SMC Author

Manisha Anantharaman

SMC Affiliated Work

1

Status

Faculty

School

School of Liberal Arts

Department

Justice, Community, and Leadership

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2017

Publication / Conference / Sponsorship

Journal of Consumer Culture

Description/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.

Keywords

Social practice theory, middle class, sustainable consumption, bicycling, India

Scholarly

yes

Peer Reviewed

1

DOI

10.1177/1469540516634412

Volume

17

Issue

3

First Page

864

Last Page

886

Disciplines

Civic and Community Engagement | Curriculum and Social Inquiry | Inequality and Stratification

Rights

Open Access. Author Manuscript. Author permission to post in Saint Mary’s Digital Commons

Original Citation

Anantharaman, M. (2017) “Elite and ethical: The defensive distinctions of middle-class bicycling in Bangalore, India.” Journal of Consumer Culture. 17 (3), pp. 864-886. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469540516634412

Download

Share

COinS