Soldiers and superheroes needed! Masculine archetypes and constrained bodily commodification in the sperm donation market

Sobande, Francesca ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4788-4099, Mimoun, Laetitia and Torres, Lez Trujillo 2020. Soldiers and superheroes needed! Masculine archetypes and constrained bodily commodification in the sperm donation market. Marketing Theory 20 (1) , pp. 65-84. 10.1177/1470593119847250

Preview

PDF - Accepted Post-Print Version Download (687kB) | Preview

Abstract

Extant research on bodily commodification emphasises contexts where market actors can pursue commodification in relatively unconstrained ways. However, scant research examines how marketers foster bodily commodification in markets where institutional constraints limit the value which can be extracted, produced, and/or exchanged. We fill this gap by studying sperm donation services in the United Kingdom and Australia, where a number of governmental regulations limit bodily commodification and value creation processes. Using an archival analysis of visual and textual material, we find that sperm banks in these constrained contexts strategically rely on the marketing of masculine archetypes as a source of value. This paper delineates the concept of constrained bodily commodification and its marketing implications. Moreover, it evidences sociocultural discursive mechanisms by which marketers attempt to overcome constrained commodification issues. Specifically, we emphasise the role of gender archetypes as a resource which allows sperm banks’ marketers to transfer identity value to the donor and donation experience. Finally, this paper also has implications for the theorising of value creation by expanding our understanding of how value is created during consumer disposition processes.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Journalism, Media and Culture
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HF Commerce H Social Sciences > HM Sociology H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Constrained commodification; Bodily commodification; Sperm donation; Masculinity; Value enactment; Gender archetypes; Systemic value creation; Disposition processes
Publisher:	SAGE
ISSN:	1470-5931
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	2 April 2019
Date of Acceptance:	2 April 2019
Last Modified:	22 Nov 2024 23:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/121224

Citation Data

Cited 13 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item