%0 Generic
%A Duus, R
%A Davies, A
%A Saren, M
%D 2014
%E Bradshaw, A
%E Rappel, A
%F discovery:10026153
%I Macromarketing Society
%P 480-484
%T Speak to the Leg: A Post-Paralympic Analysis and Retheorization of Consumer-object Relations
%U https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10026153/
%X This paper reviews and re-theorizes objects in consumer research with specific focus on consumer-object  relations. Following Bettany and Kerrane’s (2011) argument of an ontological  shift towards objects as fluid, morphing and mutable, this research adopts a posthuman analysis  of consumer-object relations. The posthuman concept of human-machine hybrid also  raises fundamental physiological, technical and philosophical questions about what it means  to be human (Braidotti 2006; Haraway 1991). Empirical data is gathered through phenomenological  interviews, diaries and autodriving with amputees with prosthetic legs. A posthuman  route to analysis creates a space and language for hybrid and companion-based consumer-object  relationships to emerge. Themes reveal descriptions of leg favouritism and  coupling, normality and identity struggles, relationship fluidity and enabling and disabling  technology. This paper provides a novel approach to investigating consumer-object relations  with consequences for how objects are viewed in consumer research.
%Z This is the published version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.