Cultural identity of young middle-class professionals and the consumption of independent cafes in Singapore.

• Main Author: Koh, Cheryl Shihan.
• Other Authors: School of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Sociology::Communities, classes and races
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/51762
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

In the past five years, independent culture has been permeating the social landscape of Singapore through cultural products like films, fashion and music. Since 2011, independent culture has morphed into a lifestyle consumption preference with the huge influx of independent cafes in Singapore. Using Bourdieu’s (1990) concept of habitus and associating forms of capital, this research aims to examine how the consumption of independent cafes constructs the cultural identities of young middle-class professionals who form the majority of patrons who visit independent cafes. In this study, factors that led to this recent phenomenon were also discussed. Through its findings, this study provides insight regarding the consumption of independent culture in Singapore as well as the rising class of young middle-class professionals, two social phenomena that have been largely excluded in existing academic literature.