Feminist thought and postmodern paralysis: implications and research

Feminist Thought

Bristor, J.M. & Fischer, E. (1993). Feminist thought: Implications for consumer research. The journal of consumer research,19(4), 518-536.

Bristor and Fischer (1993) suggest that consumer research has long misrepresented women and that, because of the distortion of thoughts, it is up to feminist theorists to reorganize and critique consumer research in order to make sense of the way that it has been gendered. By attempting to reappraise and revise, a difficult task given that many perspectives that are biased are unconscious, a newfound sensitivity and fairness can be applied to consumer research theory in regards to the representation of women. The article, in shedding light on the issue, summarizes some of the major areas of feminist thought and then uses that information in order to locate biases that live deep within the major understandings of science.

Methodology: Bristor and Fischer (1993) apply three unique feminist perspectives to assess scientific objectivity and the problematics, theories, methods of data collection, and methods of data analysis in consumer research.

Key findings: First of all, feminist perspectives were shown to illustrate androcentrism (a type of sexism that favors men over women) -- in traditional definitions of objectivity (Bristor & Fischer, 1993). Next, problematics reflective of women's interests and their experiences seemed to be, for the most part, ignored in conventional consumer research (1993).

Contributions: Bristol and Fischer (1993) hope that further understanding of the topic can help to reduce gender biases and assist in developing more accurate and thus more useful knowledge when it comes to consumer research.

Catterall, M., Maclaran, P. & Stevens, L. (2005). Postmodern Paralysis: The Critical Impasse in Feminist Perspectives on Consumers. Journal of Marketing Management,21(5), 489-504.

Introduction: Catterall, Maclaran and Stevens (2005) offer an exploration of why critical feminist voices have been silenced in our consumer culture. The article proffers an overview of research on gender and consumer behavior and the way in which objective perceptions from feminist theories can begin to change the way that we look at the topic of gender and consumption.

Methodology: Catterall, Maclaran and Stevens (2005) engage in a brief overview of research on gender and consumer behavior. They then discuss how postmodern and postfeminist perspectives have weakened feminism as a critique of gendered consumption. The authors then set forth a case for why a return to "materialist feminism" (2005) would set the stage for original -- and more significant -- examinations of gendered consumption.