Gender, Culture, and Consumer Behavior

C. C. Otnes, L. T. Zayer, Preface. Part 1. Feminist Theory and Discourse. C. Coleman, Construction of Consumer Vulnerability by Gender and Ethics of Empowerment. H. Jensen Schau, M. Buchanan-Oliver, The Creation of Inspired Lives: Female Fan Engagement with the Twilight Saga. Part 2. Media, Advertising and Gender. L. Stevens, P. Maclaran, The Carnal Feminine: Consuming Representations of Womanhood in a Contemporary Media Text. L. T. Zayer, C. C. Otnes, Climbing the Ladder or Chasing a Dream? Men's Responses to Idealized Portrayals of Masculinity in Advertising. M. R. Nelson, A. M. Vilela, Is the Selectivity Hypothesis Still Relevant? A Review of Gendered Persuasion and Processing of Advertising Messages. J. Lambiase, T. Reichart, M. Adkins, M. LaTour, Gender and Media Literacy: Women and Men Try on Responses to Objectification in Fashion Advertising. Part 3. Gender, Culture and the Market. G. Coskuner-Balli, B. Ertimur, Viewing Gender as a Value-Creative Resource. H. Woodruffe-Burton, K. Ireland, Lived Consumer Bodies: Narcissism, Bodily Discourse and Women's Pursuit of the Body Beautiful. A. G. Close, Escalated Expectations and Expanded Gender Roles: Females' Gift-Giving Rituals and Resistance for Valentine's Day Events. Part 4. Masculine Discourses. J. Ostberg, Masculinity and Fashion. S. Chen, The Rise of 草食系男子 (Soushokukei Danshi) Masculinity and Consumption in Contemporary Japan. N. Ourahmoune, Masculinity, Intimacy and Consumption. R. L. Harrison, J. W. Gentry, S. Commuri, A Grounded Theory of Transition to Involved Parenting: The Role of Household Production and Consumption in the Lives of Single Fathers. Part 5. New Directions.  S. Dobscha, A. Prothero, (Re)Igniting Sustainable Consumption and Production Research Through Feminist Connections. A. Gopaldas, E. Fischer, Beyond Gender: Intersectionality, Culture and Consumer Bahavior. J. A. Costa, G. J. Bamossy, Gender Research as the Ingénue of Marketing and Consumer Behavior.

Biography

Cele C. Otnes is the Investors in Business Education Professor of Marketing at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, her M.A. in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin and her B.A. in English Literature at Louisiana State University. Her research focuses on ritualistic consumption, and how ritual practices by retailers and providers impact consumer experience. She is co-author with Elizabeth Pleck of Cinderella Dreams: The Allure of the Lavish Wedding (University of California Press, 2003) and co-editor with Tina M. Lowrey of Contemporary Consumption Rituals: A Research Anthology. Her work has appeared in numerous journals in marketing, advertising, and anthropology. She has served on the Executive Board of the Association of Consumer Research, as co-chair of the Gender, Marketing and Consumer Behavior conference (with Jonathan Schroeder in 2000) and as co-chair of the Association for Consumer Research conference (2012). She has taught courses on the undergraduate, MBA and/or doctoral level in consumer behavior, consumer insights, marketing theory and retailing. She is active in her church, and enjoys yoga, cooking, traveling, socializing with her friends and colleagues and the challenge of parenting a creative and articulate teenager.

Linda Tuncay Zayer is Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Business at Loyola University Chicago. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, M.B.A from the University of Notre Dame, and Bachelor of Science from Indiana University. Her research interests include how cultural discourses influence consumers. In particular, she examines how gender impacts identity, persuasion, and shopping behavior. Zayer’s dissertation examined how men negotiate their gender identities in the marketplace. She has published in journals such as Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Retailing, Qualitative Market Research, among others. She currently serves as the Vice President of Communications for the Consumer Behavior Special Interest Group of the American Marketing Association. In addition to academia, she owns a marketing consulting company, tealeaf consulting, and works with both small and large businesses.

"Highly Recommended. Much of what one can learn by studying consumer culture, and behaviors within it, can be found in this volume, which presents current research on an international scale. Editors Otnes and Tuncay-Zayer bring together the work of 30 contributors, who apply high-quality research and analysis to questions about gender as it pertains to consumption, entertainment and advertising media, and culture. ... An insightful literature review provides perspective on relevant scholarship; a glossary helps with inevitable jargon within well-written and accessible social-science-based essays. The editors targeted postsecondary students in gender studies, communication, advertising, and consumer behavior as well as general audiences, and all of these will find the studies quite worthwhile." - P. W. Laird, University of Colorado Denver, USA, in CHOICE

"Despite reports that we live in a post-gender society, gender remains a central organizing feature of identity. This collection reveals how gender can be understood as more than a simple "Mars vs. Venus" individual difference, or a biologically determined, hardwired phenomenon. Rather, gender is revealed as a basic cognitive construct, cultural category and ideological concern that influences the gamut of consumer behavior and marketing. The authors nicely balance key issues of culture, femininity, and masculinity with the concerns of feminism, ideology and politics. This book will be useful to readers less familiar with gender theory, as well as advanced researchers seeking an update on current trends on gender research in consumer behavior and marketing. " - Jonathan E. Schroeder, Communications, Rochester Institute of Technology, Editor of Consumption Markets & Culture

"This new volume focuses on a topic important to all of our lives and that relates to a number of disciplines (not just marketing), its contents include up-to-date examples of the concepts it discusses so students/readers can readily relate and apply the material. The authors include top international scholars who publish work in this area." - Joan Meyers-Levy, Marketing, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota

"This book is a worthy successor to the path-breaking volume by Costa published nearly 20 years ago. Much has changed as indicated by developments such as Internet gender support forums, same-sex marriage laws, and the Saudi promise to allow women to drive in 2015. But clearly more is needed to end gender discrimination and achieve equal human rights. This provocative set of chapters will help shape an agenda for the next 20 years of research." - Russell Belk, Schulich School of Business, York University, Canada

"The authors cross cultures and genres in pursuit of gendered understanding of consumer behavior, demonstrating that gender is both an object and a subject, as constructed as it is constructing. They touch all the experiential bases – cognitive, emotional, sensual, ideological – in engaging fashion. From disciplinary evolution to contemporary marketing implications, the authors challenge our conceptions of gender. Scholars and practicing managers will find the insights in this volume well worth the reading." - John F. Sherry, Herrick Professor & Department Chair, Mendoza College, University of Notre Dame

"The global supply of authors is incredibly important, as many volumes of this sort are usually U.S. –centric or Western-centric." - Tina Lowrey, Marketing, University of Texas at San Antonio

"This is a timely, relevant contribution to our understanding of gender and consumer behavior. It provides a thoughtful review of the existing knowledge on the topic and extends an interesting field of enquiry. By combining an established research tradition with emergent issues, the book suggests interesting trajectories in consumer research. Each chapter combines sophisticated theory with a pleasurable and accessible reading. This book will be an important milestone for both academics and professionals, an essential reading for students in consumer behavior, a must in our personal library." - Stefania Borghini, Associate Professor of Marketing, Universita Bocconi, Italy