An Analysis of Bourdieu's Theories on Taste, Class, and Power Dynamics

This essay delves into Pierre Bourdieu's theories on taste, class, and social distinction, exploring how these elements intertwine to shape social structures and power dynamics. It examines Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, cultural capital, and the classification struggles that arise as individuals navigate their social positions. The essay analyzes how taste, particularly in the context of food and restaurants, serves as a marker of class, with the dominant class using aesthetic stances to assert their social status. Through examples of food choices, restaurant design, and advertising, the essay illustrates how class struggles are propagated and how distinctions are created to reinforce social boundaries. The analysis covers the three types of attitudes towards culture connected to class positions, the role of authenticity, and how restaurants use menus and language to reflect and reinforce these struggles. Ultimately, the essay concludes that taste is a concealed exercise of power and a battlefield where cultural reproduction and legitimate power are expressed, influencing everyday choices and consumption patterns.

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Bourdieu on Distinction and classification struggle regarding taste in society to propagates
existing power structures
Class is an important concept in human life that defines the differences between different
groups of people within society. This means that the way people behave, the choices they make
and even the tastes that they have are supposed to be defined by the class distinction that exists
between them. This has been presented by Bourdieu who argues that classification struggles of
taste exist within the society as people try to live within the social status that is propagated by the
class that they belong (Rahkonen p.132). Through habitus, people perceive and categorize things
in the world since it is based on how one was raised thus creating the structural tastes that exist
in the society. Since human beings are social animals, they belong to social groups that are
defined by cultural elements of identity (Bourdieu p.170). These cultural identity elements define
what people see as appealing to what they see. The same is similar to tastes especially in food
practices and consumption where people tend to define the social class that they come from. This
means that in a market environment, class struggles exist as people make choices over the tastes
that fit them. This is propagated by the class struggles that have been created in the media to
differentiate between the classes.
Distinction is used to create tastes through classification and classifying the classifier
through creating differences that can be used to understand people. This implies that the
distinctions that people make within the society on what is beautiful and ugly, the distinguished

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and the vulgar are based on the social position that one holds within the society. Stewart (40)
adds that in this case, it means the choice of food and the choice of restaurants that people eat are
defined by the social position that people hold in society. This is because class constitutes spaces
that are defined by the distribution of economic and cultural capital which leads configuration of
lifestyle and tastes according to through mediation of the habitus (Bourdieu p.260). When
restaurants are opened, they are designed in a way that creates a distinction between the different
groups in the society to create a certain social status that defines the type of people that utilize
them. Thus the upper-class, the middle class and the lower class will all have distinguishing
factors that they look within a commodity. Since taste is related to class, it means that the
restaurants are supposed to have certain elements that reflect the nature of the people that they
seek to serve. For example, the design of the restaurant and the kind of cutlery that they use will
define the status of the restaurant. These items will become more expensive as one moves up the
social ladder.
Bourdieu argues that aesthetic stances are used to create an environment that allows
people within the society to assert their position and the social ranks that they hold. Here the
dominant classes will affirm their social status through the consumption of cultural forms that are
consecrated by institutions. In his characteristic of the food space, he argued that curry and light
meats like beef have been legitimized while non-light meats are not (Bourdieu p.246). By
legitimizing these foods, restaurants tend to create a social distinction through arbitrary
distinctions designed to assert or confirm status within the society. In this case, it means that the
foods sold in restaurants will depend on what has been legitimized as fitting the social group that
the restaurant serves. This is when created advertisements for fancy restaurants, the marketer will
focus on creating a brand for such a restaurant through focused on light-meats that are regarded

