Olivier Sibai and Marius Luedicke
Olivier Sibai and Marius Luedicke
Birkbeck, University of London; City, University of London, UK
Bio: Olivier Sibai is a lecturer in marketing at Birkbeck, University of London. His research revolves around the study of consumer culture, with a particular interest in the disharmony in consumer culture and consumer collectives. Olivier works on topics such as deviance in consumer collectives, community management, marginal consumer practices, polarizing brands and market-based solutions to peace making. While Olivier is interested in various methodologies, ethnography is his tool of choice.
Title: How to be a Marginal Consumer: An Exploration of the Amateur Practice of Circus
Abstract: From parkour running to guerrilla knitting and recreational taxidermy, many consumers continuously invest time, effort and money in apparently trivial marginal practices. However, marginal consumption practices matter because they constitute the fertile soil from which cultural innovation emerges: influential subcultures and social movements originally came from a small base of individuals engaging in unusual practices. Marginal consumption practices also challenge dominant discourses, making the marketplace a more inclusive institution open to consumers with diverse identity projects. This research aims to explore how consumers adopt and maintain marginal consumption practices. We ask specifically why consumers engage in marginal consumption practices, which challenges threaten their continuous engagement with marginal consumption practices and how they respond to challenges in order to maintain their engagement. To do so, we conduct an ethnography of the amateur circus community in London, who play and train in parks, juggling clubs, at amateur circus festivals and in circus schools. This research aims to enhance understanding of marginality in the marketplace and how consumers, businesses and policy makers can work to protect and foster it.