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Becoming a ‘woman to the backbone’

Lingerie consumption and the experience of feminine identity

Aalborg University, Denmark

Per Østergaard

University of Southern Denmark

Carla M. Sucena Vieira

Aalborg University, Denmark

The connection between consumption and identity construction is a well-known topic in consumer research.Identity has two sides: a social side directed towards an external world of shared values and symbols, and an intra-psychological side directed towards an internal world of longings and bodily sensations.In this study we investigate how women's consumption of lingerie may enhance their experience of inter- and intra-psychological identity.This process of identity formation is analysed with reference to Foucault's concept of ‘technologies of the self’which emphasizes the role of practices and instruments in generating a sense of ‘self’.Lingerie is treated as such an instrument, and the categorizations that consumers use are treated as a form of practical knowledge of how to determine the‘right’underwear for the‘right’occasion. Consuming lingerie with the purpose of experiencing feminine identity is a matter of controlling your bodily performance in social life.This working on identity by purchasing and wearing lingerie may furthermore fulfil or generate longings, thus potentially leading to intensified experiences, feelings and sensations of ‘who I really am’.The article highlights some of the paradoxes in this attempt to manage identity.The analysis is based on interviews with 22 women about their underwear and lingerie consumption.

Key Words: femininity • technologies of the self • underwear

Journal of Consumer Culture, Vol. 6, No. 2, 177-202 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1469540506064743


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