Media practice and class-making: The anticipation of stigma and the cultural middle-class habitus

The relationship between media practices and social inequality has been studied within a range of sub-disciplines in communication studies cultural sociology. In various, more or less direct, ways these point to the fact that habitus – socially formed class specific relations world generates certain tastes, lifestyles, preferences. When groups form relatively distinct practices, distance themselves from other groups, they reproduce their position, ‘make’ class. By analysing in-depth interviews with members an emerging middle-class, this study shows how class-making also manifests which people expect others would ‘look down’ on practices. anticipating stigma imagined others, middle-class stays line class-specific lifestyles thus cementing character space.