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Identity, consumption and the home

Identity, consumption and the home
Identity, consumption and the home
Despite a rich literature on the power dynamics of households within domestic space, the specificities of home consumption have been undertheorized within broader accounts of consumption and identity. Consumption frequently is conceptualized as a individualistic process, undertaken by a single self-reflexive actor.
Focusing upon the purchasing, acquisition and display of furniture and other domestic goods, this article reflects upon the role of home consumption in identity construction within both individual households as well as different household groups. We argue that home consumption at times may be equally important to both individual and multiple households—despite conventional associations between homemaking and the nuclear family.
Notions of the self may be dissipated in collective provisioning by households consisting of couples, although fractures and conflict also may undermine general agreements about shared space. Both the making of the landscape inside the home and the narration of this making are ongoing projects undertaken within and through the diverse webs of relationship among individuals within a household.
1740-6315
187-208
Reimer, Suzanne
d6594766-1967-4439-a8bb-14e52a6e2f5f
Leslie, Deborah
2b5c597b-00a6-4916-843e-8c8f3106f0cd
Reimer, Suzanne
d6594766-1967-4439-a8bb-14e52a6e2f5f
Leslie, Deborah
2b5c597b-00a6-4916-843e-8c8f3106f0cd

Reimer, Suzanne and Leslie, Deborah (2004) Identity, consumption and the home. Home Cultures, 1 (2), 187-208. (doi:10.2752/174063104778053536).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Despite a rich literature on the power dynamics of households within domestic space, the specificities of home consumption have been undertheorized within broader accounts of consumption and identity. Consumption frequently is conceptualized as a individualistic process, undertaken by a single self-reflexive actor.
Focusing upon the purchasing, acquisition and display of furniture and other domestic goods, this article reflects upon the role of home consumption in identity construction within both individual households as well as different household groups. We argue that home consumption at times may be equally important to both individual and multiple households—despite conventional associations between homemaking and the nuclear family.
Notions of the self may be dissipated in collective provisioning by households consisting of couples, although fractures and conflict also may undermine general agreements about shared space. Both the making of the landscape inside the home and the narration of this making are ongoing projects undertaken within and through the diverse webs of relationship among individuals within a household.

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More information

Published date: 1 July 2004

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 15535
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/15535
ISSN: 1740-6315
PURE UUID: a286a689-9f29-4e8d-add2-2a0d4076a1d8
ORCID for Suzanne Reimer: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7325-4368

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Date deposited: 21 Apr 2005
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 05:41

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Contributors

Author: Suzanne Reimer ORCID iD
Author: Deborah Leslie

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