What cultural hierarchy? Cultural tastes, status and inequality
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What cultural hierarchy? Cultural tastes, status and inequality. / Jæger, Mads Meier; Rasmussen, Rikke Haudrum; Holm, Anders.
In: British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 74, No. 3, 2023, p. 402-418.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - What cultural hierarchy?
T2 - Cultural tastes, status and inequality
AU - Jæger, Mads Meier
AU - Rasmussen, Rikke Haudrum
AU - Holm, Anders
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 London School of Economics and Political Science.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Research on cultural stratification often draws on Bourdieu's misrecognition model to interpret socioeconomic gradients in cultural tastes and participation. In this model, an assumed cultural hierarchy leads individuals to adopt cultural tastes and behaviours whose status is congruent with that of their socioeconomic position (SEP). Yet, this assumed cultural hierarchy remains opaque. In this paper, we derive and test three empirical implications of the cultural hierarchy: (1) cultural activities have different status (recognition); (2) individuals in high and low SEPs have similar perceptions of the status of cultural activities (necessary condition for misrecognition); and (3) individuals prefer and engage in cultural activities whose status matches that of their SEP (status congruence). We collected survey data in Denmark and find that cultural activities differ in terms of perceived status (e.g., opera has higher perceived status than flea market), status perceptions are similar in high- and low-SEP groups and individuals prefer activities whose status matches that of their SEP. These results are consistent with the idea that a cultural hierarchy exists that sustains SEP gradients in cultural tastes and participation.
AB - Research on cultural stratification often draws on Bourdieu's misrecognition model to interpret socioeconomic gradients in cultural tastes and participation. In this model, an assumed cultural hierarchy leads individuals to adopt cultural tastes and behaviours whose status is congruent with that of their socioeconomic position (SEP). Yet, this assumed cultural hierarchy remains opaque. In this paper, we derive and test three empirical implications of the cultural hierarchy: (1) cultural activities have different status (recognition); (2) individuals in high and low SEPs have similar perceptions of the status of cultural activities (necessary condition for misrecognition); and (3) individuals prefer and engage in cultural activities whose status matches that of their SEP (status congruence). We collected survey data in Denmark and find that cultural activities differ in terms of perceived status (e.g., opera has higher perceived status than flea market), status perceptions are similar in high- and low-SEP groups and individuals prefer activities whose status matches that of their SEP. These results are consistent with the idea that a cultural hierarchy exists that sustains SEP gradients in cultural tastes and participation.
KW - Bourdieu
KW - cultural participation
KW - cultural taste
KW - inequality
KW - misrecognition
KW - status
U2 - 10.1111/1468-4446.13012
DO - 10.1111/1468-4446.13012
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 36908000
AN - SCOPUS:85150648949
VL - 74
SP - 402
EP - 418
JO - British Journal of Sociology
JF - British Journal of Sociology
SN - 0007-1315
IS - 3
ER -
ID: 348163689