekend. I grew up in SoCal, so there was always something going on and

[newwavepop]

well i only started highschool in 86.
my dad was 39 and my mother 19 when i was born.
by 4 my mother realized she was a lesbian and my older experienced father was retiring from the military and he simply took me and we went from key west to oklahoma.

[nowhere girl]

My family was lower middle class when I was young. We bought bargain everything and shopped at Pic n Save a lot. We became more middle class when I was around nine, and moved to a neighborhood that was more affluent than we were. It was a tough adjustm

[KYYX4ever]

Good topic!
My dad was in the Army, so we didn't have much. But my dad worked hard to ensure we had what we [i]needed[/i]. I had to either beg or work for extra stuff. Once in a great while, my parents would get me something REALLY cool like a cassette t

[hexicon]

Interesting topic. I think it's important to avoid leaping to conclusions about others' backgrounds based on the bits and snippets we share here. In fact, it reminds me a lot of what I experienced going to Skoochies as a teen--folks would hear that I wa

[KYYX4ever]

hex,
nicely put. Yah, Bellevue was a real piece of work, but IMO, New Wave kids were always a cut above, no matter from where they came! You're also right in that the music drew us together, and "class" stuff didn't matter. In addition, I love your comme

[SwampThing]

Bellevue is still a wealthy area and very republican. Many of the CEO's in the Seattle area call it their home. Mostly they live on Lake Washington in a neighborhood called Medina (This is where George Bush spent his time while campaigning in Washington

[phillyidol]

Just for the record, Bellevue in NY is an insane asylum.

[manekineko]

Here in Maine we are digging out from a massive Nor’easter that dumped two feet of snow on us and crippled our electrical power system for sixteen hours. Thousands of customers were without power. Now that the power is back on and the driveway is cleare

[mygreen]

Hey there manekineko,
I just wanted to elaborate a bit more on this. You see I am not your typical college student. (I am in my 30's) I go to a prestigious kind of school. The nursing school is one of the best in the areas. The tuition is quite high but

[ben_at_work]

[quote][i]Originally posted by mygreen[/i]
<br>Hey there manekineko,
I just wanted to elaborate a bit more on this. You see I am not your