Cultural Capital Conversion in National Trend Consumption and Youth Identity Construction

A Sociological Analysis Based on Bourdieu's Theory

Abstract

Within the dual contexts of cultural confidence strategy and the transformation of consumer society, domestic trend consumption has evolved from a marginal subcultural phenomenon into a cultural practice with broad social influence. This article employs Bourdieu's theory of cultural capital as its core analytical framework. Through in-depth interviews with Gen Z consumers of domestic trend brands, participant observation, and textual content analysis, it systematically elucidates how consumption behavior functions as a dynamic field for the accumulation, conversion, and construction of cultural capital and identity. Research reveals that domestic trend consumption achieves multidimensional conversion of economic capital into cultural capital through the reconstruction of symbolic power, the practice of subcultural segmentation, and the reproduction of value narratives. This process shapes young people's identity maps within the tensions between "tradition" and "modernity," as well as "localization" and "globalization." This phenomenon not only represents a local response to the cultural homogenization of globalization, but also reveals a new paradigm of cultural capital competition within consumer society and the logic of identity construction among youth groups.