Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the

Journal of Consumer Research:

A Curation and Research Agenda

ZEYNEP ARSEL

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DAVID CROCKETT
MAURA L. SCOTT

D iversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has become

ubiquitous in public and academic discourse. This is
despite ongoing contests over definitions and the lack of a
directly and indirectly explores DEI issues primarily along
the following axes of difference illustrated in figure 1: gen-
der, age, and body; race and ethnicity; social class and so-
clear consensus about the relative importance (and even cial status; and religion and cultural identity. These, in
the appropriate order) of each component. For our pur- many respects, define the visible contours of everyday life.
poses, diversity refers broadly to real or perceived physical They are at least representative and may not be exhaustive.
or socio-cultural differences attributed to people and the In the figure, we depict them as distinct but connected
representation of these differences in research, market “stations” where subjectivities and structures collide and
spaces, and organizations. Equity refers to fairness in the cluster intersectionally, rather than as flat positions of lon-
treatment of people in terms of both opportunity and out- gitude and latitude situated in Euclidian space. We also il-
come. Inclusion refers to creating a culture that fosters be- lustrate two overlapping lenses that focus attention on
longing and incorporation of diverse groups and is usually specific features of DEI’s ontology. Each promotes a situ-
operationalized as opposition to exclusion or marginaliza- ated perspective on the axes, with the “Marketplace struc-
tion. Taken together, DEI is typically accompanied by an ture, stigma, and consumer vulnerability” lens calibrated to
axiological orientation toward procedural and distributive structural issues associated with disparity and fairness in
justice in organizations and institutions. the marketplace. The “Consumer identity and agency, mo-
In this curation, we highlight representative research bilization, and autonomy” lens is calibrated to agentic
published in the Journal of Consumer Research that issues associated with identity and practice in everyday
life. Although each lens promotes a situated perspective,
what they bring into view is neither predetermined nor
Zeynep Arsel ([email protected]) is a Concordia University
Research Chair in Consumption, Markets, and Society at Concordia fixed. Either can bring into view a marketplace premised
University, 1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. West, Montreal, QC H3G 1M8, on equality that promotes well-being or one premised on
Canada. David Crockett ([email protected]) is a Professor of inequality that promotes oppression.
Marketing and a Moore Research Fellow at the Moore School of
Business, University of South Carolina, 1014 Greene St., Columbia, SC
A research curation necessarily involves imposing order
29209, USA. Maura L. Scott ([email protected]) is the Persis E. on a disciplinary literature. But we begin by underlining
Rockwood Professor of Marketing at the Florida State University, 821 our intent not to single out the small handful of articles we
Academic Way, Tallahassee, FL 32305, USA. Please address correspon- include as exclusive markers of quality. Rather, among the
dence to Zeynep Arsel. The authors greatly appreciate the help, guidance,
and involvement of June Cotte and the support of the entire JCR Editorial many that have contributed to a rich conversation in the
Team. Author names are listed alphabetically, and all authors contributed journal, we highlight a representative set that exemplifies
to this curation equally. The authors thank the journal’s editors Bernd and draws the reader’s attention to certain features of each
Schmitt, June Cotte, Markus Giesler, Andrew Stephen, and Stacy Wood axis in figure 1. Given limited space, we provide a more
for granting the opportunity to write this curation.
comprehensive listing of representative work in the journal
This curation was invited by editors Bernd Schmitt, June Cotte, Markus that touches on DEI issues in table 1. In addition, the
Giesler, Andrew Stephen, and Stacy Wood.
reader will note that many articles we highlight are situated
Advance Access publication September 17, 2021 along multiple axes simultaneously, even when our

C The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Journal of Consumer Research, Inc.
V
All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [email protected]  Vol. 48  2022
DOI: 10.1093/jcr/ucab057

920
ARSEL, CROCKETT, AND SCOTT 921

FIGURE 1

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IN CONSUMER RESEARCH

Gender,
Age, and
Body

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Religion Marketplace
Consumer Identy &
Marketplace Structure and Diversity Race and
Cultural Ethnicity Agency
Sgma Equity and
Identy Consumer Mobilizaon
Consumer Vulnerability Inclusion Consumer Autonomy

Social Class
and Social
Status

discussion focuses on only one. We trust that upon reading The Fatshionistas’ market-changing project is notable
this curation, the potential and generativity of existing because underserved consumers routinely choose not to
DEI-oriented consumer research in the journal will be evi- pursue further market inclusion, due in part to internalized
dent, as will be the need for consumer researchers to con- stigma and attenuated access to empowering cultural
tinue breaking new ground. Given its importance and resources or strategies. But rather than accept inadequate
seemingly natural connection to consumption and market market offerings and limit themselves to the “plus-size”
systems, more research that cuts across numerous intersect- niche, the participants in this study utilize their cultural
ing axes of difference and intentionally brings DEI impli- and social capital to mobilize a collective identity and ap-
cations to the fore is welcome and needed. propriate logics from adjacent fields such as the Fat
Acceptance Movement to transform mainstream market
offerings into something they could accept. Of course,
GENDER, AGE, AND BODY such a remedy will not be available to every underserved
consumer who is potentially stigmatized on any number of
We begin by highlighting Scaraboto and Fischer’s bases. The Fatshionistas seek to transform markets based
(2013) work on Fatshionistas, which takes an inclusive axi- on relative social advantages that exist in contradistinction
ological position in understanding the relationship between to their stigmatized bodies.
gender, body size, and consumption. Instead of problemat- Barnhart and Pe~naloza (2013) explore age as a relatively
izing women with heavier bodies as lesser consumers neglected identity that is often invisible in research and
whose bodies need to be remedied by weight loss or dietary practice, despite increasingly older populations around the
changes to participate in the market, the authors start with world. They show that consumption is never a solitary pur-
the premise that the market provides inadequate offerings suit for people with diminished physical capabilities (due
for underserved consumers. They demonstrate how the to aging, disability, or both). They investigate the role of
stigmatization of body weight—exacerbated by beauty what is often an ensemble of family members, service pro-
norms, fashion systems, and medicalized discourses that viders, and friends in providing support to aging adults as
exclusively pathologize high body mass—contributes to they lose independence. The ensemble shapes and co-
the underserving of larger-sized women in fashion produces aged consumer identities and inscribes and
markets. affirms consumption meanings. The authors show how this
922 JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH

