Consumer Socialization: the Role of Hunting and Gun Rituals in Becoming a Man
Consumer socialization is examined through the use of gun and hunting rituals in the hunting subculture. Through the use of shared stories, rituals, values, and rites of passage surrounding the gun, family members socialize young men for a period spanning two decades. We use Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory to document this socialization process as youths move across the stages of pre-hunter, neophyte, and apprentice, and competent hunters. We find that expression of masculinity is changes based on equipment relationships and hunting motive resulting in 4 categories of hunter: traditionalist, gearhead, experiential, and transcendental.
Citation:
Jon Littlefield and Julie L. Ozanne (2009) ,"Consumer Socialization: the Role of Hunting and Gun Rituals in Becoming a Man", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 36, eds. Ann L. McGill and Sharon Shavitt, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 634-635.
Authors
Jon Littlefield, Berry College, USA
Julie L. Ozanne, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA
Volume
NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 36 | 2009
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