Consumption and the Problem of Variety: Cultural Omnivorousness, Social Distinction and Dining Out
Consumption and the Problem of Variety: Cultural Omnivorousness, Social Distinction and Dining Out
复制标题
消费与多样化问题：文化杂食性、社会差异与外出就餐
DOI：
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发表时间：
1999
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
W. Olsen
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
A. Warde;Lydia Martens;W. Olsen
In the light of the work of Pierre Bourdieu, this paper begins by reviewing an argument that Western populations no longer recognise any fixed cultural hierarchy and that, instead, individuals seek knowledge of an increasingly wide variety of aesthetically equivalent cultural genres. Contrasting versions of this argument are isolated. Data concerning the frequency of use of different commercial sources of meals and the social characteristics of customers using different types of restaurant in England are examined. An attempt is made to infer the social and symbolic significance of variety of experience and, in particular, of familiarity with diverse ethnic cuisines. The findings are interpreted in terms of the complex role of consumption in personal assurance, communicative competence and social distinction. It is maintained that the pursuit of variety of consumer experience is a feature of particular social groups and that some specific component practices express social distinction.