TABLE 1

EXAMPLES OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION (DEI) RESEARCH IN THE JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH

Article Axes examined Major findings relating to DEI

Amatulli et al. (2018) • Age Older consumers feel older or younger based on the social cues surrounding
them, and their own mindset. Younger social cues create identity threat
among older consumers; whereas younger consumers are unaffected by
age-cues.
Appau et al. (2020) • Religion In many places outside North America and Western Europe, personhood is con-
ceptualized dividual (rather than individual), which is a microcosm of social
relationships, a site where they all meet. Ghanaian Pentecostals experience
the transition from secular to “born again” as a never-ending state of being an
unfinished dividual, caught between a desired and an undesired in/dividuality.
~aloza
Barnhart and Pen • Age The authors identify an elderly consumption ensemble as a support system to

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(2013) • Body facilitate consumption for older consumers who need assistance to continue
to consume independently. The elderly negotiate their independence and
identity as real and perceived shifts in their capabilities evolve.
Bone et al. (2014) • Race Financial service providers treat minority (Black, Hispanic) customers more
• Ethnicity poorly than White customers. This negative treatment contributes to minority
consumers’ feelings of restriction. Minority consumers’ self-concept is
harmed, including their sense of autonomy and self-esteem.
Briley, Rudd, and Aaker • Body In the case of people who have health challenges such as chronic illness or trau-
(2017) matic injury, optimism can be activated by culturally appropriate frames. The
authors then discuss how these frames can be leveraged in promotional and
policy communication to better encourage positive health outcomes when
consumers are faced with health-related adversity.
Brough et al. (2016) • Gender Authors present evidence of a prevalent stereotype about “green” consumption
that ties it to femininity. Both self and others perceive green consumption as
more feminine. Further, men are more (less) willing to engage green con-
sumption when it affirms (threatens) their masculinity.
Cole and Balasubramanian • Age In this research on differences in information processing based on age, older
(1993) (60þ years old) and younger consumers showed no difference in the ability to
use nutrition label information in a lab-based study. However, in a supermar-
ket context, older (vs. younger) consumers’ information search behavior was
less intensive.
Coskuner-Balli and • Gender Middle class heterosexual men who chose to be stay at home fathers and adopt
Thompson (2013) • Status egalitarian gender norms frequently face identity threat due to ideologically
shaped stereotypes about masculinity and domestic work. Stay at home
fathers avert stigmas and marginalization of their identity through legitimation
strategies.
Crockett (2017) • Race Middle-class Blacks in the U.S. manage racial stigma using two prevalent micro-
• Culture political strategies that operate as counternarratives: (1) “discern and avoid,”
• Status which seeks distance from whatever is stigmatized, and (2) “destigmatize,”
which uses Black culture as a source of high status.
Crockett (2021) • Race Introduces Racial Formation Theory (RFT) as a useful theoretical approach for
addressing whether and how organizational and institutional actors in market
systems allocate resources in ways that challenge (or reinforce) ethnic and ra-
cial oppression.
Deshpande, Hoyer, • Ethnicity This research examines differences in ethnic identification among Hispanic con-
and Donthu (1986) sumers. This work underscores the heterogeneity among Hispanic consum-
ers, along a continuum of ethnic identity, and relative to Anglo consumers.
Durante et al. (2015) • Gender Poor economic conditions lead people to favor more resource allocation to their
daughters instead of their sons, reflected in wills, enrollment in beneficial pro-
grams, and gifts.
Gaeth and Heath (1987) • Age Senior citizens (vs. younger) consumers have greater difficulty discerning mis-
leading and non-misleading advertising claims. Training can reduce suscepti-
bility toward misleading ads among older and younger consumers.
Gilly and Zeithaml (1985) • Age Elderly (vs. younger) consumers were less likely to try and adopt consumer
technologies (e.g., ATMs, phone technologies, groceries with scanners).
Izberk-Bilgin (2012) • Religion Religious ideology and social class intersect to frame global brands as threats in
• Social class pursuit for an Islamist market society. Low-income Turkish Muslim consumers
use various discursive strategies to moralize their consumption and condemn
modernity and globalization
John and Cole (1986) • Age This research underscores the distinct processing challenges experienced by
the elderly and the young, and the factors that magnify those difficulties (e.g.,
information volume, presentation).
ARSEL, CROCKETT, AND SCOTT 923

TABLE 1 (CONTINUED)
Article Axes examined Major findings relating to DEI
Kates (2002) • Sexual Examines the consumption practices of gay male consumers, and how these
orientation practices define gay sub-culture membership. Due in part to the stigma expe-
rienced by gay men, consumption practices defining membership are more
ambiguous and emphasize individuality.
Kates (2004) • Sexual Studies brand authenticity and legitimacy through the experiences of gay male
orientation consumers. Various factors signal legitimacy (e.g., duration of support toward
the community and its key issues). Gay consumers reward legitimate brands
and punish illegitimate (e.g., perceived homophobic) ones.
Law, Hawkins, and Craik • Health Studies interventions to help overcome memory and recognition deficits among
(1998) • Age elderly consumers. Environmentally based interventions can reduce the truth
effect among the elderly.
Li, Haws, and • Gender The authors show that parenting motivation activates gender-specific familial

