With the growth of consumer culture and globalization, especially in capitalistic societies, more attention is being paid to the growing role of consumers. More specifically, scholars like Wei Luo, Angela McRobbie and Mary Lou Roberts have closely analyzed female consumerism and its effects in the empowerment of women. Is so-called feminist consumerism a tool of empowerment for females within modern society, or is it another system which perpetuates traditional patriarchal ideals? Scholars generally hold “two dichotomous standpoints” (Luo 2) on such feminist consumerism, either embracing it as the assertion of free choice on the part of the woman (Luo) or another form of “gender retrenchment and the undoing of feminism” (McRobbie 542). They
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One such emergent market would be that of cosmetic surgery analyzed in Luo’s article, “Aching for the Altered Body: Beauty economy and Chinese women’s consumption of cosmetic surgery.” Whereas McRobbie is quick to label such practices as “forms of compulsory consumption” (533), Luo’s direct study of women who have undergone such procedures suggests that the willingness of women to engage in such an agency goes beyond “Western influence and subjection to patriarchy” (2). Yet, McRobbie’s position is not completely terminated by expanding the scope of analysis on feminist consumerism beyond so-called Western values. Indeed, Luo reports one of her subjects as saying that women with good looks tended to enjoy more social advantages (5), leading to the consumption of plastic surgery and other beauty products. This sentiment echoes McRobbie’s argument on the compulsion embedded within the consumerism culture and the lack of free will that defeats feminist ideals. McRobbie argues that the danger of female consumerism lies in the fact it creates complacency in gender politics, a sort of “popular feminism” that “permits more subtle modalities of gender re-inscription and re-subordination to be pursued” (533). A direct example of such popular feminism is found in cosmetic advertising …show more content…
There is a strong focus on the socio-economic implications that resonates with many arguments made by Roberts in her article, Women’s Changing Roles – a Consumer Behavior Perspective. Roberts’ paper is almost a reverse study of McRobbie’s, analyzing the effects of modern feminism on the consumer behavior, rather than the consumer market’s ability to shape gender politics. Over time, the gender role of a woman, especially in western society, has evolved out of its traditional role, to see females take more independent roles within society. Roberts argues that the evolution of these roles continuously shape the western consumer culture. Roberts argues that to coorporations, “it is clear that these women have great deal of buying power” (2), which may prompt the creation of new markets to capitalize on said purchasing ability. Moreover, modern women are “very open to appeals related to doing something… for their own personal benefit and enjoyment” (Roberts 1) which complements Luo’s findings during her research, that “[s]everal women asserted that they did it for themselves, not for others” (7). Thus, there is also an element of empowerment as on the individual level, women believe that their actions are taken as a
One such emergent market would be that of cosmetic surgery analyzed in Luo’s article, “Aching for the Altered Body: Beauty economy and Chinese women’s consumption of cosmetic surgery.” Whereas McRobbie is quick to label such practices as “forms of compulsory consumption” (533), Luo’s direct study of women who have undergone such procedures suggests that the willingness of women to engage in such an agency goes beyond “Western influence and subjection to patriarchy” (2). Yet, McRobbie’s position is not completely terminated by expanding the scope of analysis on feminist consumerism beyond so-called Western values. Indeed, Luo reports one of her subjects as saying that women with good looks tended to enjoy more social advantages (5), leading to the consumption of plastic surgery and other beauty products. This sentiment echoes McRobbie’s argument on the compulsion embedded within the consumerism culture and the lack of free will that defeats feminist ideals. McRobbie argues that the danger of female consumerism lies in the fact it creates complacency in gender politics, a sort of “popular feminism” that “permits more subtle modalities of gender re-inscription and re-subordination to be pursued” (533). A direct example of such popular feminism is found in cosmetic advertising …show more content…
There is a strong focus on the socio-economic implications that resonates with many arguments made by Roberts in her article, Women’s Changing Roles – a Consumer Behavior Perspective. Roberts’ paper is almost a reverse study of McRobbie’s, analyzing the effects of modern feminism on the consumer behavior, rather than the consumer market’s ability to shape gender politics. Over time, the gender role of a woman, especially in western society, has evolved out of its traditional role, to see females take more independent roles within society. Roberts argues that the evolution of these roles continuously shape the western consumer culture. Roberts argues that to coorporations, “it is clear that these women have great deal of buying power” (2), which may prompt the creation of new markets to capitalize on said purchasing ability. Moreover, modern women are “very open to appeals related to doing something… for their own personal benefit and enjoyment” (Roberts 1) which complements Luo’s findings during her research, that “[s]everal women asserted that they did it for themselves, not for others” (7). Thus, there is also an element of empowerment as on the individual level, women believe that their actions are taken as a