I am genuinely starting to wonder if there’s a link between social class and fear of bugs. Yeah, sounds ridiculous, but hear me out...

In my experience, working-class people tend to be more houseproud. More frequent (and thorough) tidying and cleaning of the home space, more care taken on presentation for the sake of guests...

And it’s got to be down to space. In general, we have smaller homes than middle-class people, and are much more likely to live in overcrowded spaces.

So, the home feels more personal. We HAVE to keep it clean, because everything within that space is close to us at all times. If we’ve left a space in a mess, we can’t just get away from it. But in middle-class homes, sometimes a whole floor is designated for entertaining guests.

I’ve noticed middle-class people tend to be less fussy about taking their shoes off at the door, and maybe it’s because it doesn’t feel like their personal space.

Also, middle-class people I’ve met tend to leave surfaces (like kitchen counters) messy/dirty for longer. You know what I’ve found with working-class people? We ALWAYS tidy pending a guest. Hoovering, cleaning counters, putting things away...

I’ve also found middle-class people are very comfortable to share their space with bugs. I’ve met people who let spiders stay in their homes because they clean up flies. Even when they do remove them, the removal is usually gentle (letting bugs live) and not fuelled by panic.

But I guess it’s because they don’t see the entire home as personal space. Also, they’re mostly used to having gardens, whereas working-class people in flats won’t be. More exposure to bugs.

But this fear (or lack thereof) translates to outdoors. These middle-class people are FEARLESS. If a wasp comes near me I bolt down the road, but most middle-class people I’ve met just laugh it off and even tolerate the bugs landing on them.

Anyway... this thread was inspired by me recently finding spiders and not having a good time with it.