The Love Muscle: Commodification of the Heart As the Gift-Of-Life

This paper explores the commodification of the heart within the context of organ donation. The paper demonstrates that the heart is saturated with metaphorical and cultural significance as a sacred symbol, which is being reworked into the ‘gift-of-life’ promotional discourse to appeal to potential donors. The paper considers how such appropriation of meanings is met with ambivalence among potential donors, who continue to embrace the heart as an existential ground for transcendence. Accordingly, the participants in this study raise ethical concerns over the progressive industrialization of the body as they question the extent to which the heart can be commodified while still preserves its cultural and existential significance.



Citation:

Ai-Ling Lai (2011) ,"The Love Muscle: Commodification of the Heart As the Gift-Of-Life", in E - European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 9, eds. Alan Bradshaw, Chris Hackley, and Pauline Maclaran, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 40.

Authors

Ai-Ling Lai, University of Leicester, UK



Volume

E - European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 9 | 2011



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