Non‐white readings of whiteness

Abstract

Whiteness has rarely surfaced as a theoretical category in consumer research. Yet consumer research is dominated by whiteness, reflecting the privileged position of white academics and a Euro‐American epistemological stance that is inscribed within academic disciplines and institutions. Whiteness theory provides an explanation of ethnic and racial differences based on power, privilege and oppression. Whiteness is a marker against which other cultures, “the other,” are measured. Through the medium of in‐depth interviews this article focuses on the non‐white reading of whiteness as a distinctive, although marginalized, approach within studies of whiteness. The implications for consumption and consumer research are addressed.

Keywords:

• whiteness theory
• race
• ethnicity
• identity
• multicultural marketing
• consumer research