Abstract
The rich tradition of stigma theoretics in marketing and consumer research develops understanding of consumer stigma management, mitigated via marketing-mediated solutions, broadly within a Goffmanian liberal frame. However, building on classic liberal formulations of stigma, sociologists of stigma further examine the impact of the neoliberal political economy in terms of where stigma is produced, by whom and for what purposes. Using the empirical illustration of the emergence of HIV PreExposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), this paper seeks to develop these stigma theoretics towards the concept of stigma diffraction exploring the multiple stigma effects that can be identified and conceptualised through a diffractive lens. This encompasses and theorises beyond traditionally stigmatised contexts, groups and individuals to conceptualise a dynamic and diverse field of ‘stigmas that matter’.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 501-518 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Marketing Theory |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 25 Apr 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Academy of Marketing Research seed funding.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.
Keywords
- diffraction
- gay and bisexual
- HIV
- material-semiotic
- multi-site ethnography
- PrEP
- sexual health
- Stigma