The purpose of this study is to investigate the class characteristics of upper class golf participants, and understand the mechanisms of class reproduction in golf by delving into the strategies which these upper classes use to distinguish themselves ...
The purpose of this study is to investigate the class characteristics of upper class golf participants, and understand the mechanisms of class reproduction in golf by delving into the strategies which these upper classes use to distinguish themselves from other classes and solidify their hierarchical status. Three research questions have been set to achieve this goal.
First, what kind of class characteristics does the upper class golf participants possess? Second, what strategies are used for the distinction and the solidification of their class? Third, what are the mechanisms of class reproduction in golf culture?
To answer these questions, this study performed a case study against the members of 'S golf club'. By applying purposeful sampling method, seven members of the 'S golf club', who belonged to 「S party」, and one supplementary participant have been selected as the research participants. Data have been collected through participant observations, in-depth interviews, and collection of relevant materials, and were analysed using textual analysis. The results drawn out by implementing aforementioned methods are as follows.
First, comparison of the total amounts and component ratios of economical capital, cultural capital, and social capital revealed that the upper class holds much more capital than other classes, although slight differences existed between each cases. Having these capitals as a background, positions of the participants within social space were centered at a particular place. Through this phenomenon, it was confirmed that they share the same hierarchical status. It was also shown that these participants, who share the same status, also share the same habitus owing to the fact that they have similar hobbies and tastes. For these reasons, two class characteristics emerged; selective affinity, which inspire their hierarchical awareness, and exclusiveness of field, which, according to the principle of exclusion, thoroughly exclude those who do not meet the requirements.
Second, the research participants were distinguishing themselves from other classes with economical capital, cultural capital, and social capital. Specifically, the participants possessed quality golf memberships, and used several characteristics as the criteria of distinction such as economical capital devoted to extravagance, and materialized cultural capital which included temperate behavior, classic attire, and elegant manners. Also, they used social capital, which was formed around the status of their professions, for surreptitious distinctions from those who did not belong to their class. Having these distinctions as their ground, the participants implemented exclusive possession of time and subordination of relationship as strategies to proclaim their superior position and solidify their hierarchical status.
Third, in the mechanisms of class reproduction in golf, the legitimacy of the fields(cultural capital) that the research participants were accepting was acting as an apparatus that reinforces cultural privileges and reproduces classes. In the field of golf, legitimacy indicates cultural capital, which is instilled in one, such as temperate behavior and elegant manners. This kind of legitimacy is regulated by the golf participants within the field. The legitimacy approved within this relations is the one that have been inherited as a cultural capital among other hereditary properties, and subsequently, it is succeeded to the next generation. The legitimacy so descended serves as a standard to evaluate one's personality within the field, and sets limiting borders of classes in the field by doing so. Having those borders as the epicenter, the participants who enter the field of golf form class habitus by internalizing the structure of the field, and through this they select some behaviors and exclude others when playing golf. With this censorship of the field, golf culture reproduces unequal social structure.
Under these circumstances, the participants consider those who possess less cultural capital to be inferior than themselves, and from this thought a meconnaissance(misrecognze) derives. Through this meconnaissance the participants set themselves at a higher position and forms cultural hierarchy. When the meconnaissance lasts long enough, golf culture is justified as a high-class culture.
The factors that render this hierarchy of golf so acceptable are pouvoir symbolique and violence symbolique, which reveal themselves in the class distinction and solidification strategy. Through these the meconnaissance mechanism is continued and their status is retained, with them defining and imposing golf culture as an 'excellent hobby' to other classes. Therefore, through cultural capital, golf culture not only reproduces cultural privileges between generations, but also reproduces unequal social structures.