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Chipp, K., Mkwanazi, P., Kapelianis, D. (2019)
Ukukhothana: Conspicuous consumption and destruction in an emerging economy Journal of Business Research
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UKUKHOTHANA: CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION AND DESTRUCTION IN AN EMERGING ECONOMY
Kerry Chipp Doctoral fellow
KTH Royal Institute of Technology; Sweden AND
Senior Lecturer
Gordon Institute of Business Science University of Pretoria, South Africa
chippk@gibs.co.za
&
Dimitri Kapelianis*
Anderson School of Management University of New Mexico, USA
dkapeli@unm.edu
&
Penelope Mkhwanazi
Gordon Institute of Business Science University of Pretoria, South Africa
*Corresponding author
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UKUKHOTHANA: CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION AND DESTRUCTION IN AN EMERGING ECONOMY
Abstract
This study investigates “ukukhothana” as a form of conspicuous consumption and destruction among poor black youth in South Africa. In highly-stylized public displays, competing crews gather to flaunt and taunt: they parade their wealth—typically luxury brands, but also cash—
while boasting of their superiority. The displays culminate with acts of conspicuous destruction during which the luxury products are ripped, smashed, or burned. Based on qualitative research conducted in several townships, including depth interviews and observation, this study yields insights into the main features of ukukhothana as well as the drivers for engaging in this behavior. We identify three drivers: costly signaling, sexual signaling, and elements of power and powerlessness. Ukukhothana diverges from other forms of conspicuous consumption as it is both a stylized art form and a subversive form of power and resistance to the conditions of structural poverty.
Keywords – Ukukhothana, Conspicuous Consumption, Conspicuous Destruction, Emerging Markets.
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UKUKHOTHANA: THE CURIOUS CASE OF CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION AND DESTRUCTION IN AN EMERGING ECONOMY
1. Introduction
How do youth within emerging economies confront the acceleration of wealth in impoverished places? More specifically, how do conspicuous consumption and other expressions of consumer materialism express these confrontations? This study investigates “ukukhothana” as a form of conspicuous destruction among poor black youth in South Africa. Ukukhothana is an isiZulu word and translates loosely as “to lick like a snake” (Nkosi, 2011). And those who engage in this activity are known as iZikhothane (“the lickers”). In highly-stylized public displays, competing crews gather to flaunt and taunt: they parade their wealth – typically luxury brands, but also cash – while boasting of their superiority. The displays culminate with acts of conspicuous destruction during which the luxury products are ripped, smashed, or burned. Given the fraught nature of these interactions, those who have encountered these performances have noted that they must be witnessed in order to fully appreciate the combination of aggression and style contained therein1. Ukukhothana is compared and contrasted to other forms of behavior. Qualitative research conducted in several townships, including in-depth interviews and observation, yielded insights into the main features of ukukhothana as well as the drivers for engaging in this behavior.
South Africa’s youth culture confronts a challenging and complex socio-economic dynamic.
Because South Africa constitutes one-tenth of Africa’s population while also generating nearly half of Africa’s GDP, it represents one of the most significant Big Emerging Economies (BEE) in the world (UN, 2010; World Bank, 2011). South Africa, like Brazil, Russia, India, and China (referred to commonly as “BRICS”) have evolved into elaborate political economies that have created pockets of growth in communities that have long struggled with structural poverty. These communities have either been sites of historical conflict revolving around class antagonism and socialism (Russia and China), or have been central to the legacy of colonialism and extractive, resource-driven imperialism (such as Brazil, India, and South Africa). These economies are located within heavily contested spaces where the poor are both motivated by the unprecedented visibility of wealth and prosperity (compounded by the promise of a new era of prosperity for all) while also contending with the realities of their own poverty. In many ways, the “Global South,”
which has been a suffering witness to the rise of Western capitalism is now a more visible participant in its own contention with the forces of latent capital. As discretionary income
1 A brief video of this practice is available at http://youtu.be/9zEJdskHdBg. We strongly encourage the reader to watch this five-minute video excerpt before reading further. The video shows footage from a larger documentary entitled “Izikhotane” by 3rd Degree (eNCA News 2012), original time index 5:53 to 9:29.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWEcV_Ecfl4
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increases among people and within places where such wealth has been both valorized and resented, new cultural phenomena have emerged to express these complex conditions.
