We are not all Terrorists: UK Based Iranians, Consumption Practices and the ‘Torn’ Self.
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): 73-91Journal
Consumption Markets & CultureType
Journal articleLanguage
enISSN
102538661477223X
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1080/10253860802033605