From Metallica to Mozart: Mapping the Cultural Hierarchy of Lifestyle Activities

Theories of cultural stratification argue that a widely shared cultural hierarchy legitimizes status differences and inequality. Yet, we know little about this hierarchy empirically. To address this limitation, we collected survey data in Denmark and asked respondents to rate the implied social rank of 60 activities, genres, and objects belonging to six lifestyle domains (music, food, performing arts, leisure, sport, and literature). We use ratings of social rank to infer about the cultural hierarchy, arguing that higher ratings imply higher perceived status. First, respondents link activities often considered highbrow (e.g., opera, caviar, and golf) with higher social rank than activities often considered lowbrow (e.g., heavy metal, nuggets, and boxing), suggesting that a cultural hierarchy exists. Second, ratings of implied social rank differ little by respondents’ objective and subjective socioeconomic position, suggesting that the cultural hierarchy is widely shared. Third, respondents bundle the 60 activities in a perceived highbrow, middlebrow, and lowbrow lifestyle, suggesting that “brows” are salient in distinguishing lifestyles. Overall, our results support the idea that a cultural hierarchy exists.

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