Effect of Consumerism on Society - Research Paper Example

?Introduction Consumerism, as defined as the cultural relationships between humans and consumer goods and services (Martin, 1993, p. 142), has had aninarguable effect on our society. While consumerism’s effect on society is one that is multifaceted and an exploration of such could fill volumes, the topic must be narrowed for the purposes of this particular exposition. Therefore, the following examination will focus upon how consumerism has affected both the female and male identity construction. For females, consumerism is pivotal in helping women attain an identity that is in line with the hegemonic ideal, as defined by advertisements. Starting with the rise of the department store, and culminating in advertisements that show females the way to live the good life, consumerism for women is all about achieving the life and identity that she is “supposed” to have. The possible exception to this is the Dove real beauty campaign, that tells the woman that she is fine the way that she is. However, in a way, consuming this product is also buying into an identity, albeit this identity is one that is not constructed by purchasing the product, but, rather, is an identity that is internal to who she is. For the male, the evolution has been a bit different, as the modern and pre-modern male was discouraged from consumption - he was the provider, not the consumer. However, post-modernism has arguably changed this, and has made the male more of a consumer because of the rise of branding and designer labels. Branding and designer labels has given the post-modern male a way to construct his identity with consumption, just as females have done. How Consumerism Has Affected the Female Identity Modern consumerism, as explained below, was typically associated with the female, as opposed to the male. This was affected by the rise of the department stores in the late 1800s, and this was where the culture of consumption observed a turning point (Martin, 1993, p. 149). These department stores created in women a desire to possess goods, which gave an excuse for the female shopper in modern times, for the women were so bombarded with images of what they should have that some of them simply could not help themselves (Martin, 1993, p. 150). Thus, the era of consumerism began, and women have been affected by this ever since. Advertising plays a role in shaping female consumerism, as it does male, as explained below. For the female, she is shown, through advertising, what it is to aspire to and what it is to be afraid of. Female-directed advertising explains to women that they must aspire to a physical ideal that is unattainable by many, and also must aspire to a youthful appearance. Thus the prevalence of advertisements for products such as weight-loss pills and hair dye (Dyer, 1989, pp. 3-4). The advertising succeeds in selling these products through the process of modeling and mirroring. The advertisements model what the good life should be, and what a woman should aspire to – being fit, youthful, vigorous, sexual and fun. At the same time, they hold up a mirror to the woman’s life, and how her own life does not match that of the ideal. The advertisements seem to imploring the woman to buy the product so that she can reach the ideal that is portrayed in the ad (Dyer, 1989, pp. 3-4). This puts pressure on the woman to reach this ideal, which she can only reach through consumerism - buying products that maybe she does not really need, but feels that she does, because she wants to attain the good life that is portrayed on her television screen. Sometimes advertising actually ties products in with a certain feminist ideal, such as the Virginia Slims campaign back in the seventies, whose tag line was “You’ve Come a Long Way Baby” (Johnson & Taylor, 2008). That said, at least one advertising campaign, Dove, has attempted to use a different message to sell its products to the female audience. Their “Real Beauty” campaign featured women with less-than-perfect bodies in their underwear, and the message was that women should embrace who they are, regardless of their weight or other imperfections (Johnson & Taylor, 2008). Johnson & Taylor (2008) refer to the Dove campaign was an example of “feminist consumerism,” in that the campaign re-defines gender norms (Johnson & Taylor, 2008, p. 943). Since feminism is focused on transformative change, the usage of the term “feminist consumerism” in relation to the Dove campaign is appropriate. Whereas traditional consumerism attempts to sell products to women by showing her the ideal, and, if she buys the product she will somehow attain that ideal, the Dove campaign has a different message. That message is that she is fine just the way that she is, and that, by buying the Dove product, she demonstrates that she believes this too. Thus, female consumerism has arguably evolved since the rise of the department store. Consumerism in the late 1800s, according to some scholars, began with these department stores and these stores were clearly targeted to females. However, these women could not necessarily afford the items that were in these stores, so many of them shoplifted to attain the items. Then, advertising targeted at females showed her some other visions of what is ideal and what she needs to attain. The aim of these advertisements was to produce consumerism which would help the woman attain the good life that was portrayed in the ads. These two examples of consumerism show that women were presented with unattainable norms that were not necessarily good for her self-esteem or self-worth. The department stores in the early days had unattainable items, as these items were out of reach for many women. Yet their display tantalized the women, teased them, which led to criminal acts. Many advertisements further reinforced this notion that the woman was not good enough, but, if she buys product X, she can attain the ideal that was portrayed. Dove has attempted to reverse these trends, by stating that the woman is good enough, and, if she buys the product, she will be implicitly demonstrating that she feels that she is perfect just the way that she is. Thus, consumerism is a way for a female to construct her identity. By buying into the advertisers’ message that consumerism is the way to the good life, the woman can construct her