What Might Women's Shopping Disorders Tell Us about the Cultural Construction of Women as Subjects - Essay Example

Buying into Gender (Socialization & Consuming): Shopping Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Buying into Gender (Socialization & Consuming): Shopping Question: What might women’s "shopping disorders" (shoplifting and compulsive buying; being a difficult customer) tell us about the cultural construction of women as subjects? Introduction In the current world, there are multiple and conflicting cultural construction factors that pose significant challenges to the role of women and development of shopping disorders. The changes in the women’s shopping behavior have been experienced through shoplifting, compulsive buying and becoming difficult customers. The continued evolution of women’s roles has affected the cultural construction of women and buying and shopping disorder. The connection of shopping disorder to the changing role of women in society has greatly influenced the social order and buying behavior. The main factors contributing to cultural construction and influencing the women’s shopping disorder have delayed the age of marriage, women’s employment, and women being the head of families and decreased the rate of fertility. These potential factors have played a major role in changes in women culture and consumer behavior. Therefore, the essay focuses on the cultural construction that relates to shopping disorder covering shoplifting and compulsive buying in women. Summary Analysis of the Theoretical Text Women as difficult customers are never satisfied with the services or products they possess. They seek to possess more through engaging with the sellers and even other customers. As for shopping disorders, women are always crazy in making scenarios that tend to send a salesperson on defense and influencing their negotiation effectiveness (Minsky, 2000, p. 98). Unsatisfied customers make the seller to lack motivation while serving them. Furthermore, it makes the salesperson seek alternative approaches in dealing with the unsatisfied customers. Difficult customers do not even worry about the business impact even if they induce inappropriate scenarios. Difficult customers are impatient and hence do not listen to others opinion. They demand forcefully and hence blocking any room for negotiation. The salesperson tends to talk softly to the difficult customer even when they are off base. Women with this nature of impatient listening tend to raise their voice while demanding what they think is right but impossible to get. The sales person seems weak as they seek not to influence the shopping behavior of other customers. Therefore, women who are difficult to deal with during their shopping practices are always impatient and do not listen patiently. In undertaking the irrational behavior of shoplifting does not indicate that women do it out of need or greed, but they it is an inexplicable compulsion. The obsession behavior is considered more common in the compulsive women that other people. In a different analysis, the shoplifters and compulsive shoppers cover middle-aged women from middle-class in society. These women are usually some, feels enormous guilt and they are usually profoundly depressed. The paradox with these women is that they are of high standards, perfectionist, and law-abiding citizens. Women seek to shoplift products that are connected to their desires and personal necessity (Minsky, 2000, p. 64). The compulsive shopper is influenced by a sense of psychic loss covering issues such as fertility, seeking sexual attraction and even after sexual or physical abuse. Furthermore, the shoplifting and compulsive buying can be connected from the relationship whereby the women seek to impress their husbands. Women sometimes are desperate to the expression of subconscious desire to ensure their male partners are happy. Another approach indicates that women seek to undertake shoplifting or compulsive shopping as an element of revenge. They want their husband to be humiliated and felt ashamed to their capability of getting these cosmetically products that are out of the planned budget or funds. Therefore, shoplifting can be connected to low self-esteem and the feeling of being neglected. Shoplifting and Compulsive Buying Women engage in shoplifting with the aim of providing comfort and self-satisfaction. The act of shoplifting is considered as stealing to provide for their family. Women tend to seek to live beyond their means and hence using a simpler approach to acquiring and achieve their demands through shoplifting (Abelson 2000, p. 210). Shoplifting is not an attractive idea and hence uncomfortable to any person irrespective of gender. Women tend to shoplift as a means of saving money. They use different tricks such as switching the price labels and even trick to be discounted. All these happen as they have a specific objective, such as treating their husband or children. The products they aim to impress their husbands or children are always beyond their budget and hence getting to the extent of shoplifting. The notion that women justify during the shoplifting action is that they are stealing the personal items not to spend money on themselves but their family issues (Bamfield 2012, p. 104). Women resort to tricking on the vendors, but not actual shoplifting. The approach of trick helps them to justify that they do not steal rather paying reduced prices. Another instance happens when they hide some of the few items in the purse. They walk comfortably to checkout and paying for other bulk purchases in the trolley. Women tend to use these approaches in ensuring they get simple products such as cosmetics in their purses. Normally, women shoplift their products with the aim of ensuring they do not spend much on their needs (Chesney-Lind, Meda & Pasko 2013, p. 218). Simple clothing and beauty products are easily shoplifted as they can fit in a purse. Therefore, shoplifting depends on the extent at which women hide the products, and hence it is a crime like stealing. Compulsive buying makes a person have an irresistible urge of getting products that are not in the budget. Compulsive shopper ends up shoplifting the products as they have an irresistible interest about the product they cannot fund. The obsession with the products makes the shopper design means of shoplifting and getting away with the product. Women are mostly affected by this condition as sometimes they are overwhelmed by the need of possessing the product. Depression is another contributing factor for women to shoplift (Kingston 1994, p. 74). The obsession and depression influence the urge in women to possess the product especially the cosmetics. In psychological approach, compulsive shopping and shoplifting practices are indicated as the means of repairing the mood widespread. Even though the shoplifting and compulsive shopping are meaningless behavior in women, they tend to undertake them to be T peace with their souls. In most cases, women may take some products and things that are not helpful to anyone (Chesney-Lind, Meda & Pasko, 2013, p. 192). For example, a woman who had miscarriage would have the urge to steal children’s products such as clothes or toys with no reason at all. Such women do not know the reason for doing shoplifting, but provide an explanation of something that has led them to undertake such action. Shopping disorder is connected to psychological influences whereby the women are