The Urban Middle-Class Consumer Identity in Malaysia's Sociopolitical Coffee House Culture
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2145160 |
|---|---|
| Authors | May Ting Beh (History & Regional Studies Programme, Penang Institute, George Town, Malaysia, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 109-124 |
| Publication date | 2022-04-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Anthropological Forum (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0066-4677 • E-ISSN: 1469-2902 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00664677.2022.2042189 |
| OpenAlex | W4213454688 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 22 |
In the early 2010s, new independently owned artisanal cafés serving coffee along with Western-style meals and desserts emerged in Malaysia. These cafés flourished despite the presence of the nation’s traditional coffee shops (kopitiam) and international coffee chains like Starbucks Coffee. This paper aims to explicate the processes of identity- and place-making through consumption in traditional kopitiams in relation to modern café spaces by considering how varied consumption suggests an intrinsically sociopolitically charged habit of Malaysians. Extending Richard Peterson’s theory of cultural omnivorousness, this paper is framed by the fluidity in class identity formation of urban consumers, and argues that consumers are agents of change which is primarily self-fashioning. While Malaysian coffee house-goers appear to be culturally omnivorous, there is a deep sense of contention in preserving the kopitiam space as a non-halal eatery. This ethnographic study contributes to a deeper understanding of how Malaysia’s racialised politics has shaped the eating habits of its multiracial society
Aesthetics · Art · Consumption (sociology) · Cultural identity · Ethnography · Geography · Habit · Identity (music) · Mainstream · Middle class · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Style (visual arts) · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Law · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy · Music History and Culture · Psychology · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Psychology
Eating Together
The Halal Frontier
Islam, Globalization and Postmodernity
The Changing Shape of Islamic Politics in Malaysia
Beyond authenticity
Deconstructing a global commodity
The collective subjectivity of Chinese intellectuals and their café culture in republican Shanghai 1
Coffee brands, class and culture in a Canadian city
Brands and Urban Life
The impact of western culture adoration on the coffee consumption of Taiwan
Managing sensitivities
Kopitiams in Singapore
Individualism for the masses? Coffee consumption and the Chinese middle class' search for authenticity
Global Brooklyn
Understanding audience segmentation
Changing Highbrow Taste
Coffee-shops in Colonial Singapore
Problems in comparative research
Migration and diversity in Asian contexts
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |