“Postmodern” versus “long‐standing” cultural narratives in consumer behavior: an empirical study of NetGirl online

Abstract

In recent research, two views of the possible postmodern consumer have emerged. One view, advanced by Firat and Venkatesh, postulates that the consumer has increased expressive flexibility and is therefore liberated from prior ideologically‐created restraints. A second view, provided by Thompson and Hirschman and based on an empirical study of bodily‐related consumption, is less sanguine and argues that “long‐standing cultural narratives” continue to inhibit the consumer. To further consider these two contrasting perspectives, this paper analyses downloaded, discussion texts which express the emic views of consumers who participate in NetGirl, a gender and relationship‐oriented, online forum. The results provide some evidence supportive of both perspectives, i.e. the Net is more a mental, “hyperreal” and therefore more flexible phenomenon than the body, yet it also manifests the long‐standing need of people to tangibilize online phenomena in “real” terms. Implications are drawn which reflect this finding, as well as the idea that online cyber‐narratives and offline, real life narratives tend to mirror and be inscribed in each other.