This essay will attempt to perform an ethnographic study of subcultures of consumption focusing on the Goth community. After reading Schouten’s and McAlexander’s “Subcultures of consumption: an ethnography of new bikers”, a similar study with Goths as the main point of focus will take place. I will begin by defining subcultures of consumption and the Goth community focusing on (1) structure, (2) ethos, (3) the effect it has on their lives as consumers and (4) how marketing institutions are linked to the subculture. I will also use other theories learnt during the course of Consumer Behaviour such as symbolism, role theory or gender to illustrate the power of consumers in this neo-liberalist society. “A subculture can be defined as a subgroup in society that self-selects on the basis of a shared commitment to a particular product class, brand, or consumption activity” (Schouten and McAlexander, 1995). Some of the key and common characteristics of these groups are an identifiable hierarchical social structure; a unique ethos, or set of shared beliefs and values; and unique jargons, rituals, and modes of symbolic expression (ibid). One of the most studied subcultures is the Goth community, which emerged from the decline of punk rock in Britain in the late 1970s (Goodland and Bibby, 2007). Gender plays an important role in this subculture and is bonded together by the figure of the vampire (Palan, 2001). The Goth movement achieves a balance between the grotesque and the beautiful, self-expression and restriction as well as cult following with mass appeal (Spooner, 2006). In order to understand this subculture better, the four key characteristics used in Schouten’s and McAlexander will be applied. The structure of the Goth subcult... ... middle of paper ... ...cience Review, 10 (2001), pp. 1--31. Parsons, E. and Maclaran, P. 2009. Contemporary issues in marketing and consumer behaviour. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann. Schouten, John W. (1991), “Selves in Transition: Symbolic Consumption in Personal Rites of Passage and Identity Reconstruction,” Journal of Consumer Research, 17 (March), 412-426. Schouten, J. W., Mcalex and Er, J. H. 1995. Subcultures of consumption: An ethnography of the new bikers. Journal of consumer research, pp. 43--61. Sweetman, P. 2009. Subculture: Hodkinson's goth. Doing social science: evidence and methods in empirical research, pp. 103--127. Thompson, C., and Haytko, D.L. (1997) "Consumer’s use of Fashion Discourses and the Appropriation of Coutervailing Cultural Meanings" Journal of Consumer Research, 24 (1) pp15-42 Weiss, W. A. (2005), United Encykopedia of Rock, Warsaw, Iskry
Thomas Frank’s book entitled The Conquest of Cool: Business Culture, Counterculture, and the Rise of Hip Consumerism takes a poignant look at the advertising world of the 1950’s and 1960’s, exploring how advertising played a role in shaping the next generation of consumers. Frank points out that he believes many misunderstand how important the key industries of fashion and advertising were to the shaping of our consumer culture, especially in getting Americans to rethink who they were. The industry of advertising was not conforming to the upcoming generation, instead the new consumer generation was conforming to the ideals of the advertising industry. Frank believes that the advertising and fashion industries were changing, but not to conform to the new generation, instead to shape a new generation of consumers.
Identity: The fact of being who or what a person or thing is. The principle objective of this paper is to establish how the role of identity and our belonging impact on what types of events we attend, where we attend and who with? How has globalisation impacted the events industry through social, economic and cultural levels? The objectification of both men and women; how has this created an even bigger impact on events in our ever changing world? Has this enhanced our freedom in choosing which events we can attend or restricted us? This essay is focused on the works of Mikhail Bakhtin “Carnival and Carnivalesque” and his critique on cultural theory related to the events industry. This essay also looks at the works of Pierre Bourdieu; his “habitus and embodiment” theories and the way we have internalised the external environment and how this ultimately affects our behaviours. Goulding and Saren’s publication of: Performing identity: an analysis of gender expressions at the Whitby Goth festival has equally given a clear critique of the nature of gender identities within a specific subculture, a subculture firmly rooted in objects of consumption and bonded together by a common fascination with the vampire.
In “The man behind Abercrombie and Fitch.” An interview conducted by Benoit Denizet-Lewis displays a glimpse into the life of Mike Jeffries and his views of his company only hiring “good-looking” people and targeting “good-looking” people to wear his clothes. This has been done in order to force his audience to recognize that the issue of acceptance one’s peers and exclusion of a community mentioned by Mike Jeffries, is a result of cultural perceptions and individual self-image. Denizet-Lewis skillfully shows that while Jeffries remarks of not wanting the “not-so-popular” kids to shop in his stores, it poses a question to consumers asking what change in our attitudes will come or if there will be any change at all. Thus comes the issue of how consumers today have a shift in the reasoning behind why one buys clothing and the motivating factors that influence one to buy certain clothing. Denizet-Lewis also demonstrates the different messages that controversial advertisements and statements affect different groups of people and how what they project is really what people desire, though deemed by many people as unacceptable or inappropriate. The author also examines how in the news media, the image has become more important than the message and how images have taken precedent over actual issues and character. As a result of this, various communities have formed by the construct of selling to “beautiful people” and how popular appeal has become an extension of a person.
Throughout each decade particular lifestyles have influenced the styles of fashion in many different aspects. History throughout each decade being a period of 10 years, has had certain lifestyles, referring to the way of life and the way an individual lives and these lifestyles throughout these years have influenced the fashion, fashion being a trend of either clothing, personal appearance and behaviour. Many life events or Historical events from the years 1960 to 2000’s have had reactions from the fashion industry; certain decades in particular lifestyles had either rebellion or a positive reaction. In 1960 there was a rebellion from young adults as well as women which influenced the fashion of that decade, in which fashion was similar to the 1970s fashion however 1970 was known as the disco age. Whereas the 1980 was a decade of entertainment in all forms which influenced mostly teenagers in their style of fashion. However the 1980s entertainment impact on teenagers carried on in the 1990 and 2000s although fashion focused more on the impact of music rather than all forms of entertainment, these decades were eras of grunge music and heavy metal. Therefore fashion became and becomes the portrayal of the lifestyle in a particular period of time or history.
