Embodied Cultural Capital Analysis

The third type of cultural capital is embodied cultural capital that is internalize within an individual and expressed through the body. According to Bourdieu, embodied cultural capital is the most important among the three types of cultural capital and this function of cultural capital illustrate itself as taste (Allan, 2013). Embodied cultural capital can refer to knowledge and traits associated with an individual and it is portrayed through an individual’s habitus (Allan, 2013). The procurement of embodied cultural capital is similar to the formation of habitus, an integration of body and mind collectively adapted to specialized fields and transformable beyond them (Moore, 2014). I came from a middle-income family and I pursued my education

My school placed much emphasis on the importance of co-curricular activities and sports has allowed me to gain skills that have deeply entrenched in me. Sports has inculcated in me the value of teamwork and it also served as a platform for me to make new friends. This resulted in an increase of social capital. In addition to having friends from academic classes, my social circle has widened due to the addition of friends made through sports. My life would have turned out differently if I came from a high-income family. Access to economic capital, resources and connections may have enabled me to pursue an education in an elite school. I might have developed an interest in other areas instead of sports. Fields refers to social arenas where competition and conflicts of social life arose and a platform with various social rules and different value of capital (Macionis and Plummer, 2012). At any single time, individuals can operate in simultaneous fields and what is valuable in one field may not be the same in another

In an examination hall, the knowledge gained during classes, revision and completing homework were essential for attaining good grades while in a basketball match, skills developed through putting in long hours of trainings, friendly matches with other schools and competition will lead an individual to be a champion. Many felt that habitus cannot be changed but there were others with different opinions citing it as being too overly objective and deterministic. Habitus can be changed when an individual moves up or down in hierarchy which is especially relevant in Singapore’s meritocratic society. The term frequently refers to the assumption that ‘people with the same level of merit – IQ plus effort – should have the same chance of success’ (Swift, 2003, p. 24) An individual may just be an average student studying in a mainstream school. However, by putting in hard work, the student may enter a local university with good grades, thus securing him a good job with a high pay. Taste are linked to class position and can also refer to an individual preference for consumption (Macionis and Plummer,