Consequently, Ukukhothana is a performance situated amidst an array of forces that are setting the 21st century global agenda. It is the expression of challenges within emerging markets
derived from historical trauma, questions of colonialism, and the accelerated movement of capital among the world’s poor. All of these issues are confronted by the youth who are ascending into their social roles within these new environments. These performances have been described as both a form of art and as an act of violence; similarly within their own communities, a mix of fascination and condemnation has emerged. The mayor of Ekurhuleni, a city near Johannesburg, recently labelled the practice as “abhorrent,” noting that “Democracy has gone to their heads…”
revealing “contempt for the sacrifices that their parents and grandparents made2.” Despite these condemnations, several parents and community members support these activities, arguing that indulging in luxury has a positive aspirational quality, and that it is good to see poor black youth dressing in ways that others may not expect. In the words of one mother speaking about her son:
“He loves his lifestyle. He feels he is someone, and that pleases me. We – our generation – never had that feeling. It is good to see him happy3.” It is these differing perspectives on the status of ukukhothana, skhothane, “pex,” or “pexing4” that connects to discussions on class antagonism and conspicuous consumption of the 19th century, especially the ostentation of late 20th century post-Cold War consumerism5.” Ukukhothane, then, becomes a gateway to studying the circumstances that produced both the poverty and wealth that intersect in its performance, and our study will attempt to expose several of those strains through its analysis. These performances cannot be understated in relation to a wider discussion of emerging markets.
This paper is divided into four sections. Following an introduction to the Ukukhothana and its importance to emerging markets and global economic phenomena, the methodology will be described. Third, findings will be presented in conjunction with pertinent literature from the inductive data analysis process. The piece closes with policy and marketing implications and suggestions for future research.
2 See http://arteinsky.blogspot.com/2014/05/south-africas-township-youth-subculture.html
3 Ibid.
4This study collected information at a time when the vocabulary describing Ukukhothana had not yet been fully developed. Consequently, this article will refer to terms such as “pex” or “pexing” within interviews and related materials. These phrases are equivalent to “iZikhothane” and “ukukhothana” and are treated as such throughout this manuscript.
5http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/roads/2014/07/soweto_s_skhothanes_inside_the_south_africa n_township_s_ostentatious_youth.html
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2. Ukukhothana 2.1 Overview
Ukukhothana first emerged in South Africa’s townships in the late 2000’s. Based on direct observation, in-depth interviews, and media accounts we note that ukukhothana has the following features:
Stylized: Ukukhothana events (or trips) are not spontaneous. Planned months in advance with the date and venue being publicized by word-of-mouth, crews use this time to save and purchase the products that they will display and destroy. Crew outfits are coordinated; wearing what amounts to a uniform or gang colors. The sequence of activities at an ukukhothana event is highly scripted: crews arrive in special minibus taxis, flaunt their wealth (for instance, luxury brands, wads of cash, gold dental grills), taunt competing crews for their poverty or lack of taste, and then destroy the products or cash. Finally, there is a formalized score sheet to log and keep track of the person and crew that destroys the most wealth.
Social: Every element of ukukhothana is social. The iZikhothane join crews with names such as Milano Boys, Reflection Destructor Crew, Element of Style Crew, Izinyoka, and Cassanova Boys. The trips are held at local parks or open spaces. Crowds of people, often reaching into the hundreds, attend these events to cheer or jeer the crews. The consumption and destruction must be as public and as conspicuous as possible.
Competitive: all iZikhothane aim to achieve superiority. To this end, ukukhothana is extremely and openly competitive. Martin (2011) suggests that the term iZikhothane, which loosely
translate as “the lickers,” echoes Caribbean slang where to get “licked” is to be beaten, bested, or trumped. The role of taunting in competitive settings including, for example, primitive warfare (Glück, 1964), sports (Dixon, 2007), and dissing battles in hip-hop (Singles, 2009), has long been recognized by anthropologists and sociologists. Crews compete to display and destroy the most prestigious and expensive brands; formalized score logs are kept. Male crew members compete on the basis of who has the most sexually attractive female companion. Female iZikhothane competing with hairstyles are called “Lady Mosha” (Martin, 2011).
2.2 Ukukhothana Compared to Other Behaviors
While we believe that ukukhothana is unique as a form of conspicuous consumption and destruction, it does share some similarities with other behaviors that have been studied by anthropologists, sociologists, and consumer researchers. We compare and contrast ukukhothana to five other behaviors: (1) oSwenka; (2) disposition and destruction; (3) potlatch; (4)
conspicuous consumption by the underclass; and (5) dissing battles.
