Abstract
Through the lens of consumption at Chinese Starbucks, this paper examines the lifestyle and attitudes of parts of the mainland Chinese urban middle class, especially of the so-called xiaozi. Based on interviews with and guestbook entries by customers I analyze how the foreign brand and the multitude of meanings associated with it are consumed. I argue that consumption may be viewed as a particular search for authenticity that enables consumers to construct their self-images in the context of the vast changes occurring in contemporary China. A foreign brand promises to be especially valuable as it promises the authenticity of an ‘other’ on which one's own desires may be projected.
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