Masculinity and Symbolic Consumption Among Black African Consumers: An Interpretive Study

Article


Gbadamosi, A. 2024. Masculinity and Symbolic Consumption Among Black African Consumers: An Interpretive Study. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal. In Press. https://doi.org/10.1108/QMR-09-2023-0121
AuthorsGbadamosi, A.
Abstract

Purpose:
Despite the plethora of scholarship outputs on masculinity showing it as a fertile research domain, there are noteworthy lacunae on the topic especially in relation to its dynamics among ethnic minority groups. Accordingly, this paper addresses masculinity and symbolic consumption among Black African consumers in the UK.

Methodology:
The study is interpretive in nature with the use of in-depth interviews conducted with twenty participants in London and the data analysis follows the grounded theory orientation.

Findings:
It shows masculinity-oriented categorisations of market offerings but with an incidence of cultural tension. It suggests the prevalence of symbolic consumption among participants as demonstrated in their quest for admiration and commendation about their consumption and how masculinity is communicated. A new masculinity typology emerged from the study which depicts men in this context as falling into four categories of Gay, Conservative, Contemporary, and Men on Acme.

Originality:
The study unpacks issues around masculinity, and multiculturalism, and proposes a novel typology on the topic vis-à-vis the discourse on segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategy

KeywordsMasculinity; Black-Africans; Symbolic-consumption; United Kingdom
JournalQualitative Market Research: An International Journal
Journal citationIn Press
ISSN1352-2752
Year2024
PublisherEmerald Publishing Limited
Accepted author manuscript
License
File Access Level
Anyone
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1108/QMR-09-2023-0121
Publication dates
Online21 Aug 2024
Publication process dates
Accepted23 Jul 2024
Deposited05 Aug 2024
Copyright holder© 2024, Emerald Publishing Ltd.
Copyright informationThis author accepted manuscript is deposited under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC) licence. This means that anyone may distribute, adapt, and build upon the work for non-commercial purposes, subject to full attribution. If you wish to use this manuscript for commercial purposes, please visit: https://marketplace.copyright.com/rs-ui-web/mp
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