The Contemporary Consumerist Discourses of Reflexive Identities and Self-Ethos Women in Pakistan
Journal Title: Qlantic Journal of Social Sciences - QJSS - Year 2023, Vol 4, Issue 1
Abstract
The intersection of women and contemporary consumerist discourses regarding self-identity, self-transformation, and self-choice encapsulates cultural ideals of individualism and realizing individual potential. Consumerism, viewed as a "technology of the self," portrays advertisements as agents that urge individuals to embrace liberation. L'Oréal's omnipresent "you're worth it" campaign epitomizes this, linking status and willpower to independence, beauty, and self-direction. However, media advertisements can also confine women within self-imposed boundaries, limiting the development of a reflexive identity. Women become both subjects and objects of consumerism, encouraged to transform themselves in the name of individual choices. This study explores how advertisements subtly constrain women from embracing a self-ethos for genuine self-identity in the contemporary world. The media, by imposing an ethical duty on women to monitor their appearance, maintain a certain body image, and indulge in various cosmetics and treatments, perpetuates a discourse that distances women from genuine individuality. Methodologically, the study employs digital ethnography to scrutinize advertising images as an imagined ideal space of pure choice, where interpretive freedom signifies individuality. Drawing on Giddens' subject-object reciprocity and Foucault's self-technology and self-ethos, the research employs participant observation to analyze the dynamic interplay between social structures and human agency, shaping gendered discourses of consumerism and women's evolving pathways to individuality.
Authors and Affiliations
Maryam Riasat
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP733130
- DOI https://doi.org/10.55737/qjss.217575574
- Views 42
- Downloads 0
Socio-Psychological and Economic Problems Faced by Hospitalized Patients and their Effects on their Quality of Life
Patients face many Social, economic and Psychological problems faced in hospitals. The primary caregivers of people with various mental illnesses, such as early psychosis, chronic schizophrenia, depressive disorders, anx...
A Cultural Transformation: Pakistani Girls Outperforming Boys in Education
In this paper, we highlight and present a nuanced picture of girls’ outperformance and boys’ underperformance in education in the urban centres of Pakistan. This is a very interesting and remarkable gender reverse trend...
Unveiling the Shadows: Understanding Social and Demographic Awareness of Migrant Smuggling in Pakistan
Migration as a social issue has gained importance for the government and the people. Illegal migration has caused thousands of people to die due to unawareness of its consequences. Therefore, the present study highlights...
Teacher's Job Satisfaction at Tertiary Level in District Swabi
The current study focused on tertiary level teacher job satisfaction. The study's goal was to find out how instructors felt about their jobs in terms of pay and working conditions. The available population consisted of a...
Relationship between Personality Traits and Help-seeking Behaviour of Undergraduate Students
The individual knows that he or she needs assistance to solve the problem. Yet, seeking assistance may be associated with an open admission of failure and dependence on others. These anticipated psychological costs often...