depressed to achieve e their long-term goals (Baxter 2006 p. 221). They tend to use all the means to realize their intention, even though they lack enough funds. In connection with shoplifting and compulsive buying, women tend to undertake such activities to be at par with their friends. They shoplift products that are similar to their friends so that they can be of similar social status or class. Difficult customers do not lower their voices and never slow their speeches. They are aggressive while approaching issues, especially when addressing the salesperson. Customers with shopping disorder and difficult to deal with do not demonstrate self-control (Thurber & Snow 1999, p. 309). They do not respect anyone as they are usually rude. The customers do not have the patience for their queries to be handled in a sober manner. They raise their voices without caring about other customers in the same venue. The difficult women customers do not mind about their emotions and hence acting irresistible leading to chaos and development of unproductive negotiations. It is obvious that difficult customers to deal with are always after making the sales person is on the wrong side. They are always right and tend to defend their actions, blaming the shop attendants. The difficult women customers understand that business does not belong to salespersons in most cases. These unsatisfied customers attack the salespersons at a personal level as they know no personal reaction would be initiated. The salesperson cannot defend themselves and allow the issue to move away not to influence the business reputation. As the salesperson is supposed to stick to the facts and remain firm, the customers do not recognize professionalism. They pass their anger and unintelligent emotions to the salesperson (Darrat, Darrat, & Amyx, 2016 p. 106). These difficult women customers realize that the only thing shop attendant and do is to ignore their personal attacks. Therefore, they influence the working condition of the shop attendant as well other customers. It is essential for the shop attendant to understand that fear uses anger for the difficult customers to gain control. If the shop attendant matches anger to that of the customer, it will ruin their relationship and hence destroy the peace of other customers. Therefore, it is advisable for the shop attendant to be passive and firm against the difficult customer’s forces. Cultural Construction of a Woman with Shopping Disorder Shoplifting and kleptomania are psychological issues to many people irrespective of gender. The shoplifting and compulsive buying behavior in most people do not indicate greedily or poverty. The psychological behavior indicates that kleptomania and shoplifting show people struggling with their personal conflicts and needs. This psychological factor is largely influenced by depression that happen affects women in society. It is evident that most of these shoplifting women steal from the shop stores on important dates in their life, such as a birthday, holiday or when having social-cultural issue influencing their mental condition such as stress or depression (Spinella, Lester, & Yang 2015, p. 652). Kleptomania indicates the impulse disorder showing an intense form of shoplifting influenced by a mental disorder. Kleptomania in women is identified through having a recurrent failure of resisting impulses to stealing objects that are not necessarily needed for monetary value or personal needs. Kleptomania as the shopping disorder is characterized by increased tension in women immediately before conducting shoplifting. It is followed by pleasure or relief, especially at the time or after successfully committing the act of shoplifting. While shoplifting or stealing, the women do not express their anger or vengeance. Delayed age of marriage: Women experiencing a delayed age of marriage have high chances of being involved in shoplifting and compulsive buying. The shopping disorder in delayed unmarried women relates to purchasing irrelevant products. This purchasing behavior seeks to satisfy their emotions and showing social class, even though they are not helpful. The compulsive buying behavior depends on with financial position and how they prioritize in purchasing products. Women experiencing delayed in marriage are exposed to the lifestyle of the younger people especially co-workers, friends and either roommate (Pandey & Devasagayam, 2015, p. 260). The singlehood of these women tends to force them to non-cultural purchasing and buying skills. Fertility: Fertility is the key cultural factor that influences the buying behavior of women in the current world. The ability of women controlling fertility lever overstates the reason of engaging in compulsive buying and shoplifting. The fertility consideration as the social-cultural factor indicates that many women may experience a delay in giving birth. What they tend to project is career development and preparing for their newborn babies. This influence is essential in determining how prepared they are and how they should engage in buying behavior (Grougiou, Moschis, & Kapoutsis 2015, p. 280). In most cases, women tend to seek the best things and products while waiting for a newborn. During this period, they may engage in shoplifting or compulsive buying to meet their demand for upbringing their newborn. Employment: Employed women tend to forego their cultural construction channel and hence engaging in other extra roles in society. This influences their rationality in decision making, becoming competitive enough and playing their position in society. Employed women’s projects in buying behavior that seeks to satisfy their lifestyle and competing with friends in social class (Shoham, Gavish, & Segev 2015, p. 200). The compulsive buying behavior influences how they spend their earnings and sometimes leading to shoplifting. Culturally, these women engaged in shoplifting or compulsive behavior overspend their earning and hence unable to finance their needs. Women-headed family: In the current world, women are the head of most families. Being the head of the family, it means that women are the sole provider for the needs of the family both financially and social issues. The pressure from the family needs makes women stressed and later depression. It influences their shopping and consumption behavior (Grougiou, Moschis, & Kapoutsis, 2015, p. 286). Shoplifting in these women as head of the family may be initiated by the need for supporting the family. Furthermore, compulsive buying behaviors are experienced when they are financially stable to settle their irresistible urges. Conclusion Shopping disorder is a condition that influences many people and specifically women. Shoplifting, compulsive buying and becoming difficult customer are psychological issues that are related to stress and depression. Women engaged in shoplifting do not necessarily steal, but do it for pleasure and sustaining their demand. Compulsive buying as a result of irresistible urge make the women purchase the products from their obsession. Therefore, shoplifting disorder influences the cultural order and how women are viewed in society. Bibliography Abelson, E. (2000) ‘Shoplifting ladies.' In The gender and consumer culture reader, ed. J. Scanlon. New York, N.Y.; London: New York University Press. Bamfield, J. (2012). Shopping and Crime. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Baxter Carol (2006). 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