Date of Award
Winter 1997
Project Type
Dissertation
Program or Major
Sociology
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
First Advisor
Cynthia M Duncan
Abstract
This study examines how women in a working class, fishing community select and present cultural orientations to distinguish themselves from other women and create stratification. Based on data gathered through eight months of participant observation and 44 in-depth interviews, the research shows that local women choose and then reinforce social identities that reflect the norms, values, lifestyles of either the working class town, the wealthy summer colony, or people from outside the community. They present their cultural orientations through their work ethics, leisure activities, consumption practices, and family values and expectations. By producing these identities, women create and establish a place within three distinct cultural groups that reflect the American class structure. Relying on the theoretical work of Weber, Bourdieu, Goffman, and Blumer, this study shows that cultural aspects of stratification are not merely determined by structural position, but are continually produced and reproduced through daily interaction. Women play a unique role in this process as a result of their social roles in the family, community, and work.
Recommended Citation
Yodanis, Carrie Lynn, "A place in town: Women producing cultural stratification" (1997). Doctoral Dissertations. 2003.
https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/2003