The production and consumption of ethnicity in a multicultural marketplace: A case study of Chinese-Canadian in Toronto.

摘要

This dissertation includes two main sections. The first section focuses on examining the directionality of consumer/marketer acculturation in a multicultural marketplace. Previous studies of consumer acculturation and assimilation have primarily focused on how diasporic consumers develop different acculturation strategies or how they negotiate their social and cultural identities through consumption. However, limited attention has been paid to how consumers of other ethnic backgrounds respond to cultural elements that are brought by the immigrants as well as how the children and grandchildren of transnational migrants re-learn their root cultures through consumption. This first part of this section examines the directionality of acculturation among members of different ethnic groups under the influence of multicultural ideology. My findings demonstrate that consumers of different ethnic background mutually adopt and integrate cultural practices from each other (inter-cultural acculturation). Ethnic consumers, especially the second or third generations of immigrants, are active in re-learning their cultural roots (reverse acculturation) through consumption. The second part of this section focuses on the ideological development of the "multi-directional culture of acculturation" under the notion of multiculturalism. I argue that consumers are in a liquid identification process (Bauman 2000) where new identities and boundaries are constructed and re-constructed at a fast pace. In summary, my study advances knowledge of consumer acculturation in two ways: (1) the identification of different directions of consumer acculturation develops a more contemporary understanding of the complexity and dynamics of consumer identity projects, and (2) the introduction of the "multi-directional culture of acculturation" provides a theoretical exploration of the endless process of cultural reconfiguration within the new globalization era.;The second section examines the market-mediated construction of ethnic performativity. The increasing number of ethnic minorities in multicultural societies such as Toronto not only creates a culturally diverse population but also generates opportunities for market agents due to a demand for more choices and variety. There are over one hundred festival celebrations organized by different ethnic and cultural communities in the city of Toronto annually. In this research I employ Butler's (1990) concept of performativity to examine how ethnic festivals temporally transfigure public spaces into metaphors of ethnicity. Different representations are re-produced and reinvented at the festivalscape under the notion of multiculturalism. My multiple-case analysis of four Chinese festivals in Toronto, on the one hand, demonstrates that festival participants (e.g., event organizers, market agents, performers, and consumers) are engaged in different symbolic activities in order to perform different identities and ethnic boundaries in and to the public. These performances also articulate different market, socio-cultural and political ideologies. On the other hand, my study argues that ethnic performativity is constrained by marketplace activities Ethnic representations re-produced and re-constructed in the studied festivals are carefully selected by market agents in order to meet with business objectives. In summary, this research presents the complexity and multiplicity of market-mediated cultural construction and representation. My findings advance understanding of the interrelationships between ethnic performativity, market-mediated cultural production, and consumer identity.