The Feminine Mystique By Pierre Bourdieu: An Analysis

Symbolic capitalism is a theory developed by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. According, to Bourdeiu each individual occupies a position they are not only defined by one class. There is cultural capital (cultural codes), economic capital (money) social capital (networks) these capitals are transformed into symbolic capitalism. It is resources accessible to an individual, which are honor, prestige and reputation. Symbolic capital is how a person is judged by their community. Additionally, symbolic capital is having the ability to name what you find desirable or undesirable, having the ability and power to be recognized as important. Bourdieu suggests “taste” is always negative because taste of society is the taste of the ruling class. Not only is it because individuals of different classes have different amounts of economic resources available to them but also, because there are also, non-economic resources and the distribution of this affects inequality. For instance, non-financial assets such as education, can promote social mobility beyond economic means. There is certainly a difference between class and wealth. Taste is socially constructed and related to our social position. For example, something that may be seen as fashionable in western society may …show more content…
In Betty Friedan book “ The Feminine Mystique “ she described the problems that white middle class women faced being denied equality with men. She believed women were being deprived of reaching their full human capacities. Talcott Parson’s a functionalist believed that the nuclear family was the perfect set up. The problem with Parson’s theory is it does not consider differences in other households of different race, and economic class. For instance, not all families are configured like those described by Parsons. Likewise, Betty Friedan does not consider experiences for people of color or in different