My writing partner and I are both working-class kids who made it into literary circles, but she's started talking and dressing differently in these spaces while I've stayed the same, and now people treat us like we're from different backgrounds even though we grew up on the same block. We haven't talked about it but I can feel her embarrassment when I'm too 'real' in front of her new connections.
More people experience this than they realize.
Class mobility is revealing different strategies for belonging that are threatening their shared origin story and current partnership.
“Where Are You with Self-concept and how it forms?”
If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.