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Griskevicius (2019) stereotypes about parenting roles where men are future-focused and women
are present-focused. Adoption of these stereotypes influences inter-temporal
preferences for small immediate rewards versus larger future rewards.
Luedicke (2015) • Race The author conceptualizes consumer acculturation as a relational and interac-
• Ethnicity tive process, where indigenes interpret and adjust to immigrant consumption
practices. Those interpretations form the basis of mutual adaptation and
conflict.
Luna, Lerman, and • Ethnicity The authors examine the effectiveness of bilingual communication in advertising
Peracchio (2005) • Culture and the effects of information process on such communications.
Luna and Peracchio • Ethnicity In a study of Spanish–English fluent bilinguals, this research examines the
(2005) • Culture effects of code-switching on bi-lingual consumers. It finds that when advertis-
ing messages switch from the majority to minority language (e.g., English to
Spanish) this results in lower levels of product evaluations, as compared to
minority to majority (e.g., Spanish to English). This effect is moderated by the
extent to which the consumer has a favorable attitude toward the minority lan-
guage (e.g., Spanish).
Maciel and Wallendorf • Gender Through politicized identity projects, consumers with marginalized and devalued
(2021) identities use private, semipublic, and public space as resource to reclaim, as-
sert, and valorize their identities and subvert identity hierarchies.
Maciel and Wallendorf • Gender The authors explore taste-centered consumption in the context of US craft beer
(2016) • Status enthusiasts seeking to become aficionados. They detail how taste evaluation
systems that can grant legitimate aficionado status are built. They highlight
the central role of cooperation (rather than competition) in building consensus
around inherently ambiguous esthetic experiences.
McAlexander et al. (2014) • Religion People who resign from marketized or detraditionalized religions face a collapse
of their identities. To resolve this, they embark on reflexive transgression of
religious consumption codes and pursue identity investments in fields outside
their former religion.
Mittal and Griskevicius • Age Authors show that people who experienced resource-poor childhoods are less
(2016) • Social class interested in health coverage than those who had wealthy childhoods, inde-
pendent of current SES. They also show that this effect reverses with informa-
tion about the likelihood of experiencing illness, such that those with resource-
poor childhood are more interested in health coverage.
Mittal, Griskevicius, • Age Authors show that people who experienced resource-poor childhoods have
and Haws (2020) • Social class lower subjective life expectancy than those who did not, which influences a
wide array of consumer decisions (e.g., life insurance, long-term care).
Moisio and Beruchashvili • Body The authors show how support groups that facilitate well-being goals related to
(2010) overconsumption in the United States (such as Weight Watchers) follow a
spiritual-therapeutic model that is built on shared vulnerabilities and therapeu-
tic rituals.
Nikolova and Lamberton • Gender The authors show that in decision dyads, male-male pairs show extreme aver-
(2016) sion to compromise options because the dyad triggers gender dichotomization
that is not present in all-female or mixed gender pairs. But when men are able
to signal masculinity prior to the decision-making event their preference for
compromise options is similar to other dyads.
Oswald (1999) • Culture Examines culture swapping (i.e., using products to navigate between cultures).
Haitian immigrants in the United States strategically use products to convey
varied identities (e.g., Haitian, American).
~aloza (1994)
Pen • Ethnicity Examines immigrant identity through the lens of consumption. Mexican immi-
• Cultural identity grants in the United States use consumption to adapt to their context.
Consumption is linked to identity, and outcomes to assimilate, maintain, resist,
or segregate relative to the US setting and identity.
924 JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH

TABLE 1 (CONTINUED)
Article Axes examined Major findings relating to DEI
Price, Arnould, and • Age Among the elderly, special possessions carry significant meaning and social
Curasi (2000) function. This research identifies how the elderly determine how to bequeath
such possessions to others, or otherwise dispose of them.
Rodas et al. (2021) • Social class The authors propose that bicultural (vs. monocultural) consumers will find
“paradox brands,” which reflect contradictory meanings (e.g., rugged and so-
phisticated), more appealing. The preference is driven by an increase in cog-
nitive flexibility and cultural identity integration found readily among bicultural
consumers.
Saatcioglu and • Social class The authors uncover five status groups localized among residents of a mobile-
Ozanne (2013) • Status home park organized around a distinct set of embodied moral dispositions
that help create and reinforce identity in the park, which is heavily stigmatized
for low social status.

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Sandikci and Ger (2010) • Religion The authors show how through routinization and estheticization of a stigmatized
practice (Islamic veiling), coupled with shifts in macro level political climate
and market changes transforms it into fashionable and legitimated choice.
Scaraboto and Fischer • Body Underserved consumers, such as women with high body mass seeking fashion-
(2013) able clothing, work to seek further inclusion by a mobilizing their collective
identity and appropriating logics from adjacent fields to transform mainstream
market offerings to be more accessible.
Schau, Gilly, and • Age This research examines the role of consumption during retirement, and its role
Wolfinbarger (2009) in (re-)defining identity in this stage in the consumer’s lifecycle.
Skurnik et al. (2005) • Age Elderly (vs. younger) consumers were vulnerable to the “illusion of truth” effect
(i.e., elderly were told that a claim was false were more likely to later accept it
as true).
Stayman and • Ethnicity Examines the malleable relationship between ethnic identification and product
Deshpande (1989) choice. Consumers with Chinese and Mexican ethnic identification selected
more ethnically-consistent food when in an ethnic (e.g., with parents) versus
non-ethnic social context.
Tepper (1994) • Age This research examines the age groups within the senior citizen community.
Anticipated stigmatization and self-devaluation reduce relatively younger
senior citizens’ willingness to use otherwise potentially advantageous
promotions.
Thompson, Henry, and • Gender Authors introduce “reactive reflexivity” as alternative conceptualization of the
Bardhi (2018) • Social class relationship between agency, social structure, and identity. Based on a
sample of divorced women displaced from the middle-class, they show
how their response to estrangement from pre-divorce lifestyles led to
practices meant to insulate those tastes and esthetics as they sought to
regain middle-class status and identity.
Tian et al. (2014) • Body The authors show how technology-enhanced narratives enable a community
based, liberating, and less marginalizing approach in providing care to people
living with chronic illness.
€
Ustüner and Holt (2007) • Social class The authors show a model of consumer acculturation in which low socioeco-
nomic status migrant consumers face barriers to participate in dominant con-
sumer culture, from which they are excluded from and chose to self-exclude.
€
Ustüner and Thompson • Social class Upper class women clients hold significant power over the service performances
(2012) • Gender of rural migrant male service workers free from the patriarchal norms they
abide elsewhere. In return, men who work as service providers leverage their
coveted profession in their own social milieu for gendered power and status.
Varman and Belk (2009) • Cultural identity The authors explore nationalism (ideology) in a contemporary Indian
anti-consumption movement that emerged in response to colonialism,
modernity, and globalization.
Veresiu and Giesler (2018) • Ethnicity The authors introduce the concept of “market-mediated multiculturation,” an in-
• Cultural identity stitutional mechanism for attenuating ethnic group conflicts, where immigrant-
receiving cultures fetishize immigrants and commodify difference as a way of
obscuring inequality.
Vikas, Varman and Belk • Social status This research examines the interplay between cultural status hierarchy and
(2015) • Cultural identity social mobility.
Wallendorf and Reilly • Ethnicity This research examines the consumption behavior of Mexican-American con-
(1983) sumers, relative to White-Americans and Mexican people living in Mexico. It
identifies distinct consumption patterns among Mexican-American consumers
relative to the other groups.
Weinberger (2015) • Religion Non-celebrants of dominant consumption rituals simultaneously need to protect
their identities while also maintaining their relationship with celebrators.
Presumed over-inclusivity of dominant rituals put non-celebrants into a
ARSEL, CROCKETT, AND SCOTT 925

