A Network Approach to the Puzzle of Women Cultural Participation - Kane - Against Bourdieu

7/31/2019 A Network Approach to the Puzzle of Women Cultural Participation - Kane - Against Bourdieu

1/23

A network approach to the puzzle of

womens cultural participation

Danielle Kane*

Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6299, USA

Abstract

This exploratory paper examines the interpenetration of gender and social networks in

predicting cultural consumption. The analyses use original data collected by the author on

421 students, American and foreign, at an elite university. In general, network density is

associated with participation in solidarity-producing activities and heterogeneity is associated

with increased high culture participation. However, network variables, especially network

diversity, emerge as much better predictors of womens cultural participation than of mens. I

conclude by suggesting that women may use cultural participation to draw symbolic bound-aries against men as well as against women from other network structures.

# 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.

1. Introduction

According to Bourdieu (1984), distinction is a key organizing principle of human

relations; dominant groups seek to maintain and legitimate their privilege by dis-

tinguishing themselves from lower-status groups. In democratic and capitalist

societies, the boundaries are symbolic but have causal force; access to higher socialand professional circles is granted or restricted according to an individuals cultural

capital, or knowledge of the culture and mores of the dominant class. A main focus

of Bourdieus work is how cultural consumption practices reflect and uphold these

boundaries.

An important critique of Bourdieus work is that he paid insufficient attention to

social connections (Erickson, 1996). Although individuals distinguish themselves

from others based on group membership (usually social classes for Bourdieu), he did

not address the role of personal networks, even though these networks are an

Poetics 32 (2004) 105127

www.elsevier.com/locate/poetic

0304-422X/$ - see front matter # 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.

doi:10.1016/j.poetic.2004.02.003

* Correspondence to: Department of Sociology, 113 McNeil, 3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA

19104-6299, USA.

E-mail address: [email protected] (D. Kane).
http://www.elsevier.com/locate/poetic/a4.3dmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.elsevier.com/locate/poetic/a4.3dhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/http://www.sciencedirect.com/http://www.sciencedirect.com/


2/23

important source of cultural resources (Erickson, 1996). A social network approach

can explore how the properties of a group affect members cultural resources and

shifts attention to the dynamics of symbolic boundary formation. Focusing on

dynamics could improve our ability to test Bourdieus theory outside its originalcontext. Currently these applications can become stymied by questions of the

importance of high culture per se for Bourdieus theory (e.g., Holt, 1997; Lamont

and Lareau, 1988). An understanding of dynamics, even if developed in the context

of understanding high culture participation, could be generalized to examine strati-

fication based on any cultural content and could lead to new questions about the

symbolic boundary formation process.

Some work has begun to explore links between social network characteristics and

cultural preferences (Relish, 1997; Erickson, 1996). Although in its early stages and

relying on proxy network indicators, this work has shown promising connections

between networks and culture that heighten the desire for conceptual refinement and

greater precision in measuring network characteristics.

In this exploratory paper, I will use a social network approach to explore the

relatively well-established, yet poorly understood puzzle of womens cultural parti-

cipation. As distinct from dominated racial and class subgroups (Hall, 1992;

Lamont and Lareau, 1988; Horowitz, 1983; Hebdige, 1979) women appear to assign

more legitimacy to high culture and consume greater levels than do men, the domi-

nant group (Bryson, 1996; DiMaggio and Mohr, 1983; DiMaggio, 1982; Bihagen

and Katz-Gerro, 2000); this trend was even noted occasionally by Bourdieu himself

(1984, p.108). Yet some work suggests that women actually receive less return thanmen on their greater high culture investment (Robinson and Garnier, 1985). There-

fore, women may be less able to transform cultural capital into economic capital,

and womens greater participation cannot be traced to class alone. How, then, do

women use culture to draw symbolic boundaries?

A social network approach could demonstrate its usefulness to our understanding

of symbolic boundaries by giving new insight into the gendered dynamics of cultural

participation. To demonstrate the utility of a network approach we must first

establish whether calculated network measures are associated with patterns in cul-

tural participation. We can then consider whether these measures can shed light on

womens greater cultural participation.

2. Networks and cultural participation

Linking networks with cultural participation requires a consideration of the

possible mechanisms that would underlie this linkage. Research on networks and

culture thus far has focused on network heterogeneity (Erickson, 1996; Relish,

1997). This paper attempts to provide a more comprehensive picture of network

effects on cultural participation by building on the heterogeneity research as well as

outlining the role of network density.Network heterogeneity measures the diversity of persons in a respondents

network; it implies integration into several spheres of society and is considered

106 D. Kane / Poetics 32 (2004) 105127


3/23

advantageous for information-gathering (Marsden, 1987: 124). Sociologists of

culture have linked network heterogeneity to cultural omnivorousness, (Peterson

and Simkus, 1992; Relish, 1997; Erickson, 1996), or the consumption of a wide

variety of culture, both high and popular.This initial evidence for an effect of networks on culture heightens the desire for

greater precision in examining this linkage. Culture-network studies are limited by a

lack of calculated network heterogeneity scores, relying instead on proxy measures.1

Moreover, to my knowledge, no attention has been given to the relationship

between network density and cultural consumption. Finally, Ericksons (1996)

operationalization of cultural consumption has been challenged for its focus on

sheer acquaintance with cultural genres. Something so easily acquired precludes

acquaintance as a form of capital. What allows entrance into the social circles of

cultural elites is not simple recognition of specific restaurants, sports stars, or books,

but the ability to sustain detailed conversations that are predicated upon the ability

to enjoy (i.e. decode) difficult. . .cultural objects (Holt, 1997: 106). A more rigor-

ous test will therefore examine network effects on actual participation rather than

cultural familiarity. In sum, a useful theory of networks and culture that can inform

our understanding of symbolic boundaries will use direct, calculated measures of

heterogeneity and density on cultural participation.

