Prestige

Abstract

The status of an elite neighbourhood is never a given; it is a coveted prize that residents must work individually and collectively to construct and sustain, in fierce competition with other elite and aspiring suburbs. In this chapter, I analyse the discourses, material symbols, values, tastes, norms, and everyday rituals through which residents construct the cultural capital of Toorak, Mosman, and Cottesloe. The chapter examines the benefits that such a status confers as well as its harms, including ‘elite neighbourhood stigma’, which disproportionally affects women and youth.