"Non-publics" of Legitimized Cultural Goods. Who are They?

• Published in: Loisir et société Vol. 32; no. 1; pp. 123 - 145
• Main Author: Ortega Villa, Luz Maria
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis 01.09.2009
• Subjects: Cities; Consumption; Cultural Pluralism; Households; Humanities; Mexico
• ISSN: 0705-3436; 1705-0154
• DOI: 10.1080/07053436.2009.10707786

This work does not pretend to go in-depth into questioning the notion of "non-publics", but rather aims to show that those whose preferences are far from high-brow culture are in fact publics of an offer near and dear to them, since it is part of their referential world. Thus, based on a two-phase study on consumption of cultural goods among low and medium-income households in a Mexican city, this article identifies the people considered as non-publics, come upon the consideration that variable degrees of exclusion are imposed on them by the social structured space, and sheds some light on a dimension rarely considered in the study of arts consumption : the valuation strategies applied to legitimized cultural goods by those who do not attend high-brow events, which leads to state that so-called non-publics are in fact social agents : individuals capable of exercising a thought of and reflexive behavior on the world.