Gender categorisation in representational market practice

ABSTRACT

This paper explores gender categorisation in representational market practice. Drawing on the conceptual tools of constructivist market studies, combined with ethnomethodological theories of gender, this paper shifts attention from advertising representations to representational practice in markets. Based on an in-depth study of the development and marketing of a menstrual cycle tracking app, the paper analyses gender categorisation in different practices and over time. The category of women initially appears as a useful, straightforward category that becomes increasingly problematic for the company over time. Studying gender as a category that draws boundaries around entities highlights the rhetorical and practical work done by categories of gender.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender
• gender categorisation
• marketing practice
• market practice
• representational practices

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Torsten Söderbergs Stiftelse under [Grant E21/10].

Notes on contributors

Riikka Murto

Riikka Murto is a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Market Studies, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden. Her dissertation research explored the performance of gender and diversity in market practice and proposed a broadened agenda for marketing and consumer research on gender.