TABLE 1 (CONTINUED)
Article Axes examined Major findings relating to DEI
position where they have to manage the group power dynamics and their in-
group relations through physical, cognitive, and emotional work.
Weinberger, Zavisca, • Social class The authors describe socialization differences between middle class emerging
and Silva (2017) adults and working-class emerging adults about their future. The dominant ori-
entation of collecting and strategically deploying exploratory experiences as
cultural capital not only is shaped by the unique class habitus but also perpet-
uates the social advantages of middle class over working-class emerging
adults.
Williams and Drolet • Age Using the lens of time horizon, the research finds that older (vs. younger) con-
(2005) sumers prefer and recall ads with an emotional (rational) appeal. Younger
(older) consumers can behave like older (younger) ones by inducing a limited
(expanded) time horizon.

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Yan et al. (2021) • Social class This research finds that middle class consumers are more motivated to engage
• Social status in green consumption (relative to lower- and upper-class consumers)/
Yoon and Kim (2018) • Social class This research uncovers the effects of economic mobility and socioeconomic sta-
• Social status tus on consumers’ desire to engage in variety seeking.
NOTE.— This table provides a representative listing of a selection of JCR articles since 1983, exhibiting some connections to the Diversity, Equity, and
Inclusion Axes discussed in this article. This is not intended to be a complete or systematic review of JCR or the consumer behavior literature.

co-production of aged identity is fraught with contest and seeking financial services. The authors lay bare the
negotiation, based on tensions between aging consumers “systemic, chronic, and uncontrollable” restrictions on
and their care ensemble, as well as misalignments between options these consumers confront based on service providers’
old age as a subject position and aging as an identity proj- race and ethnic bias and the corresponding downstream im-
ect shaped by dominant cultural discourses and understand- pact on well-being and judgments about the marketplace.
ings about “getting old.” They show that despite a cultural They employ a multi-method approach to uncovering
shift toward seeing aging more positively, the marketplace insights into the experiences of Black and Hispanic consum-
still largely constructs it as a stigmatized identity. They ers, who are not widely represented in consumer behavior re-
also highlight the ways that care can appear to enable aged search. This includes an innovative “mystery shopper” field
consumers while actually repressing or discouraging them study approach, where a multi-racial and multi-ethnic group
and stripping them of agency. They discuss ways co- of study confederates visit banks as loan seekers. They find
consumers (and co-producers) of care ensembles can gen- that non-White (vs. White) loan seekers are treated more
erate supportive, dignified, and positive meanings while poorly by loan officers in objective terms. They were asked
providing assistance. In understanding the practices of con- to provide more documentation and offered less information
sumers who may frequently need interpersonal or market- in response to their queries, acts of discretion with direct
based assistance, one should include and acknowledge implications for the potential outcomes of the loan applica-
joint consumption and intersubjective production of con- tion process. They reveal the psychological impact of such
sumer identities. restrictions on consumers through a series of depth inter-
In sum, this research finds that consumers’ gender, body views, in which non-White (vs. White) consumers correctly
type, or age may be treated as stigmatizing attributes that perceive a subordinated position that limits their ability to
influence their marketplace experiences. Women in partic- pursue self-directed goals and whatever freedoms the market
ular face unique and often magnified challenges based on might provide. They conduct an experiment to identify the
body type norms. Furthermore, personal characteristics underlying psychological mechanisms of this perception,
like disability or elderly status can diminish an individual’s namely diminished self-esteem and autonomy. That is, when
transformative capacity by rendering them not merely less Black and Hispanic consumers experience racial and ethnic
apt to be respected but also dependent on others’ resources discrimination in financial services, they liken the loan seek-
to participate in the marketplace. ing experience to a hopeless battle. As decades of research
have demonstrated, this harms their financial prospects and
well-being. We note that discrimination in financial services
RACE AND ETHNICITY also has the potential to harm the bank’s brand.
Cultural identity is another perspective on DEI in con-
A prominent perspective on race and ethnicity in DEI- sumer research. Using that lens, Rodas, John, and Torelli
oriented consumer research examines it through the lens of (2021) examine the perception of bicultural consumers,
disadvantage or vulnerability. In that vein, Bone, who internalize two cultural identities (e.g., Hispanic-
Christensen, and Williams (2014) identify marketplace American, Asian-American). The authors propose that bi-
restrictions experienced by Black and Hispanic consumers cultural (vs. monocultural) consumers will find “paradox
926 JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH

