Resumen

LAHIRE, Bernard. The individual and the mixing of styles: cultural discrepancies and the distinction of oneself. Sociologia, Problemas e Práticas [online]. 2008, n.56, pp.11-36. ISSN 0873-6529.

When we consider cultural practices and preferences in the light of intra-individual variation in behaviour, we arrive at an image of the social world that does not neglect individual singularities and avoids a cultural caricature of social groups. The principal fact that then stands out is that the frontier between “cultural legitimacy” and “cultural illegitimacy” not only separates the different social classes but also the different cultural practices and preferences of the same individuals, in all classes. Without putting into question the existence of social inequalities with regard to more legitimate cultural forms, this perspective allows us to demonstrate the high statistical frequency of individual cultural profiles composed of heterogeneous and dissonant elements. When we revert to the socio-historical conditions of the production of heterogeneous cultural profiles, we can draw the consequences of these frequent cultural discrepancies from the viewpoint of the interpretation of the social functions of culture and emphasize the interest of the study of intra-individual variations in behaviour within the framework of a sociology of dispositional and contextual plurality.

Palabras clave : individual heterogeneous profiles; cultural discrepancies; cultural legitimacy.

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