Reflections on young Iranians' ethnocentric behaviours: evidence from consumer culture

This exploratory study attempts to shed some light on the ethnocentric behaviours of young Iranians in relation to the global consumer culture. It demonstrates why and how these individuals adhere to their own cultural resources and refrain from consuming the products or daily life practices of other cultures. The analysis of interpretive interviews with twelve participants in Tehran and Karaj reveals that these individuals’ ethnocentrism is driven by three discourses of religiosity, nationalism, and patriotism. Given the fact that young Iranians’ cultural consumption practices have often been analysed with reference to their receptivity to the global cultural flow (or what generally is perceived as westernisation), findings in this study provide a counterargument stressing that religiosity, nationalism and patriotism play an important role in people’s sense of identity and preference for their own cultural practices and resources.