Again, it is part of the definition of a subculture, as of a culture, that is relatively enduring. Its norms are termed a style rather than a fashion on the grounds that the former has some endurance while the latter is evanescent. The quarrel comes of course when we try t...
The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu was one of the earliest theorists to examine the question of symbolic consumption, outlining in particular the ways in which consumption, s an everyday practice, is implicated in ideology and capitalist hierarchies. (Lewis, J, 2008. P220)
Under the current capitalism society and material culture, people tend to form their identities through consumption, this means more than to consume products which are needed to survive, consumption can also link to self-identity formation and expression. People are imperceptibly influenced by the mass media that self-identity can be shaped and formed through consuming specific products. Therefore it can be said, fashion is an important element of identity formation. Young people are commonly feared of being seen as outdated and seek for acceptance from the peers and the society. According to Erikson’s theory of personal social and personal development adolescences and young adults see peers as a critical influence, acceptance of peers can lead to security of identity and self-esteem. This essay is going to examine how young people shape or form their identities through the consumption of fashion. Youths tend to shape their identity through different styles or ways of dressing, differentiate themselves from others and express their feeling or identity through fashion.
The late seventies and early eighties saw the beginning emergence of the Goth subculture: a group of social misfits that appear to always find themselves on the outskirts of mainstream pop culture. It is a complex subculture with great depth and beauty where many of its citizens share a profound connection with the darker aesthetic, are predisposed to depression, and are often willing to explore interpersonal and sexual relationships with little inhibition or regard for societal norms.
Introduction This paper presents a dynamic model on the consumer behaviour in the real world marketing issue. It will further discuss the marketing and industrial experiences encountered daily in everyday business life, in addition to the consumer behavioural issues and consumer analysis and recommendations. Research studies have argued that industries or companies experience lots of issues in awe of the logistics of their daily routine, giving them the knowledge that can be used to anticipate incoming situations with the way of tackling problems. However, with the familiarity and repeated external occurrences in the marketing scope of an industry, there are many implementations carried out in solving such problems without complexity.
From this I want to argue that the world of consumption has a great influence on the way people create their identities. I shall explore important features of the nature and function of fashion, as it’s relevance offers models and materials for constructing identity. I then want to further my argument on whether consumption is seen as a passive process reflecting producer interests or an active process representing consumer interests, as this can determine how ones identity, or lack of, is perceived.
Consumer Decision Making Process A key factor in successfully marketing new/existing products or implementing a product Extension is a thorough understanding of the motivation, learning, memory, and decision Processes that influence consumers purchasing behavior. Consumer purchasing behavior theories have found their way into managerial decision making to help companies more effectively develop and launch new products, segment the market, determine market entrance and in brand management. Therefore, a better understanding of how consumers decide what to purchase is critical to the success of a product. There are numerous theories and models describing the consumer purchasing decision process.
2. Today marketers can collect and analyze data about consumer behavior, one person at a time; this is the relationship approach to marketing.
“The average family is bombarded with 1,100 advertisements per day … people only remembered three or four of them”. Fiske’s uses an example of kids singing Razzmatazz a jingle for brand of tights at a woman in a mini skirt. This displayed to the reader that people are not mindless consumers; they modify the commodity for their use. He rejects that the audiences are helpless subjects of unconscious consumerism. In contrast to McDonald’s, Fiske’s quoted “they were using the ads for their own cheeky resistive subculture” he added. He believed that instead of being submissive they twisted the ad into their own take on popular culture (Fiske, 1989, p. 31)
There are very few studies based on what is now coined “streetwear” or the culture that surrounds it. This is mostly due to it being a combination of a number of different sub cultures and tribes. In order to further understand street wear, it is helpful to understand how consumers portray their identities through what they wear as, “fashion is never innocent and is more than mere appearance” (Barnard, Fashion as communication, 2002)”. Paul Khali Saucier investigated the ways that Cape Verdean youth from the Boston area created individual and social identities through fashion (Cape Verdean Youth Fashion: Identity in clothing). Saucier provided great insight into the sociological perspective of how fashion relates to consumers and society on a larger scale. According to Saucier, “Fashion is a form of non-verbal communication. The dressed body communicates our personal and social identities (Barnard 2002; Barthes 1967; Calefato 2004; Lurie 2000). It expresses our thoughts, feelings, and desires, as well as group membership (Hebdige 1981).” The way people dress is used as an unspoken method of showing the world where they stand in society or how they would like to be perceived. Saucier also referenced Hildi Hendrickson’s book “Clothing and Difference: Embodied Identities in Colonial and post-Colonial Africa” raising the point that, “the body surface is an especially compelling indexical sign. Bodily signifiers present an ever-present semiotic possibility for expressing identity and intention, for asserting the legitimacy of the status-quo or subverting it” (Hendrickson 1996:14–15). This applies to the streetwear market, which is founded upon a rebellious attitude towards the mainstream fashion and culture. In order to explain how ...
To begin with, I shall look at what fashion is; it is a currently popular style or practice involving clothing, footwear or accessories. It mostly refers to the current trends in looks and dressing style of a person (Cumming 234). In most cases, fashion is confusedly related to costumes; when a person talks of fashion they are seen to mean fashion in terms of textile. Fashion is seen to originate from the Western world and it is copied by other places. In this paper, we shall look at how fashion affects lifestyles and the group of people who are affected most. The paper further investigates how media is used to transmit fashion from one region to the other. Although it has been seen to affect people’s lives many people have different perspectives on fashion and dressing.