brands,” which reflect contradictory meanings (e.g., a others, field-dependent capital is not convertible to eco-
brand personality that is both rugged and sophisticated), nomic, social, or other types of capital when transferred to
relatively more appealing. In a series of experiments, in- other settings. Instead, its purpose is to help people navigate
cluding a field study of Latino and White participants in social life in a specific setting. Its value to the bearer is, in
their respective community markets, they find that bicul- this instance, confined to the park. And it shapes and is
tural consumers tend to favor paradox brands. This prefer- shaped by residents’ mostly home-focused consumption
ence for paradox brands is driven by cognitive flexibility. practices. They construct and affirm moral identities by en-
That is, bicultural consumers can be more or less cogni- gaging in social comparisons of field-dependent capital with
tively flexible (with more or less integration among their neighbors in the park and the surrounding community. The
multiple identities). As cognitive flexibility and cultural authors remind us that the relationship between consumption
identity integration increase for bicultural consumers, so and social class (or status group) is not deterministic. Rather,
does their preference for paradox brands. For monocultural consumption and social class are mutually constituting.

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consumers (e.g., non-Hispanic White), priming cognitive The literature does, of course, at times, demonstrate reg-
flexibility also increases their favorability toward paradox ularities in consumption behavior by social class group.
brands. The underlying process provides important insights For instance, Yan, Keh, and Chen (2021) demonstrate that
into how the lived experiences of bicultural consumers demand for utilitarian “green” products (e.g., energy effi-
shape their perceptions of marketplace offerings. That is, cient light bulbs) is highest among the middle class. They
bicultural consumers, based on internalizing multiple reveal an underlying connection between social class and
(sometimes contradictory) cultural identities, value and ap- demand driven by a tension between need for differentia-
preciate brands with multiple identities. tion and need for assimilation. Notably, that tension only
emerges when neither need is dominant, and this occurs
most prevalently among the middle class. By contrast, a
SOCIAL CLASS AND SOCIAL STATUS single need tends to dominate among the so-called upper
and lower classes. Consumers classified as upper class,
Social class position is in part created and maintained by whose need for differentiation is dominant, find green con-
consumption practices that vary across groups and cluster sumption too assimilating. Consumers classified as lower
within groups based on similar assumptions about how class, whose need for assimilation is dominant, find it too
consumption generates value. Consumer research on social differentiating. A dominant need attenuates demand for
class and status has largely operated as part of two distinct green products. It is only among members of the middle
but overlapping traditions. One focuses on the generation, class, where no single need is dominant, that a legitimate
maintenance, and expression of social class boundaries in tension emerges that generates a dual motivation to satisfy
consumption, typically operationalized as status. The other both needs that green consumption satisfies.
focuses on the social psychological and behavioral impli-
cations of social class groupings, typically operationalized
as clusters of similar perceptions and attitudes. Both tradi- RELIGION AND CULTURAL IDENTITY
tions incorporate direct (e.g., income and wealth) and indi-
rect (e.g., postal codes, education level, and occupational Consumer researchers have long studied the nexus of
status) measures of social rank. consumption, markets, and religion. We highlight Appau,
Saatcioglu and Ozanne (2013) explore the generation and Ozanne, and Klein’s (2020) study of Ghanaian converts to
maintenance of social class boundaries in everyday life Pentecostalism, as an exemplar of research situated at that
through the habitus, a set of mostly embodied dispositions nexus. The Ghanaian context is especially well-suited to
that functions similarly to a milieu. They uncover five status generate insights into this phenomenon because it is both a
groups localized among residents of a mobile-home park or- highly marketized and an exceptionally competitive reli-
ganized around a distinct set of largely embodied moral dis- gious consumptionscape. It also operates with very differ-
positions (i.e., Nesters, Homesteaders, and Community ent notions of personhood than the fully-agentic, utility-
Builders; Reluctant Emigrants and Outcasts). These disposi- maximizing consumer who is largely taken for granted in
tions adopted by park residents, taken together, constitute the marketing and consumer research set in North America
habitus, which helps create and reinforce moral identity in and Western Europe. In many places outside those settings,
the park and in the community immediately outside it. The personhood is conceptualized in dividual rather than indi-
mobile-home park, perhaps the quintessential residential vidual terms. The dividual is a microcosm of social rela-
marker of working-class poverty in the United States, is tionships, a site where they all meet. The authors use the
widely stigmatized as low status. Each moral disposition dividual to explain the permanence among Ghanaian
serves as field-dependent capital at the park, marking distinc- Pentecostal converts of what is generally thought to be a
tions between those who are otherwise stigmatized. Unlike transitional phase—from secular to “born again” life. They
ARSEL, CROCKETT, AND SCOTT 927

conceptually unpack the paradoxical notion of “permanent their corresponding needs (e.g., reduced stigma, increased
liminality” among converts, which they experience as a dignity, using technological resources to support these
state of being an unfinished dividual, caught between a de- needs and continue to make meaningful contributions to
sired and an undesired in/dividuality. society). The implications of these challenges for consum-
ers and consumption, for marketers, for policy makers, and
every other possible market systems stakeholder are widely
BREAKING NEW GROUND IN acknowledged to be profound but are at present scarcely
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IN theorized. Research questions that would explore these
CONSUMER RESEARCH implications should not be hard to craft, but we would
point to classic research questions around role portrayal
Although it is obvious to the point of trite to state that
and representation in media and popular culture as being of
the Journal of Consumer Research needs additional re-
immediate importance.
search on DEI, it is not our intent in this curation to frame

