Productive and repressive power: The influence of gender norms on parents' decisions on children's consumption

• Published date: 01 April 2024
• Author: Lealis Vaz Meleiro Lopes,Andres Rodriguez Veloso,Sofia Batista Ferraz
• Date: 01 April 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12558

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Productive and repressive power: The influence

of gender norms on parents' decisions on

children's consumption

Lealis Vaz Meleiro Lopes

1

| Andres Rodriguez Veloso

1

|

Sofia Batista Ferraz

2

1

Faculty of Economics, Administration,

Accounting and Actuarial Science (FEA/

USP), University of S˜

ao Paulo,

S˜

ao Paulo, Brazil

2

Marketing Department, Business

Administration Department, Fundaç˜

ao

Getúlio Vargas (FGV), Escola Superior de

Propaganda e Marketing (ESPM), S˜

ao

Paulo, Brazil

Correspondence

Lealis Vaz Meleiro Lopes, Faculty of

Economics, Administration, Accounting

and Actuarial Science (FEA/USP),

University of S˜

ao Paulo, 908 Prof.

Luciano Gualberto Avenue, Butant˜

a, S˜

ao

Paulo, Brazil.

Email: lealisvaz@usp.br;lealisvaz@

gmail.com

Funding information

Coordenaç˜

ao de Aperfeiçoamento de

Pessoal de Nível Superior, Grant/Award

Number: 001

Abstract

This study examines how parents exert productive and

repressive power in influencing their children's gender

socialization through consumption. We interviewed 20 par-

ents responsible for educating 36 children to investigate

their challenges when confronted with their children's con-

sumption demands that deviate from gender-appropriate

norms. Under a queer feminist poststructuralist perspec-

tive, our results reveal the conflicts between parents and

their children and between mothers and fathers when

making consumption decisions that affect gender socializa-

tion. Our findings contribute to the consumer socialization

literature by recognizing how gender norms influence par-

ents' decisions about their children's consumption. We also

shed light on the deployment of productive and repressive

power tactics by parents in shaping their children's gender

identity toward an “ideal”norm.

KEYWORDS

children, gender norms, power, resistance

1|INTRODUCTION

Consumer socialization, “the process by which young people develop consumer-related skills,

knowledge, and attitudes”(Moschis & Churchill, 1978, p. 599), is a key aspect of the

Received: 21 June 2021 Revised: 18 June 2023 Accepted: 13 July 2023

DOI: 10.1111/joca.12558

© 2023 American Council on Consumer Interests.

J Consum Aff. 2024;58:177–195. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/joca 177

construction of modern society. The family, among other socialization agents such as media,

advertising, peers, and school, plays a significant role in shaping children's understanding of

society (Carlson & Grossbart, 1988; Gaviria et al., 2019), often under a heteropatriarchal view

(Everett et al., 2022; MacKinnon, 1982). Extant literature on consumer socialization explains

how parental style may influence learning (Harrison et al., 2021), how children develop certain

traits that influence consumption habits, such as advertising avoidance (Chinchanachokchai &

de Gregorio, 2020), technology readiness (Mishra et al., 2018), how families communicate about

the consumption (Essiz & Mandrik, 2022), and how parents align learning goals and education

processes when actively pursuing a given outcome (Grønhøj & Gram, 2020). However, these

studies have been limited by a traditional dualistic perspective that dichotomizes experiences

based on generalized distinctions such as masculine/feminine (Romanyshyn, 1989), which has

a significant impact on consumers' experiences, motivations, preferences, and self-concept

(Thompson & Hirschman, 1995). Following Pirani and Daskalopoulou's (2022) discussion on

the use of queer theories in marketing studies, we understand that it is necessary to break free

from this binary understanding of gender to begin comprehending how families navigate the

consumer socialization of children.

This binary view of gender influences families' consumption decisions, with parents often

buying gender-stereotyped products for their children even before they can express preferences

(Fisher-Thompson, 1993; MacPhee & Prendergast, 2019; Pomerleau et al., 1990; Robinson &

Morris, 1986) or when they are old enough to express toy preferences (Etaugh & Liss, 1992;

MacPhee & Prendergast, 2019). Parents use preconceived views of gender to navigate consump-

tion decisions, approving certain decisions (e.g., buying ballet lessons for a girl) and negating

others (e.g., not letting a boy play with a doll) to regulate gender performativity from a dualistic

perspective, therefore promoting the patriarchy (Hooks, 2010). While doing so, parents are

using consumption and buying decisions to guarantee that the heteronormativity of gender

remains in place as “normal”(MacKinnon, 1982). While society has slowly been moving away

from this dualistic perspective of gender (Piscitelli, 2006), parents still struggle with their experi-

ences growing up and traditional views of gender propagated by several institutions

(e.g., religious institutions, and leaders, conservative political parties, the media and advertising,

and conservative networks).

This study takes a different approach by considering the “context of context”(Askegaard &

Linnet, 2011) to better understand parents' experiences as gatekeepers of their children's con-

sumption desires. Building on a queer feminist poststructuralist perspective (Bristor &

Fischer, 1993; Pirani & Daskalopoulou, 2022), we challenge the static view of identities and

focus on the socio-historical power struggles between individuals and society while actively

socializing children's heteronormative gender identity. We use Foucault's (1975,1977) micro-

physics of power to examine the productive (i.e., subtle and pervasive form of power that

operates through the creation of new social relationships and ways of thinking) and repressive

(i.e., individuals or institutions use force or coercion to control the actions of others) power

structures that shape parents' behavior toward their children's consumption. Based on this dis-

cussion, we introduce the research question that guides our work: How do parents use produc-

tive and repressive power to influence children's gender socialization through consumption?

By answering this question, under a queer approach that challenges heteronormative gender

views and the patriarchy, we can understand the lived experiences of parents while educating their

children about consumption and behaviors within a society still aligned with an ideal gender iden-

tity. Using Foucault's (1977,1980) lens on power (e.g., productive and repressive), we can extend our

knowledge of consumer socialization and the tools parents use to attain certain learning outcomes.

178 LOPES ET AL.