Invisible Consumption – Next steps and further readings

The paper “‘He wouldn’t be seen using it…’ Men’s use of male grooming products as a form of invisible consumption” provides numerous actionable insights for various key groups and stakeholders. Here’s how each can benefit:

1. Skincare Industry Professionals:
   • Benefits: Better understanding of the male consumer psyche and the barriers to their engagement with skincare products.
   • Actionable Insights: Develop and market products that align with male preferences for discretion and subtlety in product usage and packaging, possibly highlighting benefits related to common male concerns, like anti-aging and skin health.
2. Consumer Behavior Analysts:
   • Benefits: Enhanced understanding of the dynamics between gender norms and consumer behavior, especially regarding products traditionally aimed at women.
   • Actionable Insights: Use these insights in broader studies or reports that forecast market trends and influence product positioning strategies.
3. Gender Studies Community:
   • Benefits: Rich data and discussion points for debates and educational content about masculinity and identity.
   • Actionable Insights: Incorporate findings into curricula and public talks that challenge traditional gender norms and advocate for broader acceptance of male engagement in what are stereotypically seen as feminine pursuits.
4. Business Strategists and Retailers:
   • Benefits: Insights into creating retail environments and online spaces that are welcoming to male shoppers of skincare products.
   • Actionable Insights: Design retail strategies that ensure privacy and discretion, such as male-focused sections or guidance services that respect the need for privacy.
5. Advertising Professionals:
   • Benefits: Understand the nuances of advertising to a demographic that is traditionally not open about their skincare routines.
   • Actionable Insights: Create advertising campaigns that feature real men discussing their skincare routines in a manner that normalizes it, thus gradually reducing the stigma.
6. Mental Health Advocates:
   • Benefits: Greater awareness of the pressures men face around conforming to traditional masculine norms.
   • Actionable Insights: Develop programs and workshops that address and challenge these norms, promoting mental well-being through the acceptance of diverse expressions of masculinity.
7. Policy Makers:
   • Benefits: Insights into how societal norms influence consumer behavior, which can inform policies on gender equality and mental health.
   • Actionable Insights: Use the study’s findings to support initiatives aimed at reducing gender-based stigma and promoting a more inclusive view of gender roles in society.

Adams A, Anderson E and McCormack M (2010) Establishing and challenging masculinity: the
influence of gendered discourses in organized sport. Journal of Language and Social Psychology
29(3): 278–300.

Alexander SM (2003) Stylish hard bodies: branded masculinity in men’s health magazine. Sociological Perspectives 46(4): 535–554. DOI: 10.1525/sop.2003.46.4.535.

Anderson E (2011) Inclusive masculinities of university soccer players in the American Midwest.
Gender and Education 23(6): 729–744.

Bauman (2001) The Individualized Society. Cambridge, UK: Polity. ISBN 0-7456-2506-1.

Bauman Z (2005) Chasing elusive society. International Journal of Political Culture Society 18:
123–141.

Berggren K (2014) Sticky masculinity: post-structuralism, phenomenology and subjectivity in
critical studies on men. Men and Masculinities 17(3): 231–252.

Blackburn S (2014) Mirror, Mirror the Uses and Abuses of Self-Love. Oxfordshire: Princeton
University Press.

Bourdieu P (1984) Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. London, UK:
Routledge.

Bridges T (2009) Gender capital and male bodybuilders. Body and Society 15(1): 83–107.

Bridges T (2013) A very “gay” straight? hybrid masculinities, sexual aesthetics, and the changing
relationship between masculinity and homophobia. Gender & Society 28(1): 58–82.

Butler J (2004) Undoing Gender. London, UK: Routledge.

Calvey D (2008) The art and politics of covert research: doing ‘situated ethics’ in the field, Sociology 42(5): 905–918.

Connell R (2003). Gender. Oxford, UK: GenderPolity.