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oSwenka: According to Martin (2011), ukukhothana is reminiscent of the South African phenomena of oSwenka competitions, a tradition developed by migrant laborers in the mining hostels for their Saturday night self-entertainment. Contestants don their finest suits, Italian shoes and silk ties and “swank,” with audience reaction being taken into consideration by a judge when awarding the prizes. Like ukukhothana, oSwenka involves stylized and social competition centered on the public display of luxury brands; unlike ukukhothana, oSwenka does not involve any taunting of competitors, nor the deliberate destruction of expensive products.
Disposition and destruction: The disposition of products has received some attention in
consumer research (Price, Arnold and Curasi, 2000; Lastovicka and Fernandez, 2005). However, to date, research has centered on “special” or “meaningful” possessions. By contrast, in
ukukhothana the products disposed of are not carriers of emotional valance but solely of monetary value.
Potlatch: Perhaps the behavior that most closely resembles ukukhothana is the potlatch, best known as a gift-giving festival by indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. At potlatch gatherings, a family hosts guests in their home for a feast where the main purpose of the potlatch is the re-distribution and reciprocity of wealth (Barnett, 1938). Some groups, such as the
Kwakwaka’wakw and the Southern Kwakiutl, used the potlatch as an arena in which highly competitive contests of status took place (Jonaitis and Cole, 1991). In some cases, goods were actually destroyed after being received, instead of being given away (Graeber, 2001). One
difference between potlatch and ukukhothana is that the former is situated within the family as its basic social unit (Seguin, 1986), while the latter is situated within the crew as the basic social unit. Seen from a larger perspective, there remain sites of consumption that are heavily
ritualized, but not yet fully understood as part of the larger genealogy of human behavior. This demonstrates that we have yet to understand fully the breadth of human behavior as it relates to consumption, modern or otherwise (Bradley, 1982).
Conspicuous consumption by the underclass: Conspicuous consumption, as initially formulated by Veblen (1899), was seen as an honest and costly signal of true wealth and status. However, in many instances, conspicuous consumption is now increasingly associated with the underclass (Patsiaouras and Fitchett, 2012). For example, Mukherjee highlights the central role of bling, or ostentatious display of jewelry, in what she terms the “ghetto fabulous” aesthetic. Hayward and Yar (2006) note how the Burberry brand has become increasingly associated with England’s underclass of Chavs. Similarly, ukukhothana prominently features conspicuous consumption by South Africa’s underclass of poor black youth. By contrast, this appears to be the first instance of destruction rather than mere display. New movements among upper class consumers who
popularize being thrifty, buying organic, and participating in social movements that support sustainability (O’Cass and McEwen, 2004) may have reference and form a point of comparison.
These types of consumption patterns rely on resources that often support new technologies or have become the appropriation of ancestral traditions into “new agey” practices that are seen as a
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form of exclusivity and power (Young, Hwang, McDonald and Oates, 2010). Effectively, the green consumer and its implied minimalism has become the new luxury, in stark contrast to the aesthetics of conspicuous consumption and the participation of the underclass in these practices.
Dissing battles: Dissing or taunting is a much-noted aspect of the competitive arena, whether in sports (Dixon, 2007) or primitive warfare (Glück, 1964). One purpose of taunting is to make opponents lose control of their emotions, thus empowering the taunter (Gaffin, 1995). Another purpose of dissing is to elevate one’s own status to members of the opposite sex while
simultaneously lowering the status of same–sex competitors (Greengross and Miller, 2008). The taunting of competing crews is a central feature of ukukhothana; dissing battles, however, do not feature conspicuous consumption and destruction.
2.3 Emerging Markets, Globalization, and Ukukhothana
Roland Robertson marks the 21st century as the age of global uncertainty. As a result of new transnational communities challenging the conventions of nationality as a meaningful part of our social realities, youth are predisposed to think outside of the conditions of tradition and
citizenship. Instead, youth have become what Sklair describes as the new Transnational
Capitalist Class. These are people driven by the forces of capital to form imagined communities that are signified by larger, global scale processes (Sklair, 2002). Where the literature once located this behavior among the wealthy executives of the nascent multi-national corporation, those structures are now deeply institutionalized and pervasive, moving into the lives of the young people who have lived their entire lives under these conditions. Instead, individual consumption, the kind institutionalized by Western capitalism, has conflated messages of
democratic freedom with the promise of wealth and prosperity (Robertson, 1992; Scholte, 2004).
