The consumer self in pain

Scott, Rebecca O. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2077-8234 and Gretzel, Ulrike 2025. The consumer self in pain. Ruvio, Ayalla and Belk, Russell, eds. The Routledge Handbook of Identity and Consumption, Routledge International Handbooks, London: Routledge, pp. 118-127. (10.4324/9781003383628-11)

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Abstract

Studies of pain highlight the utility of physical suffering, allowing the self to be stitched anew. Drawing on a netnography of pain related to electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), whereby bodies experience unsolicited pain when exposed to electromagnetic fields (EMFs), we explore the relationship between pain as an expression of the agentic body and identity work. Our research reveals two insights. First, we expound on pain as a multifaceted phenomenon whereby consumers manage bodily disruptions beyond their cognitive control. We reveal how pain instills an agentic body which has the wherewithal to oppose identity construction. Second, by connecting the body in pain and the self we add another piece to the complex puzzle of why pain – specifically unsolicited and continuously disruptive pain – creates an identity crisis that limits consumers in their ability to mobilize alternative selves.

Item Type:	Book Section
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Business (Including Economics)
Publisher:	Routledge
ISBN:	9781032468815
Last Modified:	22 Jun 2026 14:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/187689

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