Cultural capital is only for the wealthy...

[Explodingatomickittens]

I feel that the kids who are really gaining cultural (& on another level social capital) are from wealthy families. I know people will reply that there's lots of free events on all over the UK daily. In my experience these spots are always nabbed by the mc also. Due to covid & cost of living crisis the gap is widening between tremendously between the haves & the have nots. It's very sad.

There are also different cultural priorities. DS1’s state primary had an after school Latin session available (for £10 for the term and FSM children can get free slots). In a school of 400, 8 children went..all of whom have parents involved in education. Other parents simply laughed at the idea.

My father was a blue-collar worker. We got trundled round historic houses, gardens, galleries, collections and museums. Mum was a classical music fan and SAHM. In the days before digital devices ruled family life, this was not unusual. People spend their family time in different ways now, but I don't think anything to do with 'wealth'.

Oh, and six books a week from the local library.

There's plenty of free events and museums if you choose to look. It might not help the poorest but mostly people can access them. Eg my DD's school got 20 free tickets for the opera and only 16 signed up, that's choice not money.

Thanks for the interesting remarks about reading up on the Greek and Ancient Myths to have a background of Latin and then modern poetry. That has set me off thinking about my own reading list.
How about learning to play an instrument so as to get a grounding in music. Not necessarily to play in a band or orchestra. S/h instruments and tutorials on YouTube.
Being able to sing in tune is a wonderful way-in to other social groupings. Practice to mimic sounds first.

Im not sure if going to the opera once, or to your local museums free activity afternoon is the sort of thing that leads to social mobility in isolation though. Its just a nice interesting cultural experience which is valuable in itself. Maybe it has a bigger impact than I think.

Depends.
I know people who spend £££££££ on going to Dubai for Christmas and their dc are dressed solely in designer goods but they wouldn’t even consider spending their money on anything “cultural” or to educate their DC

I've started watching YouTube for the British museum artifacts mainly Egyptian but other times a mix,

then I watch the different foods being cooked in different countries

It's certainly a lot cheaper overall,

Cultural capital doesn't have to come from going to other places IMO my mum did loads of activities with us all the time at home, we were always making things, playing games, doing quizzes, going for walks, having friends or relatives over, cooking, when we went shopping we also went to the library. We rarely went further than our local town and certainly not abroad but she did so much with us every weekend.
Now I think people would rather sit on their phones moaning about how others have got it better and their kids are missing out rather than actually do things themselves with their kids.

is cultural capital with regards to the elite, basically being able to discuss topics that they would like to discuss and being able to understand and have context of the topics to build a rapport with the individuals ?

@watchfulwishes I am currently living in the UK. And I do agree that accessing Cultural Capital in the UK is somewhat more difficult than in my home country.

But I don't think Cultural Capital is all about money, it's also about time.

For example the Internet has opened up the theatre doors and made opera accessible. It is up to the parents to look and find suitable opara productions to watch with their children- if they indeed wish to indulge in this artform. Or they might prefer to watch the latest Disney movie. Both would cost pennies but parents would have to make the time to reasearch, watch it together and maybe have a discussion afterwards.

And how were the children going to get to the opera? What if they needed money for travel, maybe food. Refreshments during the interval are not exactly cheap. Lots of reasons to do with money if one has any imagination.

But multiple posters on this thread have described access to culture without money.

My parents took us to libraries, talked to us about what we were reading, asked us about them, encouraged us to make up "bed time stories", took us to whatever parks/museums were available for free. We had plays and stories on the radio and tv.
We did a lot of music at primary school but it was mostly singing and listening to music from schools' radio programmes (would be bbc education these days).
We did art and craft at home and school much as my kids did at school - making from existing items, cheap paints and paper etc.

Nowadays the internet can provide detailed walkthroughs of the worlds greatest museums, theatrical performances, concerts etc for free.

The point is my parents didn't take us to libraries and museums to buy a bit of "social mobility" - they took us because they wanted us to enjoy them, to learn about the world around us and enjoy it, to take pleasure in them. Surely that is the point?

In theory there's loads 'free' but I would bet money if you took an anonymous poll outside Tate Britain of annual household income the VAST majority would be above £50k

There are so many HIDDEN barriers to culture like expecting there to be a cost somewhere that means you're too scared to turn up with no disposable income

Plus the biggest gap between rich and poor is how hard people have to work now just to have enough to heat and eat - their physical hours have increased so that they don't have time to access 'free' stuff

There can be a lot of free/cheap events if you live somewhere with free/cheap events.