Appiah suggests that these forms of “false cosmopolitanism” are exacerbated in places where the fantasy of Western capital was first encountered as a form of explicit submission of the poor and the exploitation of entire communities through identity politics. In these conditions, a state of post-coloniality creates a pathology of silence (Appiah, 2007; Leung et al, 2005). Spivak (1988) suggests that this alterity (or “Othering”) manifests as a form of institutional silence, one that prevents the disenfranchised from speaking because speech itself was composed out of the same power dynamics that have shamed and marginalized the colonized in the first place (Spivak, 1988). Consequently, the only forms of speech that are understood are those that appropriate forms of power as their own. This, according to scholars of globalization, is one of the
fundamental traits of the emerging world economy (Hammond, Kramer, Katz, Tran and Walker, 2009; Hart, 2002). It is a world mediated by capital, but now mobilized by an economic force located at the bottom of the world income pyramid.
Consumers living at the bottom-of-the-pyramd, constitute nearly 5 billion of the world’s population, and also occupy regions whose resources are the most precious on the planet
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(Prahalad, 2005; Prahalad and Hart 2002). This combination, not exclusively highlighted by the recent BRIC discussions, have become a fast evolving paradigm in the study of emerging markets (Karnani, 2006; Khanna, Palepu, and Sinha, 2005; Kuada and Sorensen, 2000). Subsistence marketplaces, for example, are changing dramatically, some appropriated by sustainability movements from wealthier consumers (Viswanathan, Sridharan, and Ritchie, 2008; 2009). These trends have now shaped an agenda within international management and its related disciplines into a discussion on the economic power of the unheard, displaced, and previously marginalized (Cheng, 2007; Crabtree, 2007). More specifically, the new markets that have emerged from these people and places have changed the institutional networks that were previously configured by conventional forms of wealth and power (Fletcher and Crawford, 2011; Fletcher and Fang, 2006).
Thus, the discourse on emerging markets is as much about breaking myths and describing underrepresented rituals and patterns in newer contexts (Varman and Skalen, 2012; Landrum, 2007; D’Andrea, Ring, Aleman, and Tengel, 2004).
Ukukhothana, then, is a participant in a global economic movement that bears a series of
historical traumas that are now manifesting within the dominant systems of latent capital. These negative personal experiences are at the same time a cross-cultural challenge, and a deeply common global experience, which makes it an important and relevant contributor to studies that currently challenge our understanding of the global economy (Kasse-Grisar, 2004).
3. Research Context and Methodology
Consistent with our goals of studying and understanding an emergent phenomenon that has not yet been discussed in the academic literature, we favored the use of qualitative research
methodologies. First, we attended and observed several ukukhothana events (known as “trips”) in order to develop an initial understanding of the typical pattern and sequence of activities. At this point we started recruiting ukukhothana participants for face-to-face in-depth interviews using a snowball sampling technique, also known as chain referral, where one respondent refers the researcher to other potential respondents. This technique is particularly useful for accessing hidden and hard-to-reach populations, especially if these populations are seen as deviant or
stigmatized (Biernacki and Waldorf, 1981). In total, we interviewed ten participants, described in Table 1 below:
Table 1 Participant Details
Interview # Name Age
Years as an iZikhotane
Gender
1 Zweli 18 4 Male
2 Nico 15 3 Male
3 Njabulo 16 3 Male
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4 Neo 16 1 Male
5 Andile 14 4 Male
6 Mpho 16 3 Male
7 Morena 16 2 Female
8 Ayanda 16 2.5 Female
9 Lerato 17 2 Male
10 Mdu 17 2 Male
While the interviews were unstructured, we did develop an interview guide in order to increase consistency in question content and sequence from one interview to the next. However, there was minimum focus on the specificity of the guide as specificity may result in rigidity and so hinder the unveiling of rich information from the respondent (Patton, 2002). The interviews were recorded and later transcribed. The dominant procedures of categorization emerged from an inductive review of the materials. Transcripts were analyzed using standard protocols of content analysis to detect and verify emergent themes. However, whenever possible, the interviews were interpreted in conversation with photographs and video clips, providing a thick description of this phenomenon (Geertz, 1973). Consequently, this study introduces images and video in
conjunction with the text, incorporating methods drawn from the traditions of cultural
anthropology, particularly recent trends in visual culture where the image is preserved to avoid further colonizing through over-interpretation (Karp and Kratz, 2006).
