Lydia Martens

This book explores how young children and new families are located in the consumer world of affluent societies. The author assesses the way in which the value of infants and monetary value in markets are realized together, and examines how the meanings of childhood are enacted in the practices, narratives and materialities of contemporary markets. These meanings formulate what is important in the care of young children, creating moralities that impact not only on new parents, but also circumscribe the possibilities for monetary value creation. Three main understandings of early childhood - those of love, protection and purification - and their interrelationships are covered, and illustrated with examples including food, feeding tools, nappies, travel systems and toys. The book concludes by re-examining the relationship between adulthood and the cultural value of young children, and by discussing the implications of the ways markets address young children, also examines the realities ofolder children in consumer culture. Childhood and Markets will be of interest to students and scholars of sociology, childhood studies, anthropology, cultural studies, media studies, business studies and marketing.

Eating Out is a fascinating study of the consumption of food outside the home, based on extensive original research carried out in England in the 1990s. Reflecting the explosion of interest in food, ranging from food scares to the national obsession with celebrity chefs, the practice of eating out has increased dramatically over recent years. Through surveys and intensive interviews, the authors have collected a wealth of information into people’s attitudes towards, and expectations of, eating out as a form of entertainment and an expression of taste and status. Amongst other topics they examine social inequalities in access to eating out, social distinction, interactions between customers and staff, and the economic and social implications of the practice. Eating Out will be a valuable resource to academics, advanced students and practitioners in the sociology of consumption, cultural studies, social anthropology, tourism and hospitality, home economics, marketing, and the general reader.

Eating Out is a fascinating study of the consumption of food outside the home, based on extensive original research carried out in England in the 1990s. Reflecting the explosion of interest in food, ranging from food scares to the national obsession with celebrity chefs, the practice of eating out has increased dramatically over recent years. Through surveys and intensive interviews, the authors have collected a wealth of information into people’s attitudes towards, and expectations of, eating out as a form of entertainment and an expression of taste and status. Amongst other topics they examine social inequalities in access to eating out, social distinction, interactions between customers and staff, and the economic and social implications of the practice. Eating Out will be a valuable resource to academics, advanced students and practitioners in the sociology of consumption, cultural studies, social anthropology, tourism and hospitality, home economics, marketing, and the general reader.