2.1. Heterogeneity

Heterogeneity has been valued in the business environment for channeling pro-fessionally strategic information to those in diverse networks (Granovetter, 1973;

Campbell et al., 1986). The implication of this finding is that heterogeneity increases

exposure to less-readily accessible information; different types of people tap into a

greater number and variety of networks and act as conduits of information from

sources otherwise removed from ego (Granovetter, 1973).

In our case, we are interested in exposure to cultural information, and high culture

is generally less visible and less accessible than popular culture. For instance, the

majority of television and radio stations broadcast popular culture material and

very little high culture programming. Like the Christmas music and displays that

become ubiquitous in December in the United States, popular culture may feelvirtually unavoidable. By contrast, one usually must make an effort to consume high

cultureseek out programming on publicly-sponsored broadcasting or find live

performances.

This lower visibility and accessibility suggests three reasons why we might expect

high heterogeneity to be associated with increased high culture participation. First, a

network with a substantial amount of heterogeneity in its members has increased

1 Because the GSS Network Module and the Culture Module do not appear in the same survey, Relish

(1997) relied on proxy measures of networks (number of association memberships, type of community

residence, and geographic mobility). Ericksons work has perhaps been the most systematic and detailed

in her study of networks and culture: respondents indicated whether they knew someone in different

categories of occupations and whether their contact was a close friend or relative.

D. Kane / Poetics 32 (2004) 105127 107
http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-


4/23

odds of including a member tapped into another network that circulates high culture

knowledge, who might then serve as a conduit of this taste to ego (Mark, 2003).

Because homophily in friendship ties results both from the prior attributes that

attracted ego to alter and from alters influence in their continued association(Kandel, 1978), a friendship tie based on some other form of homophily may

develop into shared participation in high culture activities if one person has a taste

for high culture.

Second, the ability to sustain relationships with diverse others may indicate an

ability to appreciate culture that is not immediately accessible. In other words, while

individuals in groups of similar others can derive comfort from a shared (and per-

haps unspoken) understanding, associating with different others assumes that at

least in some matters this understanding and its attendant comfort will not be pre-

sent. That this is true may be indexed by the high degree of, for instance, racial

homogeneity in the vast majority of close relationships (Marsden, 1987).

Sustaining social ties with different others is probably facilitated by a willingness

to take a different perspective from ones own and by a tolerance for sometimes not

understanding or feeling understood. In short, a willingness to make an extra effort in

social relationships may indicate a willingness to make an extra effort in appreciating

culture. Alternatively, the necessity of making an effort in social relationships in diverse

networks may inculcate the willingness or even desire for culture that is not immediately

decodable. (That is, the network structure may have a direct effect on personality

rather than act solely as an indicator of an underlying personal orientation.)

By contrast, a desire for easy, automatic communication with others that requireslittle effort and is more typical of a network in which all members are the same

would seem to mitigate against a taste for high culture, which often entails highly

symbolic modes of communication that are not so effortlessly enjoyed as popular

culture. Finally, both high culture participation and diverse networks may indicate

an underlying desire for a cosmopolitan identity, since both high culture and diverse

networks are associated with high status people (Bourdieu, 1984; Goldstein and

Warren, 2000; Campbell et al., 1986).

These three heterogeneity mechanismsincreasing odds of exposure, inculcating

the expectation of or even the desire for challenging cultural material, and indicating

a desire for a cosmopolitan identityhave different implications for both networktheory and the sociology of culture. Nonetheless, in all of these accounts, we would

expect network heterogeneity to be associated with high culture participation.

2.2. Density

Despite the intense interest in density in the network literature (e.g., Fischer, 1982;

Wellman, 1979; Kadushin, 1982; Haynie, 2001), to my knowledge no work has

examined the links between network density and cultural participation. In the net-

work literature, density is associated with higher pressure to conform to group

expectations but also with high social support and solidarity (e.g., Burt, 1992;Fischer, 1982). Common to these potential disadvantages and advantages of a dense

network is an expectation of intense social engagement. Just as the habit of making

108 D. Kane / Poetics 32 (2004) 105127


5/23

an effort in social relations may translate into the habit of making an effort to

decode high culture, we might expect that individuals accustomed to intense social

engagement might also seek out a commensurate level of social intensity in their

leisure activities.Intensity in social relations often revolves around the problems and benefits

associated with social solidarity. Interaction ritual (IR) theory, a strand of Dur-

kheimian theory, offers some indication of what types of cultural activities would be

likely to generate feelings of solidarity. According to IR theory, three elements are

needed for a ritual or event to produce high levels of solidarity: (1) the physical

assembly of a group of people; (2) their common focus of attention and mutual

awareness of it; and (3) a common emotional mood (Collins, 1988). We would

therefore expect the effect of density to vary with the number of solidarity require-

ments met by cultural activities.

Cultural activities differ in the extent to which they fulfill these requirements.

Attending a sports event or a dance or musical performance, for instance, generally

fills all of the solidarity requirements and would therefore seem to generate greater

solidarity than visiting an art museum, where there is little common focus of atten-

tion or shared mood (as visitors look at different works of art) and where any

physical assembly is temporary (as visitors move from room to room on their own).

We would therefore expect higher density to be associated with attending a sports

event or performance than with visiting an art museum. Network density, therefore,

has the added ability to generate specific predictions and can explain variations in

participation among cultural activities, even among different high culture activities,a topic that has received little attention from sociologists of culture.

2.3. Gender

While Bourdieu (1984) conceived of symbolic boundary formation as a process

engaged in by the dominant class, subsequent work has addressed the ways in which

non-dominant classes also draw symbolic boundaries. For instance, Lamont (2000)

found that black workers distinguished themselves from white workers who seem

motivated by middle class egotism. Waters (2001) has examined the ways in which

West Indian immigrants use symbolic boundaries to distinguish themselves fromAfrican Americans.

