We are not all Terrorists: UK Based Iranians, Consumption Practices and the ‘Torn’ Self.
Jafari, Aliakbar Goulding, Christina
Jafari, Aliakbar
Goulding, Christina
Authors
Editors
Other contributors
Affiliation
Epub Date
Issue Date
2008
Submitted date
Alternative
Abstract
This paper presents an exploratory study of the consumption practices of UK-based young Iranians. Based on a series of in-depth interviews and participatory observation we provide an insight into the identity-constituting meanings associated with consumption practices. We illustrate how individuals use consumption discourses to tackle a series of ideological tensions in their sociocultural settings, both in Iran and in the UK. We describe how in a theocratic state individuals use commodified cultural symbolic mediators to construct and reaffirm a sense of self and identity and also to covertly resist the dominant order. We discuss consumer's paradoxes and dilemmas when confronted with a complex set of clashes between restricting political/institutional dynamics and the emancipatory forces of Western consumption. We conclude by discussing how these contradictions and strategies lead to a form of “torn” self.
Citation
Consumption Markets & Culture, 11(2): 73-91
Journal
Research Unit
PubMed ID
PubMed Central ID
Embedded videos
Type
Journal article
Language
en
Description
Series/Report no.
ISSN
10253866
1477223X
1477223X