Qualitative methods have long contended with the problem of interpretation (Johnson et al, 2007). Interview-based studies in the Indian subcontinent and in Latin American culture assert that studying phenomena that require performance also require a careful understanding of the way that spectatorship can reinforce power dynamics, particularly the power the spectator has over those observed (Jones, 2004; Wilson, 2004). Performative elements are by their very nature spatially-derived, and as such participate in the double-meaning of both representing a real condition while also being a part of the “stage” upon which the performance is constructed (Artaud, 1994). Ukukhothane is a complex set of spaces, including the bodies of the practitioners and the spectators, clothing, jewelry, and other surrounds. To interpret them strictly in relation to how performers feel about their own performance is equivalent to deriving meaning from a book based entirely on the author’s intentions. In both cases, neither phenomenon is owned by their respective artistic directors. The traditions of post-modern theory remind us that as cultural information is consumed, the theories that inform our understanding of the world (formal or otherwise), produce the lens whereby our interpretations have any meaning at all (Doz, 2011). In as many salient ways that an interview produces a set of perspectives, the theory themselves become the method that frames how those perspectives are observed.
Picture 1 demonstrates how the vehicles in which the gangs arrive create both a literal and figurative barrier to interpret Ukukhothane6. Any number of battles will occur in open fields
6 Picture 1 from http://arteinsky.blogspot.com/2014/05/south-africas-township-youth-subculture.html
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where the vehicles themselves serve as the border. The ornamentation of the vehicles in addition to the backdrop of the fields, often highlighted by the skyline of their own homes all contribute to the overall tenor whereby the destruction of luxury goods achieves meaning (as seen in Picture 27).
7 Ibid.
10 Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 38 illustrates a group of young girls “bragging” and standing in front of advertisements for beer. These images are very complex, because they immediately evoke assumptions from the interpreter about gender roles, and moral implications about youth and the consumption of alcohol. These images bear multiple meanings, and the derivation of those meanings is dependent upon recognizing the performance through multiple lenses.
Picture 3
8 Ibid.
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Accepting the artificiality of an image allows one to acknowledge other possibilities whereby resistance emerges, particularly the way that intentionality provokes unintended meaning.
Picture 4 illustrates this point elegantly.
Picture 4
The stylized presentation of these photos re-signifies the image in various ways, all of which make the photographic direction of the picture complicit in the representation of the cultural vocabulary that is being constructed (Burgelman, 2011). Although this may seem fundamental to all research, the incorporation of multiple theoretical perspectives, including those of poverty, colonialism, spectatorship, and gender roles (to name a few) require that one constantly revisit the framework whereby any form of cultural information (visual or otherwise) is oriented. The perspectives from the interviews taken were taken at the moment when Ukukhothana first
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achieved popularity. Consequently, these early and sometimes difficult and complex
perspectives will contain what Raymond Williams referred to as “structures of feeling,” which contains rich information without conforming to a conventional cultural logic (Corbin and Strauss, 2008; Creswell, 2007). This cross-cultural perspective is confirmed by recent studies in International Business, suggesting that interviews, even when well structured, must acknowledge themselves as an artifice of the same order as the phenomenon being observed (Douglas and Craig, 2005; Daniels and Cannice, 2004; Davies and Fitchett, 2004). Hence, interpretation of the text involved contextualizing the previous literature while remaining open to new insights.
Given the newness of the Ukukhothana phenomena and that of emerging markets, an openness to new insights was not only valid, but served as our primary mission. New phenomena must constantly revisit standard methodologies, particularly when underrepresented forces and phenomena require more nuanced ways to capture useful and enduring information (Cunliffe, 2011).
4. Findings and Discussion
Our findings reveal there is consistency with much of the literature on conspicuous consumption.
However, the information also expresses a condition of subversion and alterity that responds to external changes in the economic climate of those interviewed. This creates a duality in the thinking of the consumer that both understands the value of the things possessed and destroyed, but also reconfigures the value of those things possessed in a way that removes the power from the object and places it elsewhere.