While boundary formation in the workplace based on gender has been discussed

at least implicitly (for a review, see Lamont and Molnar, 2002), womens use of

culture in symbolic boundary formation has been relatively unexplored. Lamont

(1992, 2000) is well-known for some of the most nuanced work on symbolic

boundary formation, but her work has focused on men. Bourdieu remarked on

womens greater proclivity for artistic pursuits (1984: 105, 108) but directed little

theoretical attention to this phenomenon. He himself appeared ambivalent about

the role of gender vis-a` -vis class. At times he writes of gender as a social division

within a class (1984:107); elsewhere he conceives of gender as a stratifying mechan-ism that creates classes (Swartz, 1997, p. 155). (For a feminist critique of Bourdieus

approach to gender, see McCall, 1992).

D. Kane / Poetics 32 (2004) 105127 109


6/23

In explaining the greater, more coherent high culture participation of adolescent

girls, DiMaggio (1982, p. 198) writes that high cultural involvement may have been

part of an identity kit that academically successful, high status girls, but not similar

boys, possessed. This suggests that cultural participation circulates through thenetworks of upper-class girls but not boys. Because status is conveyed by a social

network (Fuchs, 2001; White, 1992), and because DiMaggio (1982) links status to

cultural involvement for girls, we would expect to find a stronger connection

between network characteristics and cultural participation for females than for

males.

To sum up, following the lead of research that ties proxy indicators of network

heterogeneity to cultural omnivorousness, I posit a connection between network

characteristics and specific forms of cultural consumption. I suggest that high het-

erogeneity will be related to greater high culture participation and that high

density will be associated with activities that produce high group solidarity.

Based on DiMaggios argument that cultural participation plays a key role in

girls but not boys identity kits, I suggest that women may draw symbolic

boundaries differently from men and that womens networks will be especially likely

to circulate cultural activities as a form of cultural capital. For this reason, I expect

to find more evidence of network effects on womens cultural participation than on

mens.

3. Data and variables

3.1. Data

Because data including network and cultural measures are unavailable, original

data were collected for this paper. In Bourdieus theory the education system plays a

key role in elite students accumulation of cultural capital, so the university seemed

to be a prime setting for exploring whether network dynamics are related to this

accumulation. This paper reports data on 421 incoming undergraduate and gradu-

ate students at an elite university, part of a larger longitudinal study of networks and

culture.As an inducement to participate, each student received $5 and a chance to win

$1000 in a raffle. Surveys were distributed at required orientation and welcome

programs for graduate students and in the undergraduate dormitory with the largest

freshmen population. Ninety percent of entering graduate students who attended the

required orientation or welcome program and 60 percent of incoming freshmen in

the targeted dormitory completed the survey. Students completed a background

questionnaire, a battery of items from the World Values Survey (Inglehart and

Baker, 2000), items from the General Social Survey(GSS) 1993 Culture Module, and

a network survey. Students completed these materials within two weeks of their

arrival, and many respondents had arrived only days before taking the survey.(Results on networks and cultural participation therefore are based on the year

previous to enrollment at this university.)

110 D. Kane / Poetics 32 (2004) 105127


7/23

3.2. Network instrument

There has been little consistency in the network measures used by sociologists of

culture. Network variables have been represented in some quantitative studies byproxy indicators, such as geographic mobility since age 16, number of associations

to which respondent claims membership, and the type of community in which the

respondent resides (Relish, 1997). Erickson (1996) used the most developed measure

of network heterogeneity but did not examine ties among alters. To my knowledge

no study has examined the effects of density on cultural participation.

To improve precision, I used an instrument similar to those used in large,

network-oriented datasets such as the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent

Health and the General Social Survey (GSS) Network Module. The network survey

in this study asked students to list up to six alters and to complete a profile for each

name listed, including the alters gender, race, religion, nationality, and source of

tie (From where do you know this person?). A network matrix allowed the

respondent to indicate whether each alter knew the other alters listed.

Network research thus far has often emphasized friendship ties, perhaps at the

expense of other types of network ties that are salient for respondents. The GSS

Module, for instance, asked respondents to list people with whom they discussed

important matters, a strategy which could be expected to elicit reasonably strong

ties, with prominent representation of kin among those cited (Marsden, 1987). The

over-representation of strong ties in discussion networks may be particular to the

United States. For instance, the GSS (discussion network) name generator used inan urban Chinese sample elicited networks that included intimates and non-

intimates, including co-workers (Ruan, 1998).

This study sought to capture a broader group of types of ties and to make

networks comparable across respondents cultural/national backgrounds. To that

end, each respondent was asked to list up to two people in three specific categories:

(1) people with whom they studied or worked; (2) people with whom they spent

leisure time; and (3) people with whom they discussed important matters.

3.3. Dependent variables

The 1993 GSS Culture Module acted as the model for the questions on this section

of the survey. Respondents were given a list of activities and asked if they partici-

pated in each within the last 12 months (that is, for the year preceding their arrival

at this university; for foreign students this usually means that participation took

place in their home countries). The list and question wording were based on the GSS

Culture Module. High culture activities included: visiting an art museum or gallery,

playing a musical instrument, attending a classical music performance (Western or

non-Western), and attending a ballet or other classical dance performance. Other

cultural activities included: going to movies, attending a sports event, and reading a

popular magazine.I predicted that network heterogeneity would be associated with increased parti-

cipation in high culture activities. I also predicted that high density would be

D. Kane / Poetics 32 (2004) 105127 111


8/23

positively associated with participation in a high-solidarity-producing activity and

would be negatively related to low-solidarity-producing activities. Based on IR the-

ory, we would predict that high density would be positively related to sports event

attendance, as well as attending dance and classical music performances. These cul-tural activities provide a physical assembly of people with a common focus of

attention and an awareness of that common focus, which in turn leads to a shared

emotional tone. In the case of sports events, there are also symbols of membership

that are enacted through team mascots and team colors.

By the same token, density should be negatively related to novel-reading, maga-

zine-reading, and museum attendance, all activities that tend to be pursued in a

more solitary way and generally do not fulfill IR solidarity-generating criteria.

Musical instruments can be played alone or in a group, so I make no predictions

regarding this activity. Because heterogeneity can increase odds of exposure to less-

accessible high-culture activities, inculcate a preference for challenging cultural

material, or indicate a desire for a cosmopolitan identity, I expected that networks

high in heterogeneity would be associated with increased high culture participation.

