Elite and ethical: The defensive distinctions of middle-class bicycling in Bangalore, India. (November 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Anantharaman, Manisha
• Is Part Of: Journal of consumer culture. Volume 17:Number 3(2017)
• Page Start: 864
• Page End: 886
• Publication Date: 2017-11
• Subjects: Social practice theory -- middle class -- sustainable consumption -- bicycling -- India; Consumption (Economics) -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Consumers -- Periodicals; 339.47
• DOI: 10.1177/1469540516634412
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1469-5405

Abstract

This article applies social practice theory to study the emergence of sustainable consumption practices like bicycling among the new middle classes of Bangalore, India. I argue that expansions of bicycling practices are dependent on the construction of defensive distinctions, which I define as distinctions that draw equally on lifestyle-based and ethics-based discourses to normalize bicycling among Bangalore's middle classes. With their environmental discourses and signage, middle-class cyclists make claims to being ethical actors and ecological citizens concerned about global environments. Their high-end bicycles and special gear enable them to maintain their social status in personal and professional circles, despite adopting what is an essentialized and stigmatized mobility practice in a social context where personal automobiles are a dominant symbol of respectability and propertied citizenship. These defensive distinctions are anchored in communities that facilitate social learning, skill-building, and the creation of collective identities. I highlight the importance of considering the role of ethical discourses in consolidating "low-status" social practices among "high-status" class fractions and discuss the implications of promoting sustainable consumption through the othering of the poor. By applying a social practice analytic to study middle-class bicycling practices, this article makes a significant contribution to the growing literature that investigates the applicability of practice-based approaches to environmental behaviors and sustainable consumption in a novel context.