A Cultural Comparison of Sex Role Identity and Attitude toward Grooming and Recreational Apparel Shopping Behavior among Male Consumers

Abstract

This study focused on the cultural differences between South Korea and the U.S. in terms of male consumers' sex role attitude and its influence on grooming and apparel shopping behavior. Purposive samples of American and South Korean males aged between 20 and 40 years were surveyed. The sample sizes were 219 and 233 for American and South Korean consumers, respectively. The data were analyzed by structural equation modeling and ANOVA using SPSS 12.0 and AMOS 14.0. The results indicated that only grooming was influenced by the perceived femininity in the case of South Korean men; however, the model for American men indicated a significant positive influence of femininity on grooming and recreational apparel shopping behavior. In other words, American male consumers who perceive themselves feminine were more likely to be engaged in grooming and recreational apparel shopping behavior. On the other hand, for South Korean men, recreational apparel shopping behavior was not influenced by their sex role attitude, or whether they considered themselves feminine or masculine. This means that recreational apparel shopping behavior is a gender-specific behavior in the U.S., but not in South Korea. The findings of this study indicated that culture has influence on consumers' approach to shopping and appearance. South Korean male consumers were more likely to acknowledge themselves as being feminine, enjoy apparel shopping and grooming compared to American male consumers.