Finally, I predicted that because of the intense nature of dense networks, the positive

effects of heterogeneity on high culture participation would be amplified for

respondents in dense networks.

Table 1 lists the frequencies for participation in all cultural activities. Consistent

with findings for the GSS 1993 Culture Module sample, popular culture activities

garnered the most support (Marsden and Swingle, 1994). Rates of participation for

this sample were far higher than for the GSS Culture Module sample for all culturalactivities. Ninety-eight percent of this sample had gone to a movie in the past 12

months as compared to 70 percent in the GSS sample. Seventy-one percent of this

sample had attended a sporting event during the past year as compared to 54 percent

of the GSS sample.

The sample for this study was nearly twice as likely to have participated in high-

culture activities: 79 percent visited a museum as compared to 41 percent of the GSS

Table 1

Percentage participation in popular and high culture activities during the past 12 months

Activity Percentage of

sample participating

Percentage of GSS culture

module sample participatinga

High culture

Visiting Museum 79% (414) 41% (1593)

Playing instrument 46% (414) 23% (1590)

Attending dance performance 36% (413) 20% (1593)

Reading great literature 82% (413) NAb

Other cultural activities

Going to movie 98% (413) 70% (1594)

Reading popular magazine 92% (414) NAb

Attending sports event 71% (414) 54% (1594)a Numbers are cited in Marsden and Swingle, 1994.b Respondents in the GSS sample were not asked these items (Davis et al., 2000).

112 D. Kane / Poetics 32 (2004) 105127


9/23

sample; 46 percent had played a musical instrument as compared to the 23 percent

of the GSS sample; and 36 percent of this sample had attended a dance perfor-

mance, as compared to 20 percent of the GSS sample. Consistent with the cultural

omnivore hypothesis, a comparison of the rates of participation from the nationallyrepresentative GSS sample and this sample, which is skewed toward higher educa-

tion levels, indicates that higher education is related to greater participation in all

types of cultural activities.

Table 2 shows cultural participation by gender. Womens participation is

generally higher than mens. Consistently higher rates of cultural participation

(usually high culture participation) generally connote a symbolic boundary.

Table 2

Gender differences in cultural participation during last 12 months

Male mean Female mean Difference

N=209a N=203

High Culture

Visiting museum 0.79 (0.03) 0.79 (0.03) 0.00

Playing Instrument 0.44 (0.03) 0.48 (0.04) 0.04

Attending classical concert 0.31 (0.03) 0.44 (0.03) 0.13

Attending Ballet 0.27 (0.03) 0.45 (0.04) 0.18

Reading a Novel 0.80 (0.03) 0.85 (0.02) 0.05

Other cultural activities

Going to movie 0.97 (0.01) 0.98 (0.01) 0.01Reading popular magazine 0.88 (0.02) 0.95 (0.02) 0.07

Attending sports event 0.76 (0.30) 0.66 (0.03) 0.10

a N=208 for Movie Attendance. Standard errors in parentheses.

Table 3

Descriptive statistics for control variables and network variablesb

N Descriptive stat.c

Fathers educationa 403 3.41 (0.80)

Proportion in academic program 405 0.60

Proportion female 412 0.48

Proportion of urban residence 409 0.51

Proportion graduate student 414 0.47

Proportion U.S. citizen 414 0.51

Mean network density 385 0.67 (0.29)

Mean network racial diversity 393 0.20 (0.26)

Mean network relig. diversity 362 0.37 (0.31)

Mean network gender diversity 398 0.71 (0.32)

a Fathers education is measured on a scale from 1 to 4.1=07 years, 2=812 years, 3=1316 years,

and 4=>16 years.b The category of Other includes students from: South America (3% of the total); the Middle East and

North Africa (1% of the total); Sub-Saharan Africa (1% of the total); and Carribbean (


10/23

Moreover, attending a sports event, an activity traditionally associated with a male

identity, is the only activity for which women have a lower rate of participation.

3.4. Independent variables

Network density measures the proportion of possible ties in a respondents

network that are actually present. The average density for the sample was 0.67 (see

Table 3). The mean for this sample is close to the 0.61 found by Marsden (1987) for

the GSS Network Module sample, which is higher than the 0.44 reported by Fischer

for his regional sample (1982). (Like Marsden (1987) and distinct from Fischer

(1982), I include networks of size 2, which Marsden found to increase average

density.)

Fig. 1 reveals that the density distribution for the sample is skewed left, with about

29 percent of the cases having perfectly dense networks. The density distribution is

similar to that found for the GSS Module (Marsden, 1987).

3.5. Heterogeneity

Because all information in the alters profiles were nominal characteristics,

heterogeneity was measured using the index of qualitative variation (IQV) (Agresti

and Agresti, 1977, p. 208), following Marsdens example (1987). The IQV provides

an intuitive metric for measuring diversity among qualitative variables. A standard-

ized version of the diversity index is

I 1 p2

= 1 1=k

Network heterogeneity was calculated for race/ethnicity, religion, gender, and

nationality. Nationality heterogeneity measures had no systematic effect on cultural

consumption and are omitted from the analyses.

Fig. 1. Network density histogram.

114 D. Kane / Poetics 32 (2004) 105127


11/23

Ethnicity and race of alters were classified into nine categories of descent: Asian,

African, European, Hispanic, and Other. In Fig. 2, scaling on the left axis applies to

homogeneous cases, while the scale on the right applies to all other cases. (Two scales

were used to illustrate better the shape of the distribution of the non-homogeneouscases.) Fig. 2 reveals that racial heterogeneity is skewed right, with about 59 percent

of the cases having completely homogeneous networks with respect to race/ethni-

city. This is a much lower figure than that found in the GSS Module, where about 92

percent of respondents networks are perfectly homogeneous (Marsden, 1987:125).

