Parents displaying family consumption in Ireland. (1st February 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kiely, Elizabeth; Ging, Debbie; Kitching, Karl; Leane, Máire
• Is Part Of: Families, relationships and societies. Volume 11:Number 1(2022)
• Page Start: 83
• Page End: 100
• Publication Date: 2022-02-01
• Subjects: family practices -- parenting -- displaying family -- consumption; Families -- Research -- Periodicals; Families -- Periodicals; Intergenerational relations -- Periodicals; 306.805
• DOI: 10.1332/204674321X16358719361010
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2046-7435

Abstract

Abstract : This article considers qualitative data collected from 78 parents in an Irish study on the commercialisation and sexualisation of children. It makes a distinctive contribution in showing that the framework of family display (Finch, 2007 ) can be productively applied to the entire field of family consumption. It shows that consumption narratives can be viewed as a tool that is used to display family – in other words, showing how family is done – to internal family members and to outsiders. While family display has been more often applied empirically with non-conventional families, its relevance for all families is reasserted by our data. Our application of the family display framework shows that middle-class parenting ideals are stretched and can become unstuck when displayed by middle-class parents, the constituency most associated with their production and propagation.