Edible selves: negotiating cosmopolitan identity in Malaysian foodways

Purpose This study explores the negotiation of cosmopolitan identity among urban Malaysian millennials, using foodways as a contextual application to demonstrate the analytical utility of Q Methodology in surfacing operant subjectivity. It addresses a gap in Western-centric theories of distinction, which often overlook the practical, localised meanings of cultural omnivorousness in pluralistic, non-Western settings. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a “qualiquantological” approach, the study utilises Q Methodology to systematically map subjective viewpoints. This hybrid method combines the systematic logic of factor analysis with the depth of qualitative interpretation, allowing for the formalization of abstract sociological constructs into observable patterns of subjective orientations. Findings The analysis identifies three shared identity profiles: the Global Food Explorer, the Practical Traditionalist and the Conscious Innovator. The results reveal that cosmopolitan taste is not a monolithic indicator of social positioning but a negotiated cultural repertoire. In the Malaysian context, the shared food habitus reorients the mechanism of social distinction away from what one eats (hierarchical appreciation) towards how one engages with food (a hierarchy of engagement). Research limitations/implications The paper contributes to qualitative inquiry by introducing “practical cosmopolitanism” as a model for identity formation. It demonstrates the utility of Q Methodology in bridging the gap between individual agency and social structures, offering a formalised means of mapping the relational habitus. This framework provides a more nuanced understanding of how taste functions as a site of negotiation in complex, multicultural urban environments. Originality/value This study challenges Western-centric theories of distinction by shifting the focus from what is consumed to the operant subjectivity of the consumer (social actors). Its primary value lies in demonstrating how Q Methodology formalises the “relational habitus” into observable social logics. By introducing “practical cosmopolitanism,” the research reveals that in pluralistic, non-Western settings, distinction is not a matter of social prestige, but a hierarchy of engagement. This reorients the understanding of cosmopolitan identity towards the active acquisition of experiential capital, providing a systematic framework to reconcile individual agency with latent social structures in multicultural urban contexts.