For example people always say "London has tons of free museums". Yes they do. But it would cost me £75 in train fare to get there.
National theatre (or is the the opera?) Do tickets for £10. But again, that's on top of the train fare.
National Trust membership is good value for money, but you need to be able to afford a car to get to them.

I just googled "free things to do in [my town]
3 were museums.
1 was a Church
1 was historic ruins.
2 were 'gardens'
1 was a walk along the canal
The rest all cost money and/or need a car to get to. Or weren't even in the same town.

Now my DC are 'lucky' in the sense that I prioritise cultural things, we love theatre and museums etc. So, despite having always been a low income family, I've always worked trips to London/ local theatre etc into the budget. Often using my own birthday and Christmas money to do so. I'd rather have a day out with the DC than new/decent boots, even though i could do with new boots. We're also lucky that my mum can afford to, and is happy to help fund these days out.

But for other families, especially ones where the parents didn't grow up doing that kind of thing, they just aren't possible.

Books are free. So are most museums and art galleries. Radio 4 etc available to all. The division is parents who are able to facilitate access to these and discuss stuff with their children and those that don’t / aren’t able to So educational / outlook rather than financial division.

Radio 4 and library books 🤣 Yeah, that's the shit that will dazzle the fuckers into submission when they are asking you where you went to school and where do you ski?

For all who think culture is to expensive/ inaccessible for cost or distance reasons.:

Here is a free (almost!) Cultural Event. Ok you will have to appreciate modern ballet (or an ultra fit young guy ☺)

But I think anyone who appreciates dance will enjoy it, even without the know how!

m.youtube.com/watch?v=LNkOhArBcc8

I think you make a good point with the hidden barriers .
Some people who were never taken to places by their parents may think that museums etc aren’t for people like them, they may think there are situations to negotiate that could be embarrassing if they get it wrong.

There are free events and places to visit but obviously if you have money they can do more. When DS was taking French we took a 2 week holiday to France. To pretend it can be just as good without money is patronising.

It also means you can risk children trying multiple hobbies, especially if they need kit.

There is something else that is by accident more than design when it comes to cultural capital and that is how many nationalities you have contact with. Amongst DH and mine family we have Chinese, Norwegian, Korean, Taiwanese and Hungarian relatives. So this means traditional food, customs and weddings. We also have relatives that live in America, Hong Kong, Norway France and Spain.

It’s Chinese New Year this weekend, big do at my house, prep begins Thursday.

I knew without clicking the link exactly what video that would be!

• enjoying and appreciating local wildlife is free
• learning about local history is free
• attending local places of worship is free, and you dont need to stick to your own religious back ground
• Many sports activities are free, or very low cost
• brownies, cubs scouts, guides, etc all very low cost
• many museums and art galleries are free
• libraries are free
• joining in with local voluntary work is free, and there is much that can be done as a family, soup kitchens.. conservation..
• youtube is free
• many school enrichment activities are free
• participating in local government is free

I could go on and on and on

Cultural capital doesnt have to cost - and OP, tbh, it sounds like you are the type of parent providing plenty of different experiences and relationships for your children, so I am sure they will be just fine

You need brain space as well as disposable income to be able to access things like museums, opera, historical landmarks, etc. Being stuck in survival mode due to money worries or abuse is exhausting and leaves little energy for growth and inspiration.

I think it is often personally driven and depends what you prioritise. Eg I travel a great deal with my children, we live in a large city in the SE in a much smaller home than we’d have if we moved to a smaller town or further up the country. We are out at museums, galleries, landmarks etc most weekends and I take them on several holidays, weekends away a year. My friends, family members tell us how lucky we are to get to do that stuff, but I go without a great deal. I can’t remember the last time I bought new clothes. I don’t drink, I don’t go out socially, I don’t buy or wear expensive make up etc. All my spare money goes on “experiences”. My friends/family on the other hand choose to live in bigger houses, buy clothes, a couple of bottles of win/gin a month, eat out, go to the pub, take aways etc. You can’t have it all. You have to choose.

I feel that the kids who are really gaining cultural (& on another level social capital) are from wealthy families. I know people will reply that there's lots of free events on all over the UK daily. In my experience these spots are always nabbed by the mc also. Due to covid & cost of living crisis the gap is widening between tremendously between the haves & the have nots. It's very sad.

Yes, the free events will be snapped up by the MC also, but there's no reason you can't get in there first. You will have to plan months ahead in some cases.
Research which areas you're interested in and plan ahead.
You'll be able to get free and cheap opera tickets, free weekly concerts where you just turn up. Etc

Look at your local authority website in first instance, then events at all the museums. I'm sure others will have ideas, if you want ideas that is. Someone else might if not.