Symbolic Capital and gender

The concept of symbolic capital became known through Pierre Bourdieu's theory of social practice. Symbolic capital manifests itself in perception, social recognition and acknowledgment in social space. Different types of capital, such as physical, economic, social or political capital, legitimized and transformed into reputation, influence, status and prestige determine the position of a person in the respective social fields. Symbolic capital is the basis of power relations which, embedded in social structures and conventions, illustrate the connection between (non-)existing different types of capital and opportunities in the labour market. Positive and negative symbolic capital is closely linked to the category of gender and highlights social construction processes in the form of dualistic opposites such as woman-man or female-male. The constitution of gender via symbolic capital as a central element of habitus within a socially structured practice explains the actions of individuals as well as the developments of social structures and social evaluation schemes. The focus on the socialisation of individuals enables the explanation of the reproduction mechanisms of power and domination structures as well as the rigidity of systems of difference. Symbolic capital with reference to the category of gender is always to be seen in dependence on further social categories, with which the concept closely follows intersectionality approaches.