Consumer Sexualities explores women’s experiences of shopping in ‘sex shops’ and using sexual commodities in their everyday lives. This enlightening volume shows how women take up sexual consumer ‘technologies of the self’ to work upon and understand themselves as confident and active sexual agents in postfeminist neoliberal culture. In guiding the reader through the historical emergence of sexual commodities ‘for women’ in feminism and postfeminism, Wood points to the normalisation and regulation of sexual practices and identities in and through consumption. Indeed, women’s accounts show the work involved in constructing the ‘right’ – knowledgeable, tasteful, and confident – orientation to sexual consumption and, by extension, in becoming an intelligibly ‘good’ sexual person. At the same time, the author draws upon de Certeau to show how the ordinary contexts in which sexual commodities are used can lead to unpredictable moments of adaptation, discomfort, playfulness, and resistance. A rich analysis of women’s everyday strategies of ‘making do’ with the kinds of femininity and female sexuality that sex shop culture represents, Consumer Sexualities will appeal to scholars of sociology, cultural studies and gender studies with interests in gender, sexuality, sex, and consumption.

This is the first book in English to analyse the stunning rise to prominence of cultures of dissident sexuality in Taiwan during the 1990s. Positioned at the crossroads of queer theory and postcolonial cultural studies, this book intervenes in current debates on sexuality and globalization to argue that the current emergence of public, dissident sexualities in non-Western locations like Taiwan cannot be reduced to the effects of homogenizing 'Westernization'. Instead, Situating Sexualities approaches the queer sexualities represented in recent Taiwanese fiction, film and public culture as dynamic formations that combine local knowledge with globalizing discourses on gay and lesbian identity to produce sexualities that are multiple, shifting and inherently hybrid. Equally, the book pushes out the limits of 'queer' to challenge the Eurocentrism of much queer theory to date. Consistently critical of essentializing accounts of 'Chinese' culture, the book nevertheless highlights some of the important ways in which Taiwanese formations of dissident sexuality differ from the familiar Euro-American formations.

Explores how evolutionary psychology has begun to identify the prehistoric origins of human behavior and discusses how those discoveries have influenced the way consumer spending is viewed and controlled by companies, retailers, and marketers.

This volume provides an in-depth examination of the role of sexuality in consumers’ life course and in the marketing of products and services. Leading scholars in the field define the most up-to-date picture of theories of sexuality in marketing and consumer research, mapping the topic through diverse theoretical lenses, addressing queer and feminist research, and putting sexuality and consumption in context. The book brings together leading international marketing scholars to build on the growing interest in theories of sexuality, queer theory, and intersectionality, which are gaining more interest among institutions and researchers interested in equality and diversity. While this book builds on existing expertise in consumer culture scholarship, it is the first time a marketing book focuses on sexuality, adding value to the existing repertoire in gender and feminist literature. The chapters are organised into three key sections: Part 1 maps the marketing and consumer research field, discussing how sexuality can be studied through different lenses; Part 2 focuses on queer and feminist theorising, drawing on LGBTQIA+ theory, queer theory, and theories of intersectionality to analyse how overlapping social categories interact to influence consumer behaviour, identity, and experiences in the marketplace; and Part 3 explores the personal and social aspects of sexuality, offering a broad overview of issues of gender and sexuality, digitalisation, and the sexual body. This text will be of direct interest to scholars and researchers within the fields of marketing, consumer research, sociology, and media studies. The aim of this book is to help scholars and students to develop a broader understanding about the interplay between sexuality, society, and the market.

This intriguing collection of stories and experiences from women of all walks of life allows readers to learn how others have handled everything from their first sexual encounter to abusive situations to rekindling romance in a long-term marriage.

This book covers the gamut of topics related to gender and consumer culture. Changing gender roles have forced scholars and practitioners to re-examine some of the fundamental assumptions and theories in this area. Gender is a core component of identity and thus holds significant implications for how consumers behave in the marketplace. This book offers innovative research in gender and consumer behavior with topics relevant to psychology, marketing, advertising, sociology, women’s studies and cultural studies. It offers 16 chapters of cutting-edge research on gender, international culture and consumption. Unique to this volume is its emphasis on consumption and masculinity and inclusion of topics on a rapidly changing world of issues related to culture and gender in advertising, communications, psychology and consumer behavior.

What does sexiness mean today? Has sexiness become something that is bought and sold? What identity effects does a sexiness informed by consumer culture have? This book addresses these questions, off the back of a heightened visibility of 'sex', 'sexiness', and 'sexualization' in everyday life.