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as meals for the fancy people. Ashwood and Bell (632) add those esthetics allow people to
embody their attachments on the cultural tools that define their social power. This means that the
taste is regarded as a tool that people use to define their social status.
Advertisements are used to lure people towards products and services that restaurants
have. This means that every restaurant needs to have a specific taste that it seeks to serve. In this
case, Bourdieu conceived that the choices that people make for one restaurant over another are
based on the constant struggles of everyday life where people sample through tastes to determine
what is good (Arsel and Bean p. 903). Since taste through food is a cultural game, then it implies
that taste is the basis of consumption that people use to classify themselves. There are three types
of attitudes or dispositions towards the culture that are connected to class positions. The first is
the sense of distinction that belongs to the dominant class, the cultural goodwill belonging to the
middle-class and the necessary choice that belongs to the lower class. In this case, the dominant
class will always strive to distinguish itself from the other categories through a demarcation line
that differentiates them from others. This is seen in upper-class restaurants where the dominant
class tends to distinguish itself with a different taste that cannot be compared to other classes
(Asteriti p.199). This aspect of taste is not only reflected in the kind of foods that these
restaurants serve but rather through the kind of foods that they serve and the cultural aspects of
eating that determine the way people need to eat. Since the taste is limited to the dominant class
who are few, then it means that when the taste changes to a popular one that is similar across the
classes, then it has turned form distinct to vulgar. What happens here is a new taste has to be
invented to distinguish between the classes.
The existence of vulgar and distinct means that there is a struggle for good taste which is
a symbolic power struggle that exists within the consumer. This changes the preparation of meals

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and the menus to an art rather than a mere process (Friedman and Kuipers p.190). This implies
that chefs in fancy restaurants are regarded as artists rather than people who prepare the means.
Such chefs are famous and are regarded as culinary artists who create original and culinary art
that is to be consumed at an expensive price. For example, a meal prepared by the likes of Alice
Waters, Alain Ducasse, Thomas Keller, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten will be different from
the food that is prepared by ordinary chefs. Although the procedure is the same, the class
struggles to propagate the differences in the meal by seeing the famous cook as preparing a
master class piece of art. This makes the taste that such restaurants offer as being a distinction
between the social status and power that the restaurant displays.
Since tastes are culturally defined, then it means that the indicators of social status are
used in defining food menus to propagate these class struggles. This is common in the way
menus are labeled and the type of words that are used for them. The dominant class restaurants
and middle class or low-class restaurants will have different naming of the same foods on the
menu (Asteriti p.5). This implies that language is used to define the social status of the individual
which makes the same food different in two types of restaurants. For example, fancy and long
names are used for the upper class as a way of making their foods different from the rest. This
implies that fancy words are used and in some cases, the menus will have the foods named in
foreign languages to create distinctions that propagate class struggles. These struggles are
reflected in the way restaurants design and present their menus to their customers. The use of the
fancy and the non-fancy menus imply that there are class struggles where the dominant class
makes every effort to remain at the top while the middle class emulates these people as a way of
improving their status. These class struggles are reflected in the dominance of the upper class
who seem to protect their status so they remain as distinct as possible.

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Further, authenticity is used to differentiate the different social groups with the upper
class being concerned with authentic satisfaction while the rest of the consumers lack this
specific demand. This is the reason why expensive or fancy restaurants will rely on the creation
of authentic and historical continuity that defines the social class. For example, Cabrito al pastor
whole goats have been roasted in Mexico since the 1700s because they reflect the authenticity of
the group that uses them. The same is similar to Espresso chocolate in Turino which has been
operating since 1783 (Vihalem p. 5). This means that for Bourdieu high food cultures are
legitimate and authentic cultural tastes that exist while low culture tastes are illegitimate tastes
that stem from the popular, bland familiar and accessible foods. The class struggle is thus seen
from the fact legitimate tastes are very difficult to come by which is the reason they are sold very
expensively while illegitimate tastes are the ones that are popular and easily accessible making
them the low tastes and lacking the dominant class effect. Thus restaurants that sell legitimate
and authentic tastes showcase themselves as representing the upper-class group within the
population and make their foods rare to find. The availability of such foods only reflects the
social class limits that they seek to represent.
In conclusion, systems of classification exist to depict the class struggles of the society
that enhance internalized boundaries that define differences between groups. In this case, it
means that systems of classification exist as a sense of limit between different groups in society.
This is why Bourdieu suggests that distinctions are created in groups through class struggles that
tend to exert boundaries to different groups. Taste has been defined as a measure of class
struggle since it highlights the differences that exist within groups in society. This is the reason
why restaurants and eating places exist as measures of status where people seek to exert class
dominance. Thus taste exists as one of the battlefields where cultural reproduction and legitimate

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power are expressed. Taste is, therefore, a concealed exercise of power through creating status
amongst groups where every day struggles to determine a good taste. Therefore when advertising
for their foods, restaurants seek to display their class within the society.

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