The average racial heterogeneity was 0.19, as compared to the mean of 0.05 for

the GSS (Marsden, 1987:126). The greater racial heterogeneity may result from the

greater affluence of the sample, since a positive relationship has been found between

SES and heterogeneity (e.g., Goldstein and Warren, 2000; Campbell, 1986). Within

the sample, however, there was only a weak, nonsignificant correlation between

racial heterogeneity and fathers education. Moreover, the broader range of ties

elicited in this sample could increase the likelihood of racially or ethnically diverse

alters, as compared with the discussion networks examined in the GSS which drew

heavily on kinship as a source of ties (a finding consistent with prior research,

according to Marsden). The prevalence of kin-based ties is related to decreased race/

ethnic heterogeneity (Marsden, 1987).

Descriptions of the religious preferences of alters were grouped into six categories:

Agnostic/Atheist, Catholic, Protestant, Islamic, Jewish, and Other. The average

religious heterogeneity score was 0.37, and the distribution is skewed right. About

36 percent of the cases report networks that are completely homogeneous withrespect to religion (Fig. 3).

Consistent with the pattern in the GSS Network Module, there was a higher

degree of gender heterogeneity in this sample than of any other type. The mean

gender heterogeneity in this sample was 0.71, roughly equivalent to the 0.68 mean

found in the GSS (Marsden, 1987). The data for this sample are more sharply

skewed, however. While for the GSS sample 37 percent of the respondents had

Fig. 2. Network ethnic heterogeneity histogram.

D. Kane / Poetics 32 (2004) 105127 115


12/23

networks where the index of qualitative variation was 0.90 or greater (Marsden,

1987), for this sample, about 56 percent had networks of 0.90 or greater. Whereas 22

percent of GSS respondents had networks of only one sex, only 13 percent of this

sample had gender-homogeneous networks (Fig. 4).Racial heterogeneity has a significant correlation of 0.31 with religious hetero-

geneity, suggesting that although the two are related, each measure taps a distinct

aspect of network heterogeneity. Gender heterogeneity is not correlated with racial

or religious heterogeneity. Interestingly, no measure of heterogeneity has a

significant correlation with density, suggesting that these two network characteristics

do refer to autonomous phenomena. (For Correlation Matrix, see Appendix A.)2 It

is also possible, however, that this lack of correlation is related to the nature of this

sample: perhaps young elites are sufficiently cosmopolitan to have a great deal of

heterogeneity in the types of people they know, regardless of how close-knit the

group is. The interrelation of density and heterogeneity, therefore, would be a

fruitful topic for further research.

Socioeconomic status can be challenging to measure for an international sample,

as there is no common metric for comparing income and occupation. This paper

uses fathers level of education as proxy for socioeconomic status. Respondents

came from well-educated families; the mean category for fathers level of education

was 1316 years (at least some college), and more than half of the sample (55 per-

cent) reported that their fathers had more than 16 years of education. Since experi-

ence in the education system is central to Bourdieus argument, I include a variable

measuring the amount of time spent in the education system: Because the sample is

Fig. 3. Network religious heterogeneity histogram.

2 A network size variable had no significant effects and was omitted from the models in the interests of

space. The networks reported here were much larger than those reported in the GSS Network Module.

Whereas nearly a quarter of the respondents for the GSS had networks of size 0 or 1, less than 2 percent

of this sample had networks of that size. Less than 6 percent of the GSS sample had networks of size 6 or

more, while half (51 percent) of this sample had networks of size 6. (Respondents could enter only up to

six alters.) The mean network size of the GSS sample was 3; for this sample the mean was 5.

116 D. Kane / Poetics 32 (2004) 105127
http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-


13/23

drawn from a university population, the two categories are undergraduate and

graduate. Forty-seven percent of the sample were graduate students. Finally,

I adopt Ericksons (1996) native-born variable by creating a dummy for U.S.

residence. Fifty-one percent of the sample were American citizens.Recent research that has attempted to refine and apply Bourdieus theory has iden-

tified new factors that can be used to explain cultural participation and stratification.

Some research has suggested that Bourdieus findings in Distinction were particular to

Paris; more generally, urban residents may be unique in their cultural preferences (e.g.,

Lamont, 1992; Crane, 1992). Fifty-one percent of the respondents described their home

residence as urban. (The referent category was rural and suburban residence.) Other

research has raised the importance of variation in cultural participation by sub-

group. Unfortunately, the data did not have sufficient intra-region variation on race

to use this as an independent variable. Forty-eight percent of the sample was female.

3.6. Statistical models

For the seven cultural activities, respondents were asked if they had participated

at least once during the last year. The dependent variables are dichotomous, so I use

logistic regression models to analyze the role of network variables and control vari-

ables in predicting cultural participation. The rate of movie-going was so high (98

percent of the sample had gone to a movie in a theater in the past twelve months)

that models could not be fit, so this variable was dropped from the analyses. In

order to examine the potential for different dynamics that may govern womenscultural participation, I use separate models for men and for women to test the

effects of density and diversity.3

Fig. 4. Network gender heterogeneity histogram.

3 In order to check for any potential bias resulting from missing data, a mean substitution procedure

with missing data dummies was employed. Missing data had a significant effect on having played an

instrument for certain model specifications, so findings for this variable should be interpreted with

caution. Because the missing data dummies in general were not significant and given that the mean

substitution procedure is known to artificially reduce standard errors (Allison, 2000), only cases with

complete data are used in the following models.

D. Kane / Poetics 32 (2004) 105127 117
http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-


14/23

Table 4

Logistic regression coefficients of cultural activities on network characteristicsa

Sporting

event

Museum Instrument Dance

perfomance

Popular

magazine

Network density 1.11 (0.52)* 1.12 (0.52)* 0.32 (0.42) 0.31 (0.45) 1.54 (0

Network racial heterogeneity 0.31 (0.64) 0.31 (0.58) 0.76 (0.48) 1.15 (0.50)* 0.10 (0

Network religious heterogeneity 0.62 (0.51) 0.79 (0.50) 0.82 (0.42)* 0.39 (0.44) 1.45 (0

Network gender heterogeneity 0.01 (0.45) 0.37 (0.42) 00.05 (0.36) 0.91 (0.43)* 0.29 (0Intercept 0.94 0.83 0.85 2.32** 1.28

N 324 324 324 323 324

Pseudo R square 0.29 0.06 0.08 0.12 0.08

Notes: ***


15/23

4. Results and discussion

Models were fit for each of the seven cultural activities using logistic regression.

