Cultural Capital - what do you do in your household?

[californiagurl]

We have a huge range of books, frequent theatre visits (although these have been online in recent times), visits to art galleries/exhibitions, support with learning languages.

What's anyone else up to?

There's social capital too (just because no one's mentioned it yet).

OP, are you my MIL?

(p.s. my DH had a shit childhood, he calls MIL the fun sucker for removing all enjoyment from life, all activities undertaken with ‘cultural capital’ in mind, rather than the children’s individual interests)

Some of these things are life skills rather than cultural capital. Growing a plant requires a windowsill, not a garden.

I get that some people are too impoverished to grow a plant, but then some people are too impoverished to eat properly.

@seayork2020
I’ve taken your comment very seriously indeed. There’s truckloads of stuff on Netflix that I have used to enrich my little inward-facing world!

@MysweetAudrina

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

You get plenty of kids who don’t have the skills to get on a bus or train because they have been driven everywhere. Cultural capital or life skill?

I hear you. My mum recorded the wrong bloody channel while I was at Brownies. I've never forgiven her 😄😄

I rub one out anytime I have 5 seconds to myself? Does that count?

Whatever you call it, so long as you're having fun who cares?! I dragged my two DS to every museum, stately home and gallery that I could. Okay, so I had to bribe them with an all you can eat buffet somewhere but we had a great time! They're in their 20s now and are convinced they've been to every castle in England and France. I promise them they haven't and I'll make them continue the tour with me in a wheelchair aged 80 and they have to do it out of guilt 🤣

I work in the cultural sector. In museums and I'm an artist. So it's kinda in my blood. Not from a family who does lots of culture at all though.

We normally go to the theatre a lot, but go to some small scale ones with small casts and not many props rather than the biggger theatres most of the time. Lots of trips to museums and galleries as well as the cinema. (not so high brow all the time)
I also normally attend various visual art events and workshops. I joined a choir in Jan but that's been off since start of March.

I do watch plenty of box sets and films at home. I do read but I'm slow! Culture is so important to me and I miss it lots right now.

Cultural Capital doesn’t mean exposing your children to cultural experiences like art galleries and theatre. It means more generally imbuing in then the culture of the middle classes, which is the culture of the professions.

This is far more subtle and far harder to copy. It means the type of clothes you wear, the way you talk, the sort of food you eat. These are the things that will make you fit in among others of the same background, the people who are the gatekeepers to professional careers.

@katy1213
Only a Wednesday? go for Latin on Friday too 😉

People taking the piss out of op calling it cultural capital, that's what it's commonly referred to in the cultural sector. It's well researched that children from families who take part in culture have greater social mobility. Op isn't a twat for calling it that. It's a thing.

Gah quote didnt post.

@WooMaWang

When I was in primary school my parents started letting me watch neighbours because all the other kids did and I couldn’t join in conversations about it. Not knowing about Scott and charlene’s wedding was a serious lack of cultural capital in that context

I hear you. My mum recorded the wrong bloody channel while I was at Brownies. I've never forgiven her 😄😄

This has to be the most MN thread I've ever come across.

‘People taking the piss out of op calling it cultural capital, that's what it's commonly referred to in the cultural sector.‘

But we’re not in the cultural sector; we’re on an internet message board.

That's not what cultural capital means.

I understand it to be more about knowledge that you pick up from being middle class - how to navigate through schooling, university, internships, jobs etc. How to behave. How to dress and talk etc.

I enjoy the theatre, I don’t get to go much, but I try to as much as I can. I’m an avid reader, I also like certain areas of art.

Today however I drank loads of lemonade so I could prove that I can burp the alphabet.

We visit galleries, the theatre and music venues at least during every half term holiday (not at the moment obv.) We always visited the library when she was younger and she did the usual craft, art and language clubs. We talk about what we are reading and watching on Netflix etc. My DD was encouraged to learn musical instruments and join drama groups, which she loved when younger, but no longer takes part. Her friends have a nickname for her that refers to the theatres and galleries, but she doesn’t seem to mind, as she’s developed a real passion for literature and art. I just wanted her to discover something she loved, in the same way that she joined team sports and dance groups, to see if they were her passion too. I never thought of it as, ‘cultural capital,’ it was more that I wanted her to discover that there are a wealth of positive experiences and opportunities out there and to grab them with both hands.

They’re wonderful things. You’re being mocked because you’re referring to your enjoyment of these things as cultural capital, which is really pretentious, and because you sound like a massive show off.

I’m sorry, but I agree with Sn0tnose

Ever since DD was little I have taken her to museums, castles, stately homes, the cinema, the theatre, zoos, farms etc – because it is something we enjoy. We also read to her a lot, and encouraged her to read. I don’t know anyone who calls it “cultural capital”. I am averse to labelling parenting and lifestyles because it is so pretentious. I carried DD a lot, but I didn’t “wear” her. I was with her 24/7 for a long time, but I didn’t “attachment parent” her. I just got on with it, like most people do.

DD is a student now, and watches Netflix, plays Minecradft and on her Nintendo Switch, plays Cards Against Humanity, wins at pub quizzes, drinks, and does general studenty things. She also is an excellent cook, bakes brilliant cakes and is a talented artist.

I thought this was interesting OP. I'm about to start a PhD in Cultural Capital (linked to the Ofsted benchmarks and the role of schools/parents/communities. A big bit of my research is on perception.
V interesting to read people's thoughts

‘I rub one out anytime I have 5 seconds to myself? Does that count?‘

No. It is taken for granted that regardless of what most people claim to be doing, their actual main hobbies are watching tv, masturbation and eating. So they don’t have to be mentioned.

DD is a student now, and watches Netflix, plays Minecradft and on her Nintendo Switch, plays Cards Against Humanity, wins at pub quizzes, drinks, and does general studenty things. She also is an excellent cook, bakes brilliant cakes and is a talented artist.

Since I moved continent I find that I have gone from being great at pub quizzes to shit at them.

Also, no one values my drinking skills since I left the UK.

Sometimes the cultural capital you worked so hard to acquire is no longer valuable.

It's good to have an attitude of being ready to sink or swim.

We do similar to you op - Theatre, galleries and museums.
We’ve attended quite a few exhibitions in the past in the natural history and science museums and just enjoy going along for a mooch around.
My dc are quite into photography so we see photography exhibitions.
Apart from that, lots of travel, books and documentaries.
I don’t know if that all counts?
My dh isn’t into any of it much so the dc just get exposed to this stuff because it’s what I enjoy. He’s got them into sports.

I didnt understand the title!
There is no hope for my children!