![]() ![]() Russians have three proverbs that all relate to taste: Children are taught that “everyone has their own taste, some like melon and some like watermelon.” Adults remark that “on taste and on colour there are no friends.” Disagreements over taste are cut short with the rejoinder “one does not argue about tastes.” In all cases, taste is seen as a peculiarity, too randomised and personal to deserve meaningful examination. ![]() In considering taste - the individual preference for food, art, music, clothing, sport, furniture, and much more besides - we are considering any choice that rests on individual preference or discernment. Outside the dominant classes opportunities for agency still exist, for those able to understand and exploit the symbolic struggles of those from a different habitus. Such agency is particularly available to those rich in cultural capital, enabled by their distance from necessity. However, within that framework opportunities for agency do exist. ![]() In this essay I argue that Bourdieu’s thesis in Distinction* generally favours the role of structure over agency in determining taste. ![]()
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