Control variables generally were not significant in these models; possibly the vari-ables outlined in the culture literature as important may not be the best predictors

for a student sample. For this reason and for ease of interpretation, the following

tables present only the coefficients of the network characteristics. Tables of coeffi-

cients for control variables can be found in Appendix B.

The findings reported in Table 4 provide consistent support for the hypothesized

link between network characteristics and cultural participation. Six of seven cultural

activities were significantly predicted by at least one network measure.

4.1. Density

Those with perfectly dense networks were three times more likely than those from

sparse networks to have attended a sports event in the past year. Moreover, there

was a negative relationship between network density and art museum attendance:

students from dense networks were only a third as likely as students from sparse

networks to have visited a museum in the past 12 months.

These findings are consistent with the predictions of IR theory. Sports events

fulfill all of the solidarity-producing criteria outlined in IR theory: a physical

assembly of people, common focus of attention and mutual awareness of it, and a

shared emotional tone. While art museums bring visitors into contact with oneanother, there is no physical assembly of the same group of people for any dura-

tion. Visitors move through the rooms of a museum or gallery as they look

at different works of art with neither common focus of attention nor common

emotional mood.

In addition, those in perfectly dense networks were more than four and a half

times more likely than those in sparse networks to have read a popular magazine

in the last 12 months. I suggested earlier that popular music performances were

likely to generate a high degree of solidarity, and it is possible that popular maga-

zines allow readers to participate vicariously in the high solidarity-producing

popular entertainment industry. Moreover, articles in popular magazines may beshared with and discussed among social networks, heightening the aspect of group

participation.

Why is there no density effect on attending a classical music or dance perfor-

mance? These performances do feature the physical assembly of a stable group of

people with a common focus of attention and common mood (Collins, 1988). This

emotional tone tends to be notably more subdued than at sports events, however.

While audience members might become emotionally involved with a symphony, the

etiquette of attending these performance precludes the sort of emotional outbursts

associated with attending sports events. From another perspective we might say that

at high culture performances emotional engagement is expected to be experienced as(and contained within) an individual, while sports events (and popular music

performances) allow this engagement to be experienced as a group.

D. Kane / Poetics 32 (2004) 105127 119


16/23

Table 5

Logistic regression coefficients of cultural activities on network characteristics: mena

Sporting

event


performance

Popular

magazin

Network density 1.34 (0.73)y 0.43 (0.66) 0.14 (0.55) 0.04 (0.62) 1.17 (Network racial heterogeneity 1.52 (1.15) 0.09 (0.89) 0.36 (0.74) 1.22 (0.84) 0.95 (

Network religious heterogeneity 0.62 (0.90) 0.01 (0.79) 1.00 (0.65) 0.13 (0.74) 1.74 (

Network gender heterogeneity 0.86 (0.73) 0.44 (0.59) 0.08 (0.52) 0.69 (0.66) 0.44 (

Intercept 0.99 0.36 1.28 2.15 2.60

N 167 167 166 166 166

Pseudo R square 0.27 0.04 0.08 0.06 0.09

Notes: ***


17/23

4.2. Heterogeneity

As predicted, high heterogeneity was associated with increased high culture parti-

cipation. Those with racially heterogeneous networks were about three times morelikely than those with homogeneous networks to have attended a classical dance

performance and were more than four and a half times as likely to have read a novel

considered to be great literature. Students with networks high in religious hetero-

geneity were nearly two and a half times more likely to have played an instrument in

the past 12 months; there was also a modest effect of religious heterogeneity on

attending a classical dance performance.

Overall, however, heterogeneity always had a positive effect on cultural partici-

pation, usually of a sizeable magnitude. Notably, where heterogeneity effects were

strongest (namely for playing an instrument, attending a dance performance, and

reading great literature), density was not related to cultural participation. Con-

versely, where density had an effect (sports, museum attendance, and reading a

popular magazine), heterogeneity was unrelated.

Significantly, network patterns cut across the standard categorization of cultural

activities (such as those used in the GSS Culture Module). Density measures cut

across the highbrowlowbrow distinction by predicting both sports and art museum

attendance. Heterogeneity measures predicted the passive activities of novel-reading

and ballet attendance as well as the active participation in music, namely the playing

of a musical instrument. The undermining of conventional dichotomies used to

categorize cultural participation suggests that social networks may give rise to theirown set of symbolic boundaries that reconfigure patterns of cultural participation.

4.3. Gender

Based on past research (DiMaggio, 1982) I hypothesized that different dynamics

may govern womens cultural participation. Tables 5 and 6 examine network effects

on mens and womens cultural participation, respectively, and reveal that there are

many more network predictors of womens participation than there are of mens.

Notably, network predictors are associated with activities that had the largest

gender differences in rates of participation (classical music performance, classicaldance performance, reading a magazine, and attending a sports event).

For men, there are only two, somewhat surprising, network effects: density

increases sports attendanceas predictedbut also novel-reading. This latter find-

ing is an anomaly that is difficult to explain. For women, network effects are con-

sistent with predictions. Density decreases high culture participation: density

actually decreases novel-reading (although this effect is significant only at the 0.1

level) as well as museum attendance. On the other hand, density increases the like-

lihood of having read a popular magazine. Overall, for women, density is associated

with decreased high culture participation. By contrast, diversity was always asso-

ciated with increased high culture participation for women, and the effect was oftensizeable. Women in networks high in religious heterogeneity were five times more

likely to have visited a museum than were women in homogeneous networks; high-

D. Kane / Poetics 32 (2004) 105127 121


18/23

diversity women were more than two and a half times as likely to have gone to a

classical music concert. Women with networks high in racial diversity were almost

five times more likely than women in homogeneous networks to have attended a

classical dance performance. Finally, gender heterogeneity gains some significance(at the .1 level) in the models for women: women with networks high in gender

diversity were three times more likely to have gone to a classical dance performance

than were women with homogeneous networks.

