Men becoming fighters: Exploring processes of consumer socialization

Abstract

The current paper examines how men are socialized to the ideal of fighter masculinity in the context of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), a combat sport mixing ground fighting and striking. Such work is timely because the fighter masculinity ideal underlies consumer cultural fascination with MMA, evident in advertising and branding of numerous fight promotions, lifestyle clothing and accessory brands, news and media channels, and fitness gyms. The theoretical focus on fighter masculinity addresses the paucity of research on how consumer identities are socialized. Utilizing long interviews with male amateur practitioners of MMA, the current research elucidates identity socialization as a multi-influence process that unfolds over an extended period in men’s lives. The findings uncover four novel consumer identity socialization processes: awakening, sanctioning, glamorizing, and incorporating, each associated with distinct socialization contexts and influences that enhance the resonance of fighter masculinity. This research also highlights the need to broaden consumer socialization frameworks in line with the post-cognitive notion of cultural enculturation.