Atravessando sinais fechados: negociações de gênero no consumo brasileiro de automóveis

Abstract

Some authors discuss the intimate relationship between the automobile and its expressive function of the masculine gender condition. On the other hand, media often refer to the researches on the increasing importance of women in the decision process of buying the family car. The category of automobiles projects a favorable space to discuss the encounter of practices and meanings of consumption for men and women, which, when invested in the same product, generate a turbulent and enriching scenario. The objective of this work was to investigate the construction of consumer practices and narratives in a gender litigation area, where men and women adopt the same market as a resource for formatting their particular and opposing gender identities. We conducted in-depth interviews (RJ and MG) and discussion groups with men and women. With this paper, we propose the concept of gender arenas, defined as the space of consumption that presents specific identity marks, offering a new layer of interpretation of the gender issue, in the encounter between object and individual. The construction of gender identities adopt symbolic and material resources, but they unfold in spaces that filter and redefine these messages.