Tables 46 suggest some ways in which gender and networks may interpenetrate

in symbolic boundary formation. Erickson (1996) argues that the non-class-based

sports interest is one of the most important cultural activities for coordinating work

relations, and she speculates that women may be at a disadvantage relative to men in

this cultural regime. The findings from this paper are consistent with Ericksons

speculation. Sports were the only activity where mens participation was higher.

More precisely, men in high-density networks have the greatest advantage because

this capital circulates in their networks and leads to greater sports attendance,

increasing further accumulation of this capital.

Moreover, Table 6 reveals more information about gender differences in partici-

pation in high culture. With network predictors we see that it is not simply women

as a category who participate more in high culture, but specifically high diversity

women and low density women. This suggests that women may be using culture to

draw symbolic boundaries not only against men but also against women with

different network structures.

How can one symbolically exclude a person with a particular network structure?Some research has suggested that network structures give rise to particular person-

ality structures and moral outlooks (Burt, 1998; Kane, 2003); negative reactions

against certain personalities or moral views may reflect different underlying network

structures. Bryson (1996) has already demonstrated a link between political/social

tolerance and musical preferences; future work should explore the degree to which

there is a coherent syndrome of attitudes and preferences that can be associated

with women in high-diversity, low-density networks. While the nature of the sample

limits generalization, the findings here suggest that incorporating calculated network

measures into analyses of cultural consumption should enrich our understanding of

symbolic boundary formation.

5. Conclusion

Sociologists of culture made an important advance in connecting network structure

to content when they included proxy measures of heterogeneity in studies of cultural

knowledge and preferences. This study found an explicit link between calculated

density and heterogeneity measures and participation in cultural activities. Network

characteristics were significantly related to every measure of cultural participation.

As predicted, network density was positively associated with the highest solidarity-producing activity, sports event attendance, and was negatively associated with

visiting museums or art galleries.

122 D. Kane / Poetics 32 (2004) 105127


19/23

Network heterogeneity increased the likelihood of participation for every high

culture activity with which it was associated. Interestingly, religious heterogeneity

had an effect on some cultural activities while racial heterogeneity produced effects

on others. Future research should explore different forms of heterogeneity and whythey appear to have different effects on cultural participation.

Previous research has found that women are more likely than men to engage in

cultural activities, especially high culture activities, which suggests that women may

use culture to draw symbolic boundaries against men. Women in this study gen-

erally had higher rates of participation than men in high culture activities. Attending

sports eventsthe activity most associated with menwas the sole activity in which

women had a lower rate of participation.

There was much more evidence for network effects on womens participation

than on mens, and the pattern of these effects provides a more nuanced under-

standing of gender differences in cultural participation. While formerly women as a

group were considered to exhibit a stronger interest in high culture than were men,

the findings in this paper reveal that it is specifically women with networks high in

diversity and women with networks low in density who are the most likely to

engage in high culture activities. This refinement suggests that women may draw

boundaries not only against men but also against women of other network

structures.

Acknowledgements

I thank Randall Collins, Paul DiMaggio, Grace Kao, Diana Crane, and Shawn

Bauldry. This research was supported by a generous grant from the University of

Pennsylvania Department of Sociology Otto and Gertrude Pollack Grant for

Summer Research and by a Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant from the

National Science Foundation.

Appendix A. Correlation matrix of network characteristics

Density Racial het. Gender het. Relig. het.

Density 1.00

Racial het. 0.04 1.00

Gender Het. 0.04 0.05 1.00

Relig. Het. 0.01 0.31*** 0.05 1.00

D. Kane / Poetics 32 (2004) 105127 123


20/23

Appendix B. Regression Results for Control Variables

Table B-1 Regression coefficients of cultural participation on control variablesa

Control

variable

Sporting

event


performance

Popular

magazine

Academic prog. .05 (0.31) 0.07 (0.29) 0.33 (0.25) 0.19 (0.26) 0.29 (0.46)

Fathers ed. 0.02 (0.17) 0.23 (0.16) 0.10 (0.15) 0.02 (0.15) 0.05 (0.27)

Graduate student 0.86 (0.34)** 0.08 (0.35) 0.41 (0.29) 0.14 (0.31) 0.59 (0.56)

Female 0.89 (0.31)*** 0.12 (0.29) 0.12 (0.25) 0.84 (0.26)*** 0.50 (0.47)

US 1.11 (0.39)*** 0.27 (0.39) 0.25 (0.32) 0.11 (0.34) 0.45 (0.59)

Urban residence 0.52 (0.34) 0.05 (0.34) 0.30 (0.28) 0.21 (0.30) 0.06 (0.51)

Notes: ***


21/23

Table B-3 Regression coefficients of cultural participation on control variables: womena

Control

variable

Sporting

event


performance

Popular

magazine

Academic prog. 0.20 (0.46) 0.08 (0.47) 0.21 (0.38) 0.48 (0.40) 0.15 (0.80)

Fathers ed. 0.05 (0.28) 0.07 (0.27) 0.00 (0.23) 0.09 (0.24) 0.29 (0.49)

Graduate student 1.54 (0.47)*** 0.59 (0.51) 0.57 (0.42) 0.20 (0.43) 1.47 (1.07)

US 0.73 (0.50) 00.21 (0.53) 0.46 (0.45) 0.08 (0.46) 1.98 (1.09)

Urban residence 0.42 (0.48) 0.46 (0.49) 0.38 (0.40) 0.06 (0.41) 1.42 (1.00)

Notes: ***


22/23

References

Agresti, Alan, Agresti, Barbara F., 1977. Statistical analysis of qualitative variation. In: Schuessler,

Karl F. (Ed.), Sociological Methodology. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, pp. 204237.Allison, Paul, 2002. Missing Data. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Bihagen, E., Katz-Gerro, T., 2000. Culture Consumption in Sweden: the stability of gender differences.