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this entirely as a problem to be solved. Rather, it is to
show, by dimensionalizing and highlighting well-regarded, RACE AND ETHNICITY: GAPS AND
recently published JCR, that DEI-oriented consumer re- RESEARCH QUESTIONS
search has taken institutional root at the journal and to
point to opportunities to continue its cultivation. In table 2, As many scholars have noted, products and brands com-
we present opportunities at each axis in the form of poten- monly draw signifying power from the socio-cultural world
tial gaps in current knowledge, which shapes a collection that can help draw attention and gain mindshare. They em-
of corresponding sample research questions that might bed themselves in various consumer collectives (e.g., brand
guide future work. We note straightaway that some impor- communities, subcultures of consumption, tribes) in ways
tant consumption domains remain all but entirely absent in that can grant them an aura of authenticity. At moments,
the journal. For example, more research is needed on hu- consumers and other actors oppose and resist their extrac-
man sexuality, and there is opportunity for more work on tion of socio-cultural value through what they justly de-
disability and diminished physical capacity. We need to scribe as cultural appropriation. It is not uncommon,
know much more about a diverse range of consumption- however, for accusations of appropriation to operate as a
oriented identity projects as people navigate the market- derogatory term rather than a concept with analytical
place. In addition, consumer research needs deeper explo- power. We believe that important theoretical and concep-
ration of subject positions at various intersections, some of tual work remains to be done on cultural appropriation as a
which exacerbate marketplace challenges and some of phenomenon. What does it mean? What are its boundaries?
which consolidate privilege (see Güliz Ger’s curation on More importantly, through what processes and practices
intersectionality published in 2018). Nevertheless, we re- does it occur?
main excited about the potential for emergent DEI research
to transform the field. To generate discussion, ideas, and
future research streams, we propose a selection of key
SOCIAL CLASS AND SOCIAL STATUS:
topics at each axis where additional research could address GAPS AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS
significant gaps in current knowledge about consumers and Marketplace inclusion has long stood as a taken for
consumption and point readers to a more extensive treat- granted objective for vulnerable and so-called bottom-of-
ment in table 2. the-pyramid consumers. Since the consumer disadvantage
studies of the 1970s and 1980s, increased marketplace lit-
GENDER, AGE, AND THE BODY: GAPS eracy in various forms (economic, financial, technological,
AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS and literal) has been widely touted as the foundation upon
which any other interventions intended to remediate vul-
In this historical moment, everyone is grappling with the nerability and disadvantage must build. Our intent is cer-
profound challenges to the discourses on gender expression tainly not to disparage any such efforts. Rather, it is to add
and the body that has emerged in socio-cultural life. that prevailing levels of social class inequality in many
Contested alterations to taken for granted aspects of gender parts of the world simply demand more focused attention
and the body are intensely multi-polar, far too complex and on the inequality-generating actions of businesses and
liquid for traditional dyadic notions of the masculine and elites. Where that has traditionally been the province of
feminine. They are as subversive as non-gendered pro- scholars interested in what happens on the factory floor,
nouns and as radical as gender reassignment. Consumers’ the marketplace has long been an independent site of in-
aging journey is fluid in other ways, and they navigate equality production. In the neoliberal era, defined in no
changes to health, financial and social status, and balancing small part by financial sector dominance over the state,
928 JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH

TABLE 2

EXAMPLES OF POTENTIAL FUTURE RESEARCH QUESTIONS RELATING TO CONSUMER RESEARCH AND DEI

Axis Gaps Potential research questions

Gender, age, and • Gender expression and body • How does broader awareness of diversity of gender self-expres-
body sion influence consumers’ vulnerabilities to media cues relating to
body norms (e.g., such as the established effects of unrealistic
media images on self-esteem)?
• Sexual orientation and marketplace • How does increased representation of LGBTQAþ people in me-
dia and popular culture shape markets such as marketplace in-
clusion of LGBTQAþ consumers, providing a framework for
conversation and acceptance in the marketplace, and serving as
cultural resource for brand identities?
• Age and creativity • How might a consumer’s relatively more advanced age be lever-

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aged in the creativity process? What aspects of their longer dura-
tion of life experiences contribute to creative processes? Are
older consumers’ potential contributions undervalued?
• Aging and healthcare • What is the role of technology in creating a dignified and indepen-
dent experience for consumers as they age? For instance, as
older consumers experience limited mobility, in what ways can
technology help satisfy basic human needs?
• Disabilities and technology • How do consumers with disabilities experience stigma and exclu-
sion in the marketplace? How do they mobilize around their dis-
tinct medical needs and experiences to seek greater dignity and
inclusion? How can marketers use new technologies to create
more inclusive spaces for the disabled?
Race and ethnicity • Racial ambiguity, bi- and multi-racial • How do racially ambiguous consumers use consumption to define
consumers their identities to observers? to themselves? How is such con-
sumption embodied to de-/emphasize aspects of the self? What
is the long-term impact on a consumer’s well-being?
• Interplay of race and ethnicity • How can distinctions between race (e.g., Black, White) and eth-
nicity (e.g., Hispanic), and their interactions, uncover novel per-
spectives on our existing theoretical understanding?
• Colorism and consumption • What are the contextual factors that perpetuate the harmful prac-
tice of colorism in the marketplace [i.e., more favorable treatment
toward people of color with lighter (vs. darker) skin tones]? When
and why does marketplace colorism occur? When and why do
non-group members seek more or less ethnic representation?
What are the underlying motives, and how can the behaviors and
motives be reconciled to promote societal well-being?
• Cultural appropriation • How can consumers identify and intervene against cultural appro-
priation in the marketplace?
• Race and technology • How do technologies such as DNA sequencing shape consumers
ideas about race and racism? For example, if a White (Black)
consumer may learn that they have African (Caucasian) DNA
heritage, how does this shift the consumer’s attitudes about race,
and what does this mean for their marketplace behaviors (e.g.,
shopping preferences, interactions with others)?
Social class and • New formations of economic precarity • How does recently rising precarity due to gig economy shape ev-
social status eryday consumption experiences of people who live with this
precarity?
• Contradictory class positions • How do consumers with contradictory class positions (e.g., those
with parents with different classes, those who experienced recent
mobility) navigate different social spheres?
• Class and predatory marketing • How can inclusion (e.g., in financial services) be designed to pro-
mote positive (and not predatory) practices toward lower social
class consumers?
Religion and • Religion, marketing, and radicalization • How do hate groups leverage marketing and religion to radicalize
cultural identity vulnerable youth? How can this be prevented and overcome?
• Nationalism and consumer identities • Do nationalistic movements restrict consumers’ cultural expres-
sion? If so, how is consumption used to defy and overcome the
restriction of cultural expression?
• Refugee consumers • Which marketplace consumption experiences (e.g., products,
services) are refugees and displaced individuals seeking to help
reinforce their identity, dignity, and self-reliance as they adjust to
their new location? What role can the marketplace play in promot-
ing acceptance of displaced people?
ARSEL, CROCKETT, AND SCOTT 929

