The general theme of this weeks reading is, gender. Gender and its impact on consuming. Initially these readings struck me as being out-dated, and in some cases they were. Placing focus on Betty Friedan’s, “The Sexual Sell”, written in 1963 it seemed absurd to insinuate that how genders approached consuming in the 60’s can even compare to how genders approach consuming today. This article put its focus towards the issues of the housewife, their views/approach towards purchasing products, and how the evolution of women’s independency can impact sales. At first I started this article thinking to myself how insane all of these subjects were, how far women have come and how sad it is that they were once even in this place. The idea that women were defining themselves by the products they chose to use/chose not to use sounded insane and I had a hard time relating. However, once I stopped and placed focus on my own shopping habits the similarities are almost a bit frightening. For example, while trying to understand a woman’s thought process for buying frozen foods the article states the woman as thinking to herself, ‘‘by using frozen foods I’m freeing myself to accomplish other important tasks as a modern mother and wife’. Yes, initially to me this sentenced seem silly, initially I thought this woman is in denial, she just doesn’t feel like cooking. Then I had a flashback to my most recent shopping trip where I purchased a piece of luggage. Now, this purchase might not have seemed odd at first except, I’m not going anywhere. Additionally to me not going anywhere anytime soon, I’m not even thinking about planning a trip anytime soon. Nevertheless, when I was standing in the store, contemplating my purchase, these were the thoughts that crossed my mind, ‘I need to travel more, buying this will motivate me to travel more, its carry-on luggage and I hear a lot of airlines charge to check bags, OH! And look it’s on sale.’ Ten minutes later I was standing at the register happily paying $50.00 for my newest purchase.
Ultimately the message these articles convey is how women justify their purchasing and how through these justification they are attempting to define themselves. While searching through Youtube attempting to find something I found relatable to this topic I stumbled upon, The Denialers, specifically Penny Denialer, the compulsive shopper. At the start, this just seemed funny. Yet when I really thought about what Penny was saying and looked at her approach towards her purchases I really started to connect the dots between this article and this Youtube video. Notice how Penny constantly says, ‘It’s just so me’ or ‘It’s just so Penny.’ Penny was defining herself through these items. At one point she even pointed out a purchase she had made for a trip that was still not even planned. It seems as though a theme is being connected through defining who we are as women and what we own. We even make purchases with the hopes that owning these products will somehow force us into the women we want to be.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZMc0MuF5fc&feature=related
-Kara Kiensicki (Section 01)
Advertisers are focusing on the target market of women as their purchasing power grows greater and greater. They market their goods with the idea that the career woman will have more time if they use their product and that all women in general will be more beautiful if they use their product. They focus on everyone's insecurities also.
ReplyDeleteIn the second reading from our course, “Consuming Goods and the Good of Consuming”, Colin Campbell wrote, “We can now suggest that modern consumers will desire a novel product rather than a familiar product, largely because they believe its acquisition and use can supply them with pleasurable experiences that they have not so far encountered in reality. (25)” Considering this, the core concepts in this week’s readings and your comments on irrational thought processes in relation to our purchases, there is a lot of evidence that supports Galbraith’s “dependence effect” theory. I think there is an undercurrent of dissatisfaction in our culture. For this moment let’s not think about the cause, instead think about the current medication. Stuff, primarily novel items, that is marketed to us in ways that manipulate our feelings of discontentment. The want generating media targets inherent human pleasure-seeking and attaches consumables to those feelings. How many different images have we seen where the traveler takes the super-deluxe 12 piece luggage set on a short trip. Does anyone really “need” that much luggage? This idea of “having” has morphed into having more or having the latest. I think this kind of blatant consumption was exemplified in the Penny Denialer video connected to your blog. When she showed the shoes that didn’t even fit I bust out laughing!
ReplyDeleteNot to sound sexist, but women seem to be the suckers of retail. Anything that involves food, clothes or cleaning products gets their eyes in an instant. Back then, women stayed at home to tend to the kids and their husband was working. There will always a household where a woman is at her house cleaning or leaving the house to do errands like grocery shopping. Think of it as an endless circle that will stop when you’re gone.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Rizzo section 80.
“Penny the Compulsive Shopper” is a great video to demonstrate how people have come to define themselves by what they buy. One almost has to feel sorry for Penny when she walks into her shoe closet and says: “This is where Penny comes alive.” It is sad to think that it takes the external stimuli of a material object to make someone feel special. Consumption is so appealing for so many people, however, because it provides a person with a means of judging him/herself in a way that can be objectively measured. It is comforting and alluring for a person to think that he/she must be special because he or she has this pair of expensive designer shoes, and this pair of shoes in turn, defines that person. It is almost as if what we buy provides us with comforting proof of who we are, even if it is only a manifestation of who we want to be.
ReplyDeleteTom Reilly, Section 01.
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ReplyDeleteAs consumers evolve so does marketing and advertising. It’s inevitable at this point. It is so deeply ingrained in our minds the importance of how we want to represent ourselves with the things we own. I heard of a case where parents decided that they wanted to raise their newborn child in a gender-neutral environment. Personally, I don’t agree with making any child a social “experiment” but it goes to show that people will try to mold (or take apart) their social identity.
ReplyDeleteMelissa Tampan Section 01
When I began reading this article and you were making the point "...women were defining themselves by the products they chose to use/chose not to use sounded insane and I had a hard time relating" I was interested to see what you were going to say to follow up this statement. As I continued I learned you thought about it for second and realized this is actually done today. I have done the same thing, I read statistic about shopping and see how much “designer” items cost and think that sounds crazy then I realize I am one of those consumers. The video you posted was humorous with a realistic message. There are reality television shows based around women and their spending habits. I admit that I watch shows such as “Real Housewives of New Jersey” but the premise of the show is a group of women who spend crazy amount of money on physical items. I feel physical objects, such as clothing, purses, and cars are used as a status symbol and people who cannot afford these live styles make sacrifices so they appear to be able to fit in with the status of a certain group of people.
ReplyDelete