Poetics 27, 327349.

Bourdieu, Pierre, 1984. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Harvard University

Press, Cambridge, MA.

Bryson, Bethany, 1996. Anything but heavy metal: symbolic exclusion and musical dislikes. American

Sociological Review 61, 884899.

Burt, Ronald, 1998. Personality correlates of structural holes. Social Networks 2, 6387.

Burt, Ronald, 1992. Structural Holes. Harvard, Cambridge, MA.

Campbell, Karen E., Marsden, Peter V., et al., 1986. Social resources and socioeconomic status. Social

Networks 8, 97117.

Collins, Randall, 1988. Theoretical Sociology. Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, New York.DiMaggio, Paul, 1982. Cultural capital and school success: the impact of status culture participation on

the grades of U.S. high school students. American Sociological Review 47 (2), 189201.

DiMaggio, Paul, Mohr, John, 1985. Cultural capital, educational attainment, and marital selection.

American Journal of Sociology 90 (6), 12311261.

Durkheim, Emile, 1966. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. (1912)Macmillan, New York.

Erickson, Bonnie, 1996. Culture, class, and connections. American Journal of Sociology 102, 217251.

Fischer, Claude, 1982. To dwell among friends. University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.

Fuchs, Stephen, 2001. Against Essentialism: A Theory of Culture and Society. Harvard, Cambridge, MA.

Goldstein, Joshua R., Warren, John Robert, 2000. Socioeconomic reach and heterogeneity in the exten-

ded family: contours and consequences. Social Science Research 29, 382404.

Granovetter, Mark, 1973. The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology 78, 13601380.

Hall, John R., 1992. The capital(s) of cultures: a nonholistic approach to status situations, class, gender,

and ethnicity. In: Lamont, M., Fournier, M. (Eds.), Cultivating Differences: Symbolic Boundaries and

the Making of Inequality. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, pp. 257288.

Haynie, Dana L., 2001. Delinquent peers revisited: does network structure matter? American Journal of

Sociology 106, 10131057.

Hebdige, Dick, 1979. Subculture: The Meaning of Style. Methuen, London.

Holt, Douglas B., 1997. Distinction in America? Recovering Bourdieus theory of tastes from its critics.

Poetics 25, 93121.

Horowitz, Ruth, 1983. Honor and the American Dream: Culture and Identity in a Chicano Community.

Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ.

Inglehart, Ron, Baker, Wayne, 2000. Modernization, cultural change, and the persistence of traditional

values. American Sociological Review 65, 1951.Kadushin, Charles, 1982. Social Density and Mental Health. In: Marsden, Peter V., Lin, Nan (Eds.),

Social Structure and Network Analysis. Sage, Beverly Hills, CA, pp. 147158.

Kandel, Denise, 1978. Homophily, Selection, and Socialization in Adolescent Friendships. AJS. 84,2,

427436.

Kane, Danielle, 2003. Social Networks and Attitudes: Examining the Links. Paper presented at the

Eastern Sociological Association, Philadelphia, PA.

Lamont, Michele, 2000. The Dignity of Working Men. Harvard, Cambridge, MA.

Lamont, Michele, 1992. Money, Morals, and Manners. .

Lamont, Michele, Fournier, Marcel, 1992. Cultivating Differences. University of Chicago Press, Chicago,

IL.

Lamont, Michele, Lareau, Annette, 1988. Cultural capital: allusions, gaps, and glissandos in recent

theoretical developments. Sociological Theory 6, 153168.Lamont, Michele, Molnar, Virag, 2002. The study of boundaries in the social sciences. Annual Review of

Sociology 28, 167195.

126 D. Kane / Poetics 32 (2004) 105127


23/23

Mark, Noah P., 2003. Culture and competition: homophily and distancing explanations for cultural

niches. American Sociological Review 68, 319345.

Marsden, Peter V., 1987. Core discussion networks of Americans. American Sociological Review 52, 122

131.Marsden, Peter V., 1988. Homogeneity in confiding relations. Social Networks 10, 5776.

Marsden, Peter V., Swingle, J.F., 1994. Conceptualizing and measuring culture in surveys: values,

strategies, and symbols. Poetics 22, 269289.

McCall, Leslie, 1992. Does gender fit? Bourdieu, feminism, and conceptions of social order. Theory and

Society 21 (6), 837867.

Mizruchi, Mark S., Stearns, L.B., 2001. Getting deals done: the use of social networks in bank decision-

making. American Sociological Review 66 (5), 647671.

Peterson, Richard A., Simkus, A., 1992. How musical tastes mark occupational status groups. In:

Lamont, M., Fournier, M. (Eds.), Cultivating Differences. University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, pp. 152

186.

Relish, Michael, 1997. Its not all education: network measures as sources of cultural competency. Poetics

25, 121139.Robinson, R.V., Garnier, M.A., 1985. Class reproduction among men and women in France: reproduc-

tion theory on its home ground. American Journal of Sociology 91, 250280.

Ruan, Danching, 1998. The Content of the general social survey discussion networks: an explanation of

GSS discussion name generator in a Chinese context. Social Networks 20, 247264.

Swartz, David, 1997. Culture and Power: The Sociology of Pierre Bourdieu. University of Chicago,

Chicago, IL.

Waters, Mary C., 2001. Black Identities: West Indian Immigrant Dreams and American Realities.

Harvard, Cambridge, MA.

Wellman, Barry, 1979. The community question: the intimate networks of East Yorkers. American

Journal of Sociology 84, 12011231.

White, Harrison, 1992. Identity and Control. A Structural Theory of Social Action. Princeton University

Press, Princeton.

Danielle Kane is a doctoral candidate in sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. Her work on cultural

consumption among a sample of international students appeared in a previous special issue of this

journal. Her current research examines the evolution of social networks and attitudes.

D. Kane / Poetics 32 (2004) 105127 127

Documents

A Network Approach to the Puzzle of Women Cultural Participation - Kane - Against Bourdieu