TABLE 2 (CONTINUED)
Axis Gaps Potential research questions
Axis intersections • Stigma and intersectionality • How can a shared potentially stigmatized attribute (e.g., low
SES) create understanding and solidarity among groups that oth-
erwise have differences in terms of distinct characteristics (e.g.,
low SES Black consumers and low SES White consumers)? How
can marketplace structures facilitate such understanding?
• Stigma and harmful consumption • Many diverse aspects of a consumer are potentially stigmatized.
In such cases, how do consumers perceive harmful products
designed to minimize those attributes (e.g., anti-aging products,
skin whiteners, elective cosmetic surgeries)? What types of inter-
ventions can help consumers move away from harmful consump-
tion and toward self-acceptance and self-love?
• Social justice and social change • What factors help move consumers and society toward embrac-

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ing and celebrating differences?
• Axis fluidity • A theme across the various axes the focus on fluidity (as opposed
to dichotomization) of these concepts, such as gender, race,
health status, and even age. How and why are such aspects of a
consumer contextually dependent, and how does this dynamism
unfold in the marketplace?
• DEI and esthetics • How has the evolution of diverse images in the media and mar-
ketplace shifted esthetic norms and definitions of beauty?
• DEI and essential services • Financial and healthcare services are critical to consumers’ qual-
ity of life. Where are the gaps in equity and inclusion in these fun-
damental contexts, and how can the gaps be reduced to heighten
consumer (financial and health) well-being?

consumers are commonly made vulnerable or disadvan- ASKING PRESSING QUESTIONS AT

taged by structural features of their communities and the INTERSECTIONS AND BEYOND
predatory actions of marketers rather than by their limited
stores of knowledge. We believe research that explores the Lastly, we ask scholars to tackle big picture questions
inequality-generating and reducing practices of marketers that rest on the intersections of the four themes above and
and public policy makers remains as relevant today as deal with macro issues and society as a whole. We note
ever. that the fluidity across all these axes must be addressed in
future research. As more discussions about DEI takes place
RELIGION AND CULTURAL IDENTITY: in academia, policy spaces, and boardrooms, how can
scholarly work develop frameworks and tools to help soci-
GAPS AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS
ety be more inclusive? How can media representations of
During the COVID-19 global pandemic, some evidence diversity translate into inclusion and equity, and combat
from the United States suggests that the lines separating re- harmful stigmas around skin color, body size, and aging?
ligious theology and nationalism are blurred. Their inter- How can we transform beauty and fashion industries? How
section and interaction typically reduce the inclusion of the can we provide dignified and accessible essential services
vulnerable and underrepresented. For instance, religious to all members of society without predatory design?
extremism is associated with negative attitudes toward eq- We end the curation on an emancipatory note. We hope
uity in healthcare and education. Ideological resistance to that researchers and practitioners will be mindful of our con-
equity and inclusion raises more general questions about tributions to marketplace exclusion and stigma in practice.
the connection between ideology, religious identity, nation- Too often we problematize identities that fall outside socie-
alism, and consumption. Namely, what is the relationship tal norms and offer consumption-oriented remedies that pur-
between contemporary nationalistic and religious extremist port to “solve” already marginalized identities. These can
movements and self—or cultural—expression via con- push consumers toward risky (or harmful) products such as
sumption? That is, what role does consumption play for weight loss remedies, skin lightening and “age defying”
movement organizations and adherents, respectively, as a creams, conversion therapy, plastic surgery. We can strive
problem whose resolution mobilizes resources and action to conceptualize and construct a marketplace that is a cele-
versus a means of submission or subversion? bratory and empowering space. This requires a more
930 JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH

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ARTICLES IN CURATION institutional theory and a qualitative investigation of

Fatshionistas, plus-sized consumers who want more options
Frustrated Fatshionistas: An Institutional Theory from mainstream fashion marketers. Three triggers for mobili-
Perspective on Consumer Quests for Greater Choice in zation are posited: development of a collective identity, identi-
Mainstream Markets fication of inspiring institutional entrepreneurs, and access to
mobilizing institutional logics from adjacent fields. Several
Daiane Scaraboto and Eileen Fischer
change strategies that reinforce institutional logics while unset-
DOI: 10.1086/668298 tling specific institutionalized practices are identified. Our dis-
cussion highlights diverse market change dynamics that are
Volume 39, Issue 6, April 2013
likely when consumers are more versus less legitimate in the
Why and how do marginalized consumers mobilize to seek eyes of mainstream marketers and in instances where the
greater inclusion in and more choice from mainstream mar- changes consumers seek are more versus less consistent with
kets? We develop answers to these questions drawing on prevailing institutions and logics.
932 JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH

Who Are You Calling Old? Negotiating Old Age Identity consumer research implications of these findings are
in the Elderly Consumption Ensemble discussed.
Michelle Barnhart and Lisa Pe~
naloza Building Brands for the Emerging Bicultural Market: The
Appeal of Paradox Brands
DOI: 10.1086/668536
Maria A Rodas, Deborah Roedder John, and Carlos J.
Volume 39, Issue 6, April 2013
Torelli
As the elderly population increases, more family, friends, DOI: 10.1093/jcr/ucab037
and paid service providers assist them with consumption
Volume 48, Issue 4, December 2021
activities in a group that the authors conceptualize as the
elderly consumption ensemble (ECE). Interviews with Bicultural consumers now represent a third of the US pop-
members of eight ECEs demonstrate consumption in ad- ulation and are the fastest growing demographic group in

