When individuals choose their careers, mates or networks, they are influenced by ongoing changes in society. On the other hand, by their choices they also construct new social realities. This book examines the changing lifestyles in transforming societies, focusing on the interplay of lifestyle choices, social status and the society as a whole.

This book examines the changing lifestyles in transforming societies, focusing on the interplay of lifestyle choices, social status and the society as a whole. When individuals choose their careers, mates or networks to belong to and to identify with, they are influenced by rapid technological developments, economic uncertainty and other ongoing changes in society. On the other hand, by their choices they also construct new social realities. The book addresses lifestyles and social change in connection with a wide range of issues: belonging to different movements and networks; changes in gender order, work and partner choices; changes in home cultures and ways of residing; emerging translocal belonging and cross cultural relationships; consumption choices and construction of identities. The first part of the book gives the wider context within a longer perspective and the second part is focused on specific cases of lifestyle choices.

Autorentext

Airi-Alina Allaste is the Head of the Centre for Lifestyles Studies at Tallinn University. Her research interests focus on young people, subcultures and new social movements. She is the coordinator of the Estonian project on changes in lifestyles and the country coordinator of the FP7 project Memory, Youth, Political Legacy And Civic Engagement.

Inhalt

Contents: Airi-Alina Allaste/Andy Bennett: Lifestyles in Former Socialist Society - Leeni Hansson: From plan to market: major trends in life satisfaction and subjective well-being - Maaris Raudsepp/Indrek Tart/Eda Heinla: Continuity and change of value profiles in 1985-2008 - Katrin Paadam/Liis Ojamäe: Continuities of residential cultures. Re-inventing identities in single-family houses - Barbi Pilvre: Estonian men's lifestyle magazine «Mees»: a manual of masculine identity in a transition society - Katrin Paadam/Kristel Siilak/Liis Ojamäe: Social construction of identities in a cross-cultural experience of creating and designing homes - Marion Pajumets/Jeff Hearn: Migrant career women's discursive (re)constructions of their domestic partners' masculine identities - Katrin Tiidenberg: How does online experience inform our sense of self? NSFW blogger identity narratives - Kadri Aavik: Strategies for managing difficulties related to employment: narratives of Russian-speaking women in Estonia - Airi-Alina Allaste/Mikko Lagerspetz: Just how political is the personal? Estonian eco-village activism as lifestyle and as life politics - Maarja Kobin: Drinking culture among young Estonian adults.