Cultural Capital Analysis: Societal Biases and Stereotypes Examined

This essay delves into the concept of cultural capital, defining it as the social assets a person possesses, including education, intellect, and mannerisms, as highlighted by Forbes and DiMaggio. It examines how cultural capital contributes to societal structures and social relations, often leading to social inequality due to its impact on economic stability and employment opportunities, particularly for those with limited access to education and skills. The essay discusses societal biases and stereotypes related to cultural capital, especially in contexts like the United States, where economic disparities create barriers to acquiring cultural capital. The author reflects on their personal experiences within a middle-class family and contrasts this with examples of individuals from challenging backgrounds who developed cultural capital through personal attributes. The essay concludes by highlighting the evolving nature of cultural capital and the influence of stereotyping and biases in shaping societal perspectives.

Running head: CULTURE ANTHROPOLOGY
CULTURE ANTHROPOLOGY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

CULTURE ANTHROPOLOGY
Cultural Capital refers to social assets of a person, which comprises of education,
intellect, the standard of living, good dressing sense and much more. A person having higher
educational degree, intellects and all the attributes mentioned is supposed to be socially stable
according to the perspective of society. There are many social paradigms that build social
relation, according to the social capital a person possess, which mainly consists of material and
symbolic goods, and society considers them worthy to be achieved. According to forbes.com
(2020), cultural capital also comprises of a person tastes, manners, skills and credentials, apart
from the materialistic belongings the society considers to be capital
According to DiMaggio, (2019), recently our society is having a tug of war between
skills and cultural capital, as materialistic achievement is mostly considered to be a social capital,
whereas real skilled people are not considered. The main issues related to cultural capital
nowadays, that are being observed in our society, is that it gives way to much social inequality,
as cultural capital is a type of asset which does not increase economic stability but it is rather the
asset exchanges to earn money, and stabilize yourself economically by getting employed. In this
case, poor people are unable to acquire enough degree, skills and education, which creates a
barrier for them to earn social capital, as they are unemployed. Even though many people have
the skills, but they are unable to earn social capital. This is considered a stereotype, which my
society is facing, and many countries are struggling due to the issues of poverty. Especially in
Unites States, poverty and economic stability is very poor, as many students have to work from a
tender age to support their family and does not have time to enhance their educational
qualification to increase their social capital. Although many places like United States are rich in
economy, but there are people who are economically weak and society does not considers them

CULTURE ANTHROPOLOGY
liable for having cultural capital as they have lack of money. This is one of the cultural and
social biases as well as stereotypes, which I have also faced while staying in the society.
According to my perspectives, I belong from a well-educated family, both of my parents
being able to get adequate education and they are exchanging their education to be employed in
good companies. Therefore, to conclude that as middle class family where both of the parents
have studied and earning, I am also liable to get educated and earn cultural capital through my
education, maintaining the legacy of my family cultural capital. As an example, many NBA stars
like Caron Butler, Allen Iverson and Dj Mbenga came from low economic backgrounds, and
disturbed childhood. Bulter has spent most his times in correctional facilities, Iverson grew up in
poor home, where there was shortage of food and water supply, and in case of Mbenga, most of
his family members were dead in civil war, and while fleeing from his country even he was in
risk of death. Therefore, by these examples, it can be understood that these people grew their
cultural capital through nurturing their personal characteristics rather than family background or
education.
Therefore, to conclude, there are mainly two themes, cultural capital is differentiated. It has
changes from time to time, and many perspectives have ben build up through stereotyping and
indulging in biases.
References
DiMaggio, P., 2019. Social structure, institutions, and cultural goods: The case of the United
States. In Social theory for a changing society (pp. 133-166). Routledge.

CULTURE ANTHROPOLOGY
forbes.com (2020) Education = Cultural Capital + Skills, Forbes. Available at:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesmarshallcrotty/2015/03/05/everything-ive-written-on-
education-comes-down-to-cultural-capital-and-skills/#4efbcac21808 (Accessed: 14 April 2020).