Abstract
This paper presents an exploratory study of the consumption practices of UK-based young Iranians. Based on a series of in-depth interviews and participatory observation we provide an insight into the identity-constituting meanings associated with consumption practices. We illustrate how individuals use consumption discourses to tackle a series of ideological tensions in their sociocultural settings, both in Iran and in the UK. We describe how in a theocratic state individuals use commodified cultural symbolic mediators to construct and reaffirm a sense of self and identity and also to covertly resist the dominant order. We discuss consumer's paradoxes and dilemmas when confronted with a complex set of clashes between restricting political/institutional dynamics and the emancipatory forces of Western consumption. We conclude by discussing how these contradictions and strategies lead to a form of "torn" self.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 73-91 |
Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | Consumption, Markets and Culture |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 20 Jun 2008 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2008 |
Keywords
- consumer behaviour
- consumption
- social anthropology
- cultural anthropology
- state ideology
- consumption practices
- resistance
- identity
- torn self