‘Colourful’ distinction: the role of ethnicity and ethnic orientation in cultural consumption

Abstract

Changes in the cultural field and in the ethnic make-up of Western societies render the relation between class distinctions and cultural consumption problematic. In multi-ethnic societies, ethnicity is expected to become increasingly important as a mechanism for cultural distinction. This article studies the relation between conventional class indicators of cultural consumption and ethnicity. This is done by taking three kinds of cultural capital into account, i.e., highbrow, popular and community-based cultural capital, and two dimensions of ethnicity, i.e., country of origin and ethnic orientation. Ethnic orientation is an indicator built for this purpose on Homi Bhabha's notion of hybrid identity to move beyond monolithic classifications such as country of origin. It becomes clear that, particularly with regard to highbrow culture, ethnic orientation surpasses conventional class indicators of distinction in cultural consumption such as educational attainment and age. Ethnicity as ethnic orientation also has a stronger effect than country of origin on the consumption of highbrow and popular culture. Additionally, it is shown that a strong orientation on the Western society leads to a higher number of visits not only to highbrow culture, but also to popular and community-based culture. The analyses are based on empirical data on cultural consumption in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.