“THE SHOPPING CYCLE”: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS ON FEMALE PURCHASING OF CLOTHES, ACCESSORIES AND MAKEUP IN NATAL, BRAZIL
female consumption; shopping; sociability.
This work investigates, through an ethnography of shopping, the consumption of clothes, accessories and makeup for a group of ten women in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte. Ethnography was carried out by comparing the reports of the interlocutors, as well as comparing their relations with the urban spaces of Alecrim, Centro and Natal Shopping, and with the virtual spaces of Instagram, Whatsapp, Pinterest, Youtube and Facebook. It was possible to detect the existence of a consumption cycle that includes, what I called: “Cycle of purchases”. This comprises three stages: the first stage involves planning the purchase and production of taste, the second comprises the act of purchase and the third stage involves the uses of the purchased items. Each stage of this cycle is related to different aspects of social and cultural life. Therefore, this dissertation aims to analyze female consumption, through the purchase of clothes, accessories and makeup, as a product and producer of sociability.