Constructing Hybridized Authenticities in the Gourmet Food Truck Scene. Issue 1 (23rd November 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Irvin, Cate
• Is Part Of: Symbolic interaction. Volume 40:Issue 1(2017)
• Page Start: 43
• Page End: 62
• Publication Date: 2016-11-23
• Subjects: hybridization -- hybrid authenticity -- identity construction -- omnivorous consumption; Symbolic interactionism -- Periodicals; Interactionnisme symbolique -- Périodiques; 302
• DOI: 10.1002/symb.267
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0195-6086

Abstract

Abstract : In this article, I construct three ideal types of identities operating in the New Orleans gourmet food truck industry (Down‐Home, Foreign Foodie type, and Hipster). Using evidence from three years of ethnographic observations, as well as qualitative interviews, I then examine the process of hybridization, in which the two forms of authenticity (food truck and brick‐and‐mortar) blend together, modifying each original authenticity to create a temporal product, hybrid authenticity. The value of this product is derived from the concrete but temporary relations between the product, the producers, the consumers, and the spaces where the product is produced and consumed.