Connell R (2005). Masculinities Second Edition. Oxford, UK: University of California Press.

Cooley C (1902) Human Nature and the Social Order Rev. New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

Cornwall A (2016) Introduction: masculinities under neoliberalism. In: Cornwall A, Karioris F and
Lindisfarne N (eds.) Masculinities Under Neoliberalism, London, UK: Zed Books, 1–28

Das J and De Loach S (2011) Mirror, mirror on the wall: the effect of time spent grooming on
earnings. The Journal of Socio-Economics 40: 26–34.

Draper J and McDonnell AM (2018) Fashioning multiplatform masculinities: gay personal style
bloggers’ strategies of gendered self-representation across social media. Men and Masculinities
21(5): 645–664. DOI: 10.1177/1097184X17696190.

Duncanson C (2015) Hegemonic Masculinity and the Possibility of Change in Gender Relations.
Men and Masculinities 18(2): 231–248.

Eckhardt GM, Belk RW and Wilson JAJ (2015) The rise of inconspicuous consumption. Journal of
Marketing Management 31(7–8): 807–826.

Edwards T (2006) Cultures of Masculinity. London, UK: Routledge.

Elias A, Gill R and Scharff C (eds) (2017) Aesthetic Labour Rethinking Beauty Politics in Neoliberalism. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

Foucault M (2008) The Birth of Biopolitics: Lectures at the College de France, 1978-1979. London,
UK: Palgrave MacMillan.

Giddens A (1991) Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

Gill R, Henwood K and McLean C (2005) Body projects and the regulation of normative masculinity. Body & Society 11(1): 37–62.

Goffman E (1956) The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York, NY: Anchor.

Goffman E (1979) Gender Advertisements. London: The Macmillan Press.

Gough B, Hall M and Seymour-Smith S (2014) Straight guys do wear make-up: contemporary
masculinities and investment in appearance. In: Roberts S (ed) Debating Modern Masculinities:
Change, Continuity, Crisis?. Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 106–124.

Guest G, MacQueen K.M. and and Namey E.E. (2012) Applied Thematic Analysis. London: Sage.
GVR (2020) Men’s Skincare Products Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product
(Shave Care, Creams & Moisturizers), By Distribution Channel, By Region, And Segment
Forecasts, 2020 – 2027 Men’s Skincare Products Market Size | Industry Report, 2020-2027
(grandviewresearch.com)

Hakim J (2016) ‘The spornosexual’: the affective contradictions of male body-work in neoliberal
digital culture. Journal of Gender Studies 27(2): 231–241. DOI: 10.1080/9589236.1217771.

Hall M (2015) Metrosexual Masculinities. Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

Jankowski G, Diedrichs P, Williamson H, et al. (2016) Looking age-appropriate while growing old
gracefully: a qualitative study of ageing and body image among older adults. Journal of Health
Psychology 21(4): 1–26.

Hall, M., Gough, B. & Seymour-Smith, S. (2012) “I’m METRO, NOT GAY!”: A Discursive
Analysis of Men’s Accounts of Make-up Use on YouTube”, The Journal of Men’s Studies, 20,
(3), pp. 209–226.

Hall, M., Gough, B. & Seymour-Smith, S. (2013) “Stake Management in Men’s Online Cosmetics
Testimonials”, Psychology and Marketing, 30, (3), pp. 227–235.

Jack T (2018) Representations–a critical look at media’s role in cleanliness conventions and Inconspicuous consumption. Journal of Consumer Culture 20(3).

Jeffords S (1994) Hard Bodies: Hollywood Masculinity in the Reagan Era. Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers
University Press.

Kidd KM, Sequeira GM, Douglas C, et al. (2021) ‘Prevalence of gender diverse youth in and Urban
school district’. Pediatrics 147(6): e2020049823.

Kotze J (2019) Antonopoulos GA. boosting bodily capital: maintaining masculinity, aesthetic ´
pleasure and instrumental utility through the consumption of steroids. Journal of Consumer
Culture 21(3): 683–700.

