The Purchasable Love: The Reflection of Spousal Role and Identity in women's conspicuous consumption of body management

Nowadays consumption choices for body management especially among women have several symbolic implications and are a sphere for self-expression and social meaning making. Both in metropolitan contexts where anonymity and ephemeral relations are key characteristics, and social contexts in which kinship connections and origins are crucial, “body” is the main vehicle for identity it seems that a main part of conspicuous consumption appears in family and kinship interactions in Iran. The aim of this research is to explore what Iranian married women living in a metropolitan, in their spousal role and identity, experience through conspicuous consumption in body management and what meanings they construct and exchange. The qualitative research approach was employed and 38 women living in Mashhad were interviewed in the years 2015-2016. Interviews were transcribed and thematic analysis were conducted. Finally, three main concepts appeared: Transmission of status, commodification of love, ritualistic self-expression. Transmission of status implies that status is transmitted through women, husbands, husbands’ family members and other kinships. Commodification of love means women’s conspicuous consumption is the vehicle of their desirability and loveableity in their family role. Ritualistic self-expression indicate that kinship rituals and conjugal relationships are the main opportunities for women to experience self-expression and constraint in conspicuous consumption framework possibilities at the same time. Findings have new implications for the intractions between the socio-economic context of modern Iran and the meanings of women’s consumption behavior in the studied context.