4.1 What are the Drivers of Ukukhothana?
We identify three primary and inter-related drivers of ukukhothana: (1) as a form of costly signaling; (2) as a form of sexual signaling (3) as a response to structural powerlessness and as a means of asserting power. We discuss each driver in turn below.
Costly Signaling: Conspicuous consumption, as initially formulated by Veblen (1899), was seen as an honest and costly signal of true wealth and status. Costly signaling must meet the following requirements (Gintis and Bowles, 2001): (1) the signal should be visible to observers and in a very obvious way; (2) the signaler must benefit from signaling; (3) in order to signal the act needs to be costly to the signaler, either economically or from a risk or time point of view; and (4) the signal must be a yardstick the observer can use to measure a particular trait in the signaler. Of course, there is always the possibility that this signaling might be deceptive: Van Kempen (2003) discusses counterfeit goods among the poor in developing countries as status signaling devices that rely on the deception to the observer. To this end, iZikhothane takes great care that their own signals are not deceptive, often conspicuously displaying the store price tags on the product (Nelissen and Meijers, 2011). The great effort placed on the authenticity of the items used in order to avoid “cheating” create a strong point of departure from other status signaling behavior.
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iZikhothane create standards within the system of signaling that verify the authenticity of goods, including making sure that receipts are present. At one point, it was popular to destroy gift cards but this stopped after iZikhothane realized there was no way of verifying the amount on the cards.
UI079: If you keep the price tag on then it’s good, because you are a sure case.
Everyone knows that this is it and there are no lies and they can see these things are new and they can see that it’s the real stuff.
UI06: We also used to pex with credit cards but over time that did not get popular because we are not sure how much is in there.
In each case, interviews demonstrated that there was an acknowledged standard regarding
truthfulness and the value of the goods being used and destroyed. Participants acknowledged that they were, in a sense, stewards of the standards whereby these signals were evaluated. This is one way in which iZikhothane address power dynamics. Because they are the standard bearers of this particular phenomenon, they take control of the value system that costly signaling represents.
This is one of the more subtle ways that the power dynamic is addressed, because pexing then becomes a way of internalizing external power dynamics derived from the value of a good and the forces that make that good valuable externally. Since consumption is ritualistic in all its forms, one needs to take the representational value of such ritualistic systems as a primary way of articulating what can be observed (Bliege Bird and Smith, 2005).
Sexual signaling: we also view ukukhothana as a form of sexual signaling. Recent work by evolutionary psychologists demonstrates that showy spending is often a social signal directed at potential partners to secure short-term mating (Sundie Griskevicius, Vohs, Kenrick, Tybur, and Beal, 2011). Further, conspicuous displays of consumption serve as costly signals of desirable mate qualities. Inducing mating goals in men increases their willingness to spend on conspicuous luxuries (Griskevicius et al, 2007). Similarly, in ukukhothana we observe young males, in
particular, going to great lengths to signal their wealth to potential sexual partners. This is consistent with Foucalt’s (1990) contextualization of power as a form of bio-power. Foucalt suggests that powerlessness will always manifest as a form of sexual power that fulfills the lack of other forms of power. The role of the submissive, for example, is that of the powerful, because all power reduces itself to the primary functions of the body. Without it, politics does not function properly. It is in this regard that sexual signaling expresses the body as the essential unit of power. It makes public what the upper class have forced into privacy. Those who feel little power will turn to their bodies as a public site of their resistance (Foucalt, 1990).
9 All interview quotes are marked as Ukukhothana Inverview (UI) and a number that references the interview number in table 1.
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UI03: The crowd loves it, especially the girls. If there is a girl in the crowd who wants you, it makes it easy to ask her out because she can see you are the man.
UI06: The girls are also looking and thinking ‘he is it’ and ‘he is hot’ and they want to be around you and they want to get close to you all the time.
It is interesting to note that of those interviewed, the longer they had been iZikhothane, the more they expressed a sense for the sexual value of their practice. As power dynamics within the group evolved, a sense for reputation or longevity in this world created a perspective about the sexual dynamics of ukukhothana that featured prominently in the discussions. Again, the exchange between costly signaling and power was evident in this process. Foucalt’s (1990) concept of biopower marks this problem as one derived from structure. As bodies absorb the forms of social power that emerge around them, their bodies become the symbolic gesture of those forms of power. The idea that “people in uniform are sexy” emanates from the power structures appropriation of the bodies involved in those structures. The experiences in shaping the practice of ukukhothana are directly related to the close that are worn and destroyed, and eventually, the reputations each participant and crew gains become the symbolic gestures of creating or shaping the world around them. This, according to Foucalt is part of the architecture of sexuality and its relationship to power, and is confirmed by what was observed in these interviews. The highly structured practice of ukukhothana is partially a process of appropriating wealth display into forms of sexual currency.
