Self‐empowerment and consumption

Abstract

PurposeTo delineate the range of consumer responses to life‐conditions where sustained powerlessness is experienced. To provide a framework to understand the ways in which these consumers try to reclaim degrees of self‐empowerment and wellbeing.Design/methodology/approachGoffman's conceptualization of stigma is employed to study a heavy metal music enclave consisting of lower socioeconomic consumers, who exhibit a range of stigmatizing attributes.FindingsA taxonomy of ten consumer remedies for their situation is developed. These include: resignation, confrontation, withdrawal, engagement, concealment, escapism, hedonic, spiritual, nostalgia, and creative. Each can potentially have negative or positive consequences. However, we found consumers often use a blend of these remedies as pathways to self‐empower.Practical implicationsUnderstanding the strengths and weaknesses of each of the remedies will potentially guide public policy makers in shaping programs better able to foster self‐empowerment among disadvantaged consumers.Originality/valueThe paper advances understanding of consumer response to sustained powerlessness as consequence of disadvantaged life conditions that are resistant to change.

Extending the diversity conversation: Fashion consumption experiences of underrepresented and underserved women

“…Previous research on diversity in the consumer research domain has, to a limited extent, studied fashion diversity in relation to social class, body image, race and ethnicity, sexuality and gender, age, and disability (e.g., Henry & Caldwell, 2006; Sandikci & Ger, 2010; Scaraboto & Fischer, 2013) and emphasized the need to better understand underrepresented and underserved fashion consumers' experiences, challenges, and quests for change.…”

Social Sustainability in Adolescents’ Music Event Attendance

“…One reason for searching for social contacts external to school might be bullying that is experienced at school, as the quote of a female respondent indicated. Sometimes, bullying is present because of the clothing and hairstyle typical of the musical subculture in question, stigmatizing its fans [6].…”

“…The sense of community is a well-recognized aspect of music events, as attendees celebrate together and develop a temporary emotional "we mode" through their bodily expressions during the musical performances [4,5]. Additionally, the sense of belonging is a fundamental constituent of musical scenes, since fans of certain musical genres or subcultures are sometimes stigmatized in the outside world [6]. Inside their music scene, they construct an enclave where they feel approved and safe.…”

“…Events and festivals are important social practices, but still, the use of the conceptualization of social sustainability in event attendance studies is rare [9]. Interpretation of events' social dimensions within the scope of sustainability helps in understanding the positive impacts of event attendance, like feelings of safety, social identity building, and other aspects of well-being [2,6,10]. Scrutinizing music event attendance from the social sustainability perspective demonstrates that the cultural content per se is not as meaningful as the social network that comes together in such events.…”

The right to shine: Poverty, consumption and (de) politicization in neoliberal Brazil

“…These emotions may lead to a subjective state of well-being, although most of the time happiness and contentment occurs only while the product or service is being consumed (Hamilton, 2012). Henry and Caldwell’s (2016) framework showed that consumption is a remedy for the powerless’ stigma, providing self-empowerment, self-reflection and social critique. In the same vein, Martin and Hill (2021) argued that consumer coping also provides a means for self-determination, which means breaking alienation and seeking autonomous forms of existence in a given environment.…”