Negotiating cultural ambiguity: the role of markets and consumption in multiracial identity developmentPosted in Articles, Economics, Identity Development/Psychology, Media Archive, United States on 2015-08-18 14:47Z by Steven |
Consumption Markets & Culture
Volume 18, Issue 4, 2015
pages 301-332
DOI: 10.1080/10253866.2015.1019483
Robert L. Harrison III, Associate Professor of Marketing
Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kevin D. Thomas, Assistant Professor
Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations
University of Texas, Austin
Samantha N. N. Cross, Assistant Professor of Marketing
Iowa State University
Due to their growing social visibility and recognized buying power, multiracial individuals have emerged as a viable consumer segment among marketers. However, there is a dearth of research examining how multiracial populations experience the marketplace. In an attempt to better understand the ways in which multiracial individuals utilize consumption practices as a means of developing and expressing their racial identity, this study examined the lived experience of multiracial (black and white) women. Findings of this phenomenological study indicate that multiracial consumers engage with the marketplace to assuage racial discordance and legitimize the liminal space they occupy. This marketplace engagement is explored through themes such as living in two worlds, the mighty ringlets and forced choice. Multiracial identity is seen to be co-constituted by marketers and consumers. Existing theories proved ineffectual at fully capturing the lived experience connected to the consumer acculturation and socialization processes for those with two distinctly constructed racial backgrounds.
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