identity to fit with the televised ideal by consuming certain products and buying certain labels. If the ad states that the ideal is to be a free-spirit, and the way to do this is by buying product X, then the woman can buy that product and attempt to construct her free-spirited identity by emulating the model on television. If the product states that the way to the ideal is by getting fit, then the woman can buy that product to get fit, and construct her identity as a fit person. And, if Dove states that a woman does not need to change, then buying that product reinforces the identity that the woman already has. How Consumerism Has Affected the Male Identity The traditional way that a man’s identity in society has been defined has been his identity of provider. His place of employment has traditionally been the other way that a male derives his identity. This traditional male identity is known as “hegemonic gender identity” (Vigorito & Curry, 1998, p. 137). The traditional male identity was also derived by Puritanical ethics, including asceticism. Asceticism dictated that boys and mens did not consume in abundance, and also dictated that houses were to be sparse and non-elaborate (Bocock, 2000, p. 6). The Puritanical influence was also seen in the sparse way that the typical man adorned himself, with a paucity of jewelry and fine clothing. Eating and drinking well were also discouraged in typical Puritanical ethics (Bocock, 2000, p. 8). Contemporary society, however, changed the way that the male pursued his identity, as well as changed the beliefs in Puritanical ethics. The modern age was ushered in by Henry Ford, who was the first employer to pay his employees well. This, in turn, gave workers more disposable income, which led to the rise of consumerism (Gabriel & Yang, 1995, p. 9). The fact that workers were able to command a decent wage working for Henry Ford also coincided with the rise in production of goods. Mass production became the norm (Gabriel & Yang, 1995, p. 11). Therefore these two occurrences, the rise of the well-paid worker and the rise of mass production – coincided to create consumerism. Further, mass production meant that there were mass goods flooding the market, goods that were undifferentiated from one another. Therefore, it became essential for the creators of these goods to differentiate their products from everybody else’s. This led to the rise of competitive branding and designer labels, such as Versace, Gucci and Prada (Klein, 2000, p. 6). During this modern era, when workers became better paid, while mass production became the norm, men were still thought of as being the providers, and not the consumers. Therefore the marketers for these mass-produced goods concentrated on targeting females, as the women were the individuals who were thought to be the consumers. In other words, during the modern era, the men earned the money while the women spent it (Kacen, 2000, p. 347). Advertising during this period reflected this presumption – the advertising during this period targeted women with products that were designed to make the female look beautiful and help her with her domestic chores (Kacen, 2000, p. 348). Just as Puritanism gave way to consumption when the pre-modern age gave way to the modern industrial age, the post-modern age ushered in another change in consumption with regards to gender roles. That is, in the post-modern age, gender concepts and identities became more fluid and less set (Kacen, 2000, p. 349). This meant that both genders, men and women, started using consumption as a way to express their identity. For both sexes, brand identification became a sort of self-identification, in that men and women used brands to figure out their identity. Thus, brands became a way to construct identity (Kacen, 2000, p. 349). That brands became a way to construct identity was partly because of the rise of image marketing that took place during this period, the image marketing that was necessitated by rise of mass production and the need to differentiate. The Calvin Kleins and Ralph Laurens of the world were not selling products, they were selling an image, a lifestyle and an identity (Klein, 2000, p. 4). Whereas the man was previously defined by his job and his ability to provide, and this was how he constructed is identity, now he could construct his identity by wearing designer clothes and shoes. For instance, a man can construct the identity of the rugged outdoorsman, if that is what he so chooses, by purchasing clothes and shoes from Eddie Bauer, which is the clothing of choice for the rugged outdoorsman. On the other hand, if a man wants to cultivate an identity of sophistication, and wants to show the world that he has fine taste and identifies with the finer things in life, then he might buy expensive Italian suits from Versace. This rise of consumerism, in the post-modern era, has had an effect on the male identity. No longer was the man considered to be simply a provider and employee. No longer was the man supposed to deny himself the finer things in life. Perhaps that was true in the previous era, when he was not paid as well, and there was just enough money for shelter and food. In the post-modern era, with the emphasis on designer labels and brands, the man was expected to consume, and this became a part of his identity. It therefore became acceptable for a man to be obsessed with labels and designers, and advertising, with the emphasis on branding, helped this along (Klein, 2000, p. 6). This new ethic that men cultivated was shown by three subjects, Ian, Pete and Glenn, who were all studied by Woodruff-Burton (1998). Ian was bored, and shopped to alleviate boredom. Yet Ian also had a passion for things, inanimate objects that he would find on his shopping trips, such as a Moschino jacket which, after it was stolen, prompted tears (Woodruffe-Burton, 1998, p. 306). Pete was another subject. For him, shopping was a passion, much like seeing a good movie, and Pete got a charge out of going into new stores and finding new items. Glenn was the third man. Glenn, who recently broke up with his girlfriend, saw shopping as a way to fill the void. Glenn saw consumption and shopping as a way to construct a new identity in that his old identity was associated with his old girlfriend. Therefore, consumption became a way for Glenn to leave his old identity, and his