Bourdieu: The Role Of Division In Culture

Division plays a common role within culture. Specific groups built by common identifiers segment the population into various groups and subcultures which align with those identifiers. Both through the idea of stereotyping, but also through intentional acts of self-identifying, divisions run rampant throughout society. Masculine or feminine, male or female, these categories make up one of the largest divisions within today’s society. Masculinity, a term which encompasses a variety of properties relating to strength or vigor which is most commonly applied to men, can also be an ideal of which certain people wish to obtain. Chest binding, a practice done by those who wish to flatten the appearance of their breast tissue, plays into the strategies …show more content…
It is the physical embodiment of cultural capital, the deeply ingrained habits, skills, and dispositions that we possess due to our life experiences. This habitus controls every aspect of a person’s existence, and is the framework for creating any new societal norm. It is a learned ritual; however, it becomes learned in the subconscious of everyone to the extent of which it becomes in an important part of society which is passed down from person without even noticing. This structure isn’t natural; however, it is so rooted within our culture that it feels as though it’s natural rather than socially created by the events occurring around you. It is the power which is created by society and the cultures within it, the games which we commonly find ourselves playing cause these divisions within society. A person learns a specific set of skills and responses which correlate to the environment which they find themselves in most regularly, and thus they end up getting feel for the game. If a person grows up within a rough neighborhood, your habitus allows you to properly respond to the situations you commonly see in that environment, however, if you were to leave that environment, that same habitus—or structure of reactions—which worked in your favor at that moment would no longer assist you, and might, in fact, work against you in your new environment. If an action was socially …show more content…
Everything from clothing choices, food preferences, to even gender expression can be explained through one of intricate structures which structure the lives we live. Masculine properties are detailed by a list of traits, those traits are the structure, or habitus, of masculinity. To be masculine, you must submit to the habitus of masculinity, almost as though it’s a checklist. Those who identify themselves as masculine, or male, end up aligning themselves with the stereotypes associated with manliness. These stereotypes are part of the game associated with being masculine, so those who fit the stereotypes are thus committing to that habitus and it becomes the structure of actions that a person must take. Binding one’s chest is a step down the path of properly submitting to the habitus of masculinity within their personal gender