Ch: 7 Consumption (Week 4)

As chapter 7 introduces the topic of gendered narratives of work/life, the concept of consumption is explained. Consumption is how an individual chooses to present him/herself to the people around them through the way they dress, cars they drive, laptops they have, cell phones they carry, etc. In other words, it seems as though consumption is about materialistic things that may appear to make an individual have a higher standing within an organization, in others' eyes. What's interesting is that at my work, I know the hierarchy's and salaries of the people at my work and their choices of consumption aren't what one might expect. For example, the general manager at our hotel gets paid the most and is at the top of the hierarchy, however, he chooses to drive a toyota avalon. Yes, he dresses in a suit each day he is at work, but so does the other 1/3 of the hotel. Basically, everyone holds a PDA these days; it's rare to see anyone holding a basic flip phone. Society is much about one's status in regards to what they have and how much of it they have. In my opinion, when consumption regards cars, clothes, computers, phones, etc. in many cases it can be about greed and appearing successful in the eyes of others.