Dominant Culture as Consumer Shaming
I shared in one of my rituals in writing, “Stop Selling Me On…” on being intentional with purchases especially during the holiday season. My intention with the share and post that eventually came afterward was to encourage people to make decisions beyond the artificial intelligence programmed into our devices telling us to make purchases. To think beyond the constant email marketing reminding us to make a purchase at every round or if we’ve left something in our cart and didn’t check out. My point still stands but I wanted to share a nuanced thought that was presented shortly afterward.
The thought or share was “Don’t shame people that ARE out making purchases and being consumers during this time because often the sales are the ONLY times they are actually able to afford certain items. When I was a college student, I couldn’t afford to purchase a tv or new laptop and I could when Black Friday sales happened.” If you were looking at my face, you could see the major side eye and sarcasm that ensued but instead I want to address this response when being challenged to be intentional about what it is we purchase and consume.
Again, I am not monitoring people’s pocketbooks or wallets and I am not telling people to not make purchases they actually need. What I am hoping to do is to challenge people to reconsider if they are making a purchase because they genuinely have thought through that purchase and desired to have it or really need it. Asking ourselves this question is NOT having a poverty mindset, being intentional about consumption and making purchases is NOT refusing to ‘do the work’ or ‘invest in oneself.’ Please do not let anyone guilt you into believing so.
Now onto the nuance of the statement. Americans specifically (although I know this is not limited to just Americans, I speak to that experience because it is my experience) spend more money buying things that end up being short lived and tossed into landfills more than any other country in the world. Our over consumption and thirst for whatever is next: the upgrade, the new trendy shiny object, the latest and greatest thing leads to the global impact of the climate crisis. Kennae, how the hell did we get here? Check out these documentaries for more info (The True Cost, Seaspiracy, GMO OMG).
It is a privileged person or lived experience that can say, “ Sales are the only times people can afford certain items.” From my experience, people considered low income are aware of their needs and desires all year long and also keenly aware of when food is needed (sustainability) and when a new television (pleasure) is needed or desired. Black Friday is not suddenly having a sale on cans of tuna, spring mix salad or ramen noodles. Being a college student doesn’t always happen for people with undervalued potential, let alone purchasing a new tv or laptop. Many times college becomes a dream and low income families are working towards supporting and sustaining themselves, not having the latest laptop in rose gold. I am NOT saying this is the case for everyone but I am trying to point out the privilege of this statement to help others realize the ways that dominant culture will make ways and statements to protect itself and the harm it causes us to self-inflict.
“Dominant culture will make ways to protect itself and the harm it causes.”
Dominant culture is winning with this statement because someone will resonate with their experience, a friend's experience or a viewed experience from a show or movie relating to a college student and we know college students are making due with what they have. If we mentally are able to find an excuse for a college student, we then can extend that same excuse or behavior to people that once were college students or are not college students now. Then we have successfully continued our role in supporting capitalism, climate change and mindlessness which is hurting all of us.
“Dominant culture is creative and will mimic whatever seems current or trendy in an effort to survive.”
Dominant culture is creative and will mimic whatever seems current or trendy in an effort to survive. Consumer shaming is NOT a thing anyone has to be in fear of much like the guise of cancel culture, which provides a word for people to choose to not speak up or be aware of certain issues to remove their responsibility from all of it. But the secret is, we are all interconnected and if we do not get a grip on our need to constantly consume, we will continue to witness our own demise.