Women without class chap 1, 2 summary

In the first chapter of the book” Women without class” Julie Betties introduce her experience on examine class different between working class and Middle class in high school girls. Her observation took place at Waretown High in California Central Valley. Her method was using ethnographic to observed on 60 senior girl at Waretown High. Half of the girls in her observation were Mexican American. Ethnography is a method conducts by observation life of a group of people. Ethnography raises questions about social life of a group of people. By having an established understanding about cultural, historical and structural forces, help the readers understand the differences across the different groups of people. During her research, Betties hung out with the girls and talked to them about their lives, culture, school, family, friendship, makeup… Betties divided the girls into classes such as: smokers, cholas & cholas, Las chicas,Staters, hicks and preps. The “prep” were mostly white student from middle class families. The “hicks” were mostly white students who from farming families. The “skaters” were mostly white who did not consider themselves in any category. “Cholas& cholas” were from hard working Mexican American family, who participated in gangs. “Las chicas” were from hard working Mexican American families, who did not participated in gang but knew people in gangs. According to Betties, class is not just about socioeconomic but also about attitude, race and performance. In the beginning of the book, Betties showed her argument with Pipher who is the author of the book “Reviving Ophelia” which is very popular at the school. Her argument that Pipher hasn’t addressed class and race; as Pipher didn’t pay attention on feminine. According to Bettie, girls have more complex process of identity formation. According to Bettie, girl sense of inequality but they don’t express it in political term. That was why studying girls helps understand social class and help ending