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vanced age as a group phenomenon rather than an individ- the United States. This shift in consumer markets presents
ual one, provide an account of how the practices and a challenge for marketers as they try to design brand strate-
discourses of the ECE’s division of consumption serve as a gies to serve this important group. In this article, the
means of knowing someone is old and positioning him/her authors show that certain types of brands, specifically para-
as an old subject, and detail strategies through which older dox brands that incorporate contradictory brand meanings,
consumers negotiate their age identity when it conflicts are particularly appealing to bicultural consumers. Results
with this positioning. This research (1) illuminates ways in from seven studies reveal that bicultural consumers evalu-
which consumer agency in identity construction is con- ate paradox brands more favorably and choose paradox
strained in interpersonal interactions, (2) demonstrates old brands more than traditional brands without contradictions.
identity as implicated in consumption in relation to and dis- Furthermore, bicultural consumers exhibit more favorable
tinction from physiological ability and old subject position, evaluations and greater choice of paradox brands than do
and (3) updates the final stages of the Family Life Cycle monocultural consumers. These cultural differences are at-
model. tributable to greater cognitive flexibility found among
biculturals, particularly those who adopt an acculturation
Rejected, Shackled, and Alone: The Impact of Systemic
strategy of integrating their different cultural identities.
Restricted Choice on Minority Consumers’ Construction of
Greater cognitive flexibility, in turn, prompts stronger en-
Self
gagement with a paradox brand, which contributes to more
Sterling A. Bone, Glenn L. Christensen, and Jerome D. favorable brand evaluations and choice. Contributions of
Williams this research for understanding bicultural consumers, mar-
keting to bicultural consumers, and directions for future re-
DOI: 10.1086/676689
search are discussed.
Volume 41, Issue 2, August 2014
Moral Habitus and Status Negotiation in a Marginalized
This research investigates the experience of systemic re- Working-Class Neighborhood
stricted choice and its impact on self-concept among racial
Bige Saatcioglu and Julie L. Ozanne
and ethnic minority consumers seeking financing.
Choosing loans is an involved consumer choice journey, DOI: 10.1086/671794
and encountering systemic, chronic, and uncontrollable
Volume 40, Issue 4, December 2013
restrictions on choice at any level of the goal/choice hierar-
chy limits and even prohibits minorities’ ability to make Examinations of the moral and ethical dimensions in iden-
desired choices. Across a multimethod investigation, these tity construction are scant in consumer research. This eth-
three studies demonstrate that minorities experiencing sys- nography of a trailer-park neighborhood investigates how
temic restricted choice endure deleterious impacts to self- different moral dispositions shape low-income, working-
concept, including framing the self as fettered, alone, dis- class residents’ consumption practices and status negotia-
criminated, and subservient, as well as marked reductions tions. Drawing from Bourdieu’s conceptualization of habi-
in self-esteem, self-autonomy, and self-efficacy. Minority tus and cultural capital, the authors extend this theory by
consumers also frame themselves as striving in a world of foregrounding the moral aspects of habitus and demon-
limited resources and fighting uphill, often losing battles. strate how morally oriented worldviews are enacted
Juxtaposing the experiences of racial/ethnic minorities through consumption practices and social evaluations
against the choice journeys of educationally and economi- within everyday communities. The study reveals five moral
cally similar white consumers puts those minority experi- identities that shape the residents’ social construction of
ences in sharp relief. The theoretical and transformative status within the microcultural context of a trailer park.
ARSEL, CROCKETT, AND SCOTT 933

These findings point to the multiplicity and richness of green consumption. Furthermore, these effects are moder-
social-class-based dispositions as well as the importance of ated by consumers’ power distance belief. These novel
studying micro-level contexts to better understand findings have significant theoretical and practical implica-
macrodynamics. tions on building a more sustainable society.
Assimilating and Differentiating: The Curvilinear Effect of Understanding Difficult Consumer Transitions: The In/
Social Class on Green Consumption Dividual Consumer in Permanent Liminality
Li Yan, Hean Tat Keh, and Jiemiao Chen Samuelson Appau, Julie L. Ozanne, and Jill G. Klein
DOI: 10.1093/jcr/ucaa041 DOI: 10.1093/jcr/ucaa010
Volume 47, Issue 6, April 2021 Volume 47, Issue 2, August 2020
Building on optimal distinctiveness theory, this research Some life transitions are difficult and prolonged, such as

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examines the effects of social class on green consumption. becoming an independent adult, forming a family, or
Across six studies, we find a curvilinear effect of social adopting healthy consumption habits. Permanent liminality
class on green consumption, with the middle class having describes transitions that can span years and even a lifetime
greater propensity for green consumption compared to the with no anticipated end. To understand how consumers are
lower and upper classes. This effect can be explained by caught in permanent liminality, we examine how
tension between need for assimilation (NFA) and need for Pentecostal converts consume religious services in their
differentiation (NFD) that varies among the three social difficult transition from the secular “world” to
classes in establishing their optimally distinctive identities. Pentecostalism. We draw on the concept of in/dividual per-
The lower class has a dominant NFA, the upper class has a sonhood to explain how the Pentecostal dividual is cocon-
dominant NFD, and the middle class has dual motivation stituted in an endless movement between the undesired
for assimilation and differentiation. Concomitantly, green “worldly” in/dividual and the contiguous incorporation
consumption has the dual function of assimilation and dif- into the desired Pentecostal in/dividual and structure.
ferentiation. The middle class perceives green consumption Pentecostals’ permanent liminality thus involves ongoing
as simultaneously assimilating and differentiating, which cycles of separation and incorporation within zones of in-
satisfies their dual motivation and enhances their propen- determinacy, in which neither separation nor incorporation
sity for green consumption. By contrast, the lower class is ever completed. This theoretical framework explains the
perceives the differentiation function of green consumption unfinished transition of Pentecostal converts as contested
as contradicting their dominant NFA, and the upper class dividuals. We extend this theoretical explanation for future
perceives the assimilation function as contradicting their research on liquid modernity and consumers caught in per-
dominant NFD, which lower both their propensities for manent liminality.