Lindisfarne N and Neal J (2016) Masculinities and the lived experience of neoliberalism. In:
Cornwall A, Frank GK and Lindisfarne N (eds) Masculinities Under Neoliberalism. London,
UK: Zed Books.

Milestone K and Meyer A (2020) Gender and Popular Culture. 2nd edition. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
Mintel (2016) Men’s Facial Skincare. UK ReportMen’s Facial Skincare – UK – May 2016: Contents
(mintel.com). Online: Mintel.

Mintel (2018) Men’s Facial Skincare. UK Report Men’s Facial Skincare – UK – July 2018: Contents
(mintel.com). Online: Mintel.

Mintel (2019) Men’s Attitudes towards Haircare and Skincare – UK Report https://store.mintel.com/
report/mens-attitudes-towards-haircare-and-skincare-uk-september-2019. Online: Mintel.

Mulvey L (1975) Visual pleasure and narrative cinema. Screen Oxford Journals 16(3): 6–18.

Nui N.J (2013) Cyber peers’ influence for adolescent consumer in decision-making styles and online
purchasing behaviour. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 43: 1228–1237.

Office for National Statistics (2019) For England and Wales Suicides in England and. Wales – Office
for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).

O’Neill R (2015) Whither critical masculinity studies? notes on inclusive masculinity theory,
postfeminism, and sexual politics. Men and Masculinities 18(1): 100–120.

Orbach S (2017). In: Elias A, Gill R and Scharff C (eds) Foreword: The Making of the Body in
Aesthetic Labour Rethinking Beauty Politics in Neoliberalism. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

Ostberg J (2012) Masculinity and fashion. In: CeleOtnes LTZC (ed) Gender, Culture, and Consumer
Behaviour. New York, London: Routledge Taylor & Francis: 253–281.

Patterson M and Elliott R (2002) Negotiating masculinities; advertising and the inversion of the
male gaze. Consumption Markets & Culture 5(3): 231–249.

Pounders K, Kowalczyk C and Stowers K (2016) Insight into the motivation of selfie postings:
impression management and self-esteem. European Journal of Marketing 50(9/10): 1879–1892.

Pylypa J (1998) Power and bodily practice: applying the work of foucault to an anthropology of the
body. Arizona Anthropologist 13: 21–36. Available at: https://journals.librarypublishing.arizona.
edu/arizanthro/article/id/452/.

Ridder A (2021). Market value of male face care products in Great Britain from 2010 to 2020
https://www.statista.com/statistics/474570/market-value-men-facial-skincare-great-britain-uk/
(accessed on 17 December, 2020).

Ritzer G (2005). Encyclopedia of social theory. Sage Publications 11: 1–10.
Segal B and Podoshen K (2012) An examination of materialism, conspicuous consumption and
gender differences. International Journal of Consumer Studies 37: 189–198.

Smith A and Higgins M (2020) Tough guys and little rocket men: @Realdonaldtrump’s Twitter feed
and the normalisation of banal masculinity. Social Semiotics 304: 547–562. DOI: 10.1080/
10350330.2020.1763657.

Tiidenberg K and Cruz E (2015) Selfies, image and the re-making of the body. Body & Society 2(4):
77–102.

Tuncay L and Otnes C (2008) The use of persuasion management strategies by identity-vulnerable
consumers: the case of urban heterosexual male shopper. Journal of Retailing 84(4): 487–499.

Veblen T (1965) The Theory of the Leisure Class. New York, NY: A M Kelley

Warde A (2014) After taste: culture, consumption and theories of practice. Journal of Consumer
Culture 14(3): 279–303.

Yoo J.J, Jacob J and Baier M (2012) Adolescent boys’ grooming product use and perceived health
risks: An exploration of parental influence. Health Education Journal 71(30): 299–308.