Distinction (sociology)

In sociology, distinction is a social force whereby people use various strategies—consciously or not—to differentiate and distance themselves from others in society, and to assign themselves greater value in the process.

In Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (La Distinction, 1979), Pierre Bourdieu described how those in power define aesthetic concepts like "good taste", with the consequence that the social class of a person tends to predict and in fact determine his or her cultural interests, likes, and dislikes.

Political and socio-economic, racial and gender distinctions, based upon social class, are reinforced in daily life within society.

This could mean lacking the terminology to describe or methods of understanding classical artwork, due to features of their habitus, for example.

[5] That is, the naturalization of this distinction of taste and its misrecognition as necessary denies the dominated classes the means of defining their own world, which leads to the disadvantage of those with less overall capital.

This study reflected Bourdieu’s aesthetic disposition because Kuiper found that young and educated people are attracted to an original beauty.

[3] Distinctions of legal societies, being internal and external perspectives, play a role on the way law communities are viewed.

Legal distinction’s position in society is determined by a variety of factors such as culture, ideology, politics, economics, science, education and technology.