How the cultural elite defines its social status

In recent years, social media accounts satirically touched upon the consumption behaviour of contemporary young urban professionals. While their choices seem to be based on ethical values, they often signal social status. Even though the contemporary young urban professional has no intention of doing so, their ethical consumption draws symbolic boundaries and upholds a system of social stratification. While previous research has gone in depth about social status and consumption, the role of gender has not been thoroughly explored in this context. Secondly, academic literature about contemporary young urban professionals and their lifestyles is lacking in the Netherlands. Therefore, this thesis explores the following research question: 'How and why do female and male young urban professionals in the Randstad distinguish themselves as a status group by their consumption?'. The theoretical framework underlying this thesis is largely based on the work of Thorstein Veblen (conspicuous consumption and leisure), Pierre Bourdieu (social distinction, cultural capital, habitus, lifestyles and tastes), David Brooks (the lifestyles of the Bobos) and Elizabeth Currid-Halkett (the aspirational class). This way, social distinction and its related concepts are explained and illustrated by using examples from recent history (2000 and 2017). A qualitative approach was used for this thesis, using purposive sampling and semistructured interviews as a way of collecting data. The ten interviews (five with men, five with women) were transcribed and coded. The chosen method of analysis was thematic analysis. The findings reveal that the intention of the interviewees is rarely to explicitly distinguish themselves as a status group. Rather, their habitus has resulted in a habit of consuming based on knowledge. This is visible in multiple aspects of their life: their consumption of goods, their careers, how they spend their leisure time, and more. Most of it is in service of their aspirations. However, their lifestyles and adhering consumption behaviour keep on drawing symbolic boundaries and thus uphold a system of social stratification. While the intentions behind consuming appeared similar in this thesis, the actual goods and activities were different per gender. The men and women in this study conform to 2 earlier research: women tend to consume more socially and are more occupied with fashion, whereas men tend to consume more out of curiosity and functionality are more focused on activities such as sports. Even though contemporary young urban professionals claim to consume based on their values, they have displayed that this is limited. When their own comfort is at risk, there is a boundary or excuse, meaning their actions do not always correspond with their ideals. For example, the interviewees claim to live sustainable lifestyles but fly frequently. This thesis contributes to the debate on contemporary social distinction and reproduction in the urban setting of the Netherlands and invites further research on gendered dynamics within this context.