old relationship, in the past. To this end, Glenn sought consumption as a way to give himself a new image, because he felt that the old image was not working for him. Glenn felt that a new image would help him move forward after the breakup, and new clothes would be a way to help with this (Woodruffe-Burton, 1998, p. 308). These men are therefore typical of the idea of the new male who is influenced by brands and consumerism, and the use of brands and consumption as a way to construct identity. Ian constructed his identity with brands, emphasizing such names as Moschino, and showed his attachment to consumption and brands when he stated that he cried when his jacket was stolen. Since Ian used shopping and consumption as a way to alleviate boredom, it shows that his life was pretty empty, aside from the joy of consumerism. It seems that consumerism was the only light in his life. Peter saw shopping also as a joy, and the finding new items was something that gave him a charge. Whereas the pre-modern male, and the modern male, were expected to get their charge from their employment situation and ability to provide, the post-modern male, exemplified by Peter, was able to find a similar charge from consumerism. Glenn was the most overt in his desire to use consumerism as a way to construct his identity, as he stated that, post-breakup, he needed a new image, so new clothes was how he sought to pursue a new identity. Like a woman who dyes her hair and loses weight after a breakup, because the woman wants to project a new identity onto the world, Glenn was similar. He figured that, by changing his outside, maybe his inside could change as well, and things would go better for him. Thus, Peter, Glenn and Ian all exemplify the notion that men are not just defined by their employment and their place in life, but by inanimate objects that are used to show the world exactly who they are. Nevertheless, there is evidence to the contrary that the post-modern male is obsessed with image and consumerism, or alternatively, that this kind of male consumerism is limited to certain segments of the population, like, for instance, the homosexual population. According to this alternative theory, the metrosexual male, the man who is into brands, fashion, and skin care, is actually an aberration. Just 20% of men fit the description of a metrosexual, according to a 2006 study (Tungate, 2008, p. 25). Further studies have found that the average man still does not like to shop, and are embarrassed to be seen purchasing skin care products, which has led to the rise of Mankind.co.uk, which is billed as a site for men who are ashamed of purchasing skin care products over the counter (Tungate, 2008, p. 25). Thus, the post-modern male is difficult to discern, as far as how he feels about shopping and consumerism. On the one hand, Woodruffe-Burton states that the post-modern man has broken out of the hegemonic pattern of consumerism, which traditionally dictated asceticism for men, as men are the providers, not the consumers. According to their studies, men are constructing identities out of consumerisms and branding the same way that women do. However, other studies state that this might not be the case, for men might still be as shopping-phobic as they ever were, and still just as embarrassed about purchasing skin care products as the hegemonic male would be. Nevertheless, it seems that the post-modern male is currently “allowed” to use consumerism to construct his identity, whereas, in the past, this was discouraged by society. Whether or not the individual man takes advantage of this new-found encouragement to consume is up to him, but at least he is no longer discouraged from consuming as he was in the past. Discussion and Conclusion Consumerism has been a way for both genders to construct an identity. Women’s identity was constructed through the purchase of goods that would help her attain the kind of life portrayed by the different advertisements that show her how to live and what to aspire to. The consumerism on the part of the female is an attempt to mold her identity so that it fits the ideal of being youthful, fit, fashionable and fun. What’s more, this was acceptable, much more than consumerism by men, because women were traditionally the consumers, while men were the providers. Thus, it was acceptable for women to see a magazine or television advertisement, then attempt to consume so that she could fit the ideal of the good life. Since the modern male was the provider, not the consumer, and his identity was supposed to be attained not through the purchase of goods, but, rather, through his employment and ability to provide, it was arguably less acceptable for a man to use consumerism as a way to construct his identity than it was for the female to do so. This changed in the post-modern era, according to some scholars. The rise of designer labels and brands caused the gender labels to become fluid, and men became the target of consumerism as well. The post-modern male, according to these theories, is now “allowed” to use brands and image to construct his identity as well. If a man’s identity is that of a rugged man, then he will buy rugged clothes. If a man’s identity is that of a sophisticated professional man, then his clothes and cologne will reflect this. Thus, consumerism is a way for both sexes to construct their identity, to show to the world who they are, while simultaneously viewing who it is that they aspire to be. Sources Used Bocock, R. (2000). Consumption. London: Harper Press. Dyer, G. (1982). Advertising as Communication. New York, NY: Routledge Press. Gabriel,Y. and Lang,T. (1995) The Unmanageable Consumer. London: Sage. Johnston, J. & Taylor, J. (2008). Feminist consumerism and fat activists. Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 33(4), 941-956. Kacen, Jacqueline J. (2000). Girrrl power and boyyy nature: the past, present and paradisal future of consumer gender identity. Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 18 (6-7), 345-355 Klein, N. (2000). No Logo. New York: Prentiss Press. Martin, Ann (1993). Makers, buyers, users: Consumerism as a material cultural framework. Winterthur Portfolio, 28(2), 141-157. Tungate, Mark (2008). Because he’s worth it too. Marketing, 24-28 Vigorito, Anthony J. & Timothy J. Curry (1998). 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