Struggling with distinction: How and why people switch between cultural hierarchy and equality

Abstract

In research on cultural taste and distinction, inconsistent and ambivalent attitudes towards hierarchy versus equality have largely been ignored. This study shows, by means of in-depth interviews with 90 Dutch people on their own and others' cultural tastes, that both a hierarchical and an egalitarian repertoire appear in people's narratives, and that these repertoires are often used simultaneously. People still distinguish culturally from others, but not consistently and often reluctantly, as they morally object to high-low distinctions based on aesthetic evaluations at the same time. This article analyses both repertoires and explores when and how tensions between the two come forward. We interpret these tensions on the micro level of self-presentation and habitus, and on the macro level of changing structures of inequality and meritocratic ideas.

‘Putting Radiohead Next to Bach.’ Perceptions of Cultural Hierarchy Unravelled with a Ranking Task

“…Third, both concepts should also be differentiated from hierarchical practices, which still occur in the form of cultural distinction. As previous research showed, many keep distinguishing good from bad tastes (e.g., Holt, 1998;Jarness, 2015;Van den Haak and Wilterdink, 2019). Increased complexity in such distinction processes results in a more complex and diverse cultural hierarchy.…”

“…Kuipers, 2006: 77). Moreover, they often distinguish themselves from higher classes on moral rather than cultural or economic grounds (Lamont, 2000;Van Eijk, 2013;Van den Haak and Wilterdink, 2019).…”

“I Say I Work at the University:” Norwegian Professors and Passing as Interaction Ritual

“…Important historical changes likewise suggest less national or regional specificity. A decline in snobbishness, and hierarchical thinking becoming less justifiable, have been noted by sociologists in countries like the Netherlands and the UK (Kuipers 2013;van den Haak and Wilterdink 2019;van Eijk 2012;Warde 2007). Even the British aristocracy now portrays "ordinariness" in public displays of lifestyle (Friedman and Reeves 2020).…”

Amateurs’ Exploration of Wine: A Pragmatic Study of Taste

“…I was careful not to excessively distance myself from my interlocutors, and never introduced myself as a sociologist. 1 Hennion (2007), Benzecry (2012), Whittenburg Ozment (2015 and van den Haak and Wilterdink (2019) have stressed that amateurs are themselves often very much aware of the sociological critique of tastes (Dannefer, 1981), and interviews with sociologists could over-emphasize social concerns (Hennion, 2001). My own amateur practice played an important role: interviews were always discussions between amateurs, supported by 'interesting' wines to taste, and could last for several hours.…”