How They Are Used To Mask And Mark Their Differences

According to Deutsch and Theodorou (2010: 299), during the process of identity construction, youth use the ideology of consumerism- the idea that everyone has rational purchase capacity thus idealizing the idea that everyone can consume- together with the practicality of consumption to mask and mark their differences. Thus, this essay aims to discuss this assertion in detail by highlighting firstly how these aspects allow individuals to mark their differences which will be followed by how they are used to mask any differences.

Firstly, the idea of marking ones differences is regarded as the process of re-affirming ones social differences within their in groups or their out groups. Thus, it socializes one into a group and sets one apart from

This can be conceptualized through the studies done on the “project kids” in the East Side Boys and Girls Club (Deutsch & Theodorou, 2010: 239). The writers had found that the youth within this club, made consumer choices based on consumer culture that allowed for them to integrate themselves into a larger society. This was done through a simple act of consuming sneakers that were associated with the Black community (Deutsch & Theodorou, 2010: 239). Therefore, in purchasing these sneakers, the youth mark their differences from those poorer adolescents in the club and place themselves into the larger, wealthier black youth culture. In addition to doing this, the youth ascribe a certain identity correlated to the groups they fall into; therefore they form an identity through consumerism and consumption that does correlate with their present economic status or their purchase

It is evident from the above findings that through marking differences, youth sometimes have to mask the inconsistent differences that they have in order to be set apart. The youth in the club go to the extent of giving into consumer culture in order to mask their differences. The authors found that they go in so far as to sell drugs to attain money to purchase these expensive sneakers (Deutsch & Theodorou, 2010:239). Therefore this accentuates the idea of masking differences because in constructing their idealized identities they go about it in such a manner that through their consumption they are able to hide their economic position and their low purchase capacity. This is similar to ‘skothanes’ in South Africa, who buy items that they do not necessarily need and burn them to mark their vantage point from the rest of the poor community but at the same time hide their economic disadvantages from the larger society. Therefore the youth in the club conceptualize consumerism through buying what they do not need to mask their differences and also to create identities in consistent with the present situation. Through consumption and consumerism these youth denote their aspirations to become wealthy and experience upward social mobility regardless of their situations, thus find consistency in the consumption and their identities through the symbolic materialisation of what they wear