Cultural Omnivorousness and Status Inconsistency in Chile: The Role of Objective and Subjective Social Status

Abstract

Sociological research has long suggested that cultural participation is socially stratified. We build on this literature to discuss the role of the subjective and objective dimensions of stratification and how they are linked to practices of social distinction through cultural consumption. The aim of this study is to understand (1) the effect of subjective and objective social status on patterns of cultural participation and (2) the implications of the status inconsistency. We use a probabilistic and representative sample of the Chilean urban population older than the age of 18. Latent class analyses show that a significant proportion of Chileans can be considered cultural omnivores. Multinomial diagonal reference models suggest that omnivorousness is positively predicted by subjective and objective social status. Moreover, regarding inconsistency, objective social status is prominent in the explanation of omnivorousness for both status-underestimating and status-overestimating individuals. These findings provide important insights for discussing the implications of status inconsistency on cultural consumption.