Power and powerlessness: Because of the interaction of their poverty (Van Kempen, 2003), their race (Charles, Hurst and Roussanov, 2009; Posel, 2010), and their age (Isaksen and Roper, 2008), poor, black youth in South Africa are often structurally powerless. Rucker and Galinsky (2009) demonstrate convincingly that powerlessness fosters a compensatory motive to restore power and that the powerless prefer visible or conspicuous consumption that signals status to others.
Similarly, we hear from many iZikhothane how the conspicuous display and destruction of luxury products makes them feel empowered.
UI10: They followed me calling me potato bag and telling me I am a hobo and I do not have nothing. I decided that I am going to show them: you do it because you need to keep people quiet, they always want to come across as if they are more than you are. Now, I feel like the best. I am held higher than anyone else and I become feared and respected.
UI08: People feared this girl. But then when I am done with this girl the power moves to me. I don’t fear them, they fear me. When they see you they don’t underestimate you.
The narrative above is fraught with different dimensions of power. First “they” represents a collective of people who taunted the interviewee. Rather than being a specific person whom the interviewee held a grievance, the reference was made more generally to “those people,” a
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reference that repeated itself in many interviews. The collective identity of privilege was not the subject of any one individual, it was the system that initiated the power dynamics that made these youth feel vulnerable. That is why they “always” want to impose their superiority. The
structures of power are hegemonic, and that is what converts “that person,” or “this girl” into
“they” and “that one time” from “always.” The pronounce shift because in the narrative, these battles are about converting individual battles into structural power. Because the system demands fear and respect, it becomes the vocabulary whereby iZikhotana respond to power and
conceptualize the acquisition of power.
The irony lies in the consequences of destruction. These practices come as great sacrifices, and thus, have the potential to worsen the conditions of poverty that produce these practices in favor of temporary consumer indulgences (Ruvio et al, 2014). Power and powerlessness is embedded in all forms of communication (Hofstede, 2001); however, in this context, it represents a very subtle significance, consistent with the literature on costly signaling. For example, Bannister and Hogg suggest that negative symbolic consumption is driven by self-esteem issues (2004). More specifically, low self-esteem is already a key signifier of powerlessness, and consumption
patterns derived from low-self-esteem respond directly to structural poverty and to other forms of powerlessness. Others would suggest that it is the act of development in places of visible
impoverishment that produce a dual kind of silencing and revolutionary speech (Chakravarti, 2006). For example, Lamont and Molinar (2001) connect the forces of consumption within Black communities as a way of shaping a collective identity and how “Othering” shapes groups that endure battles with privilege, power, and hegemony. In other words, the conditions of poverty are not visible until the conditions of wealth flesh them out in contrast to its voice (Bearden and Etzel, 1982). When wealth becomes visible in a place where poverty is rampant, the silencing of that poverty becomes even more apparent, if not easily expressed (Hogg et al, 2009; Rucker and Galinsky, 2009; Cavusgil, Griffith and Xu, 2008). While many responses to wealth and privilege appear as forms of anti-consumption, it is becoming increasingly clear that such decisions can be the result of privilege also, which highlights how formidable structural privilege can be (Lee and Cherrier, forthcoming; Lee et al, 2009; Varman, 2009).
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Figure 1: Ukukhothana in the context of conspicuous consumption
The interviews produce a narrative that confirms the interplay between costly signaling, sexual signaling, and overt dynamics of power and powerlessness.
4.4 Where does the money come from?
In addition to being highly structured, there is a significant amount of resource development and acquisition of financial means. It is precisely because of the structural poverty endemic to ukukhothana that the money behind this consumption ignites a strong moral response.
iZikhothana budget and save well in advance for trips. They forgo lunch to save their pocket money, take odd jobs such as car washing and crew members will support one another, sharing resources to ensure that the crew retains credibility. Additionally, there is talk of theft of money (pick-pocketing) and goods (shoplifting) but no one will directly admit to doing this.
UI06: I budget and save and most of my lunch money I never use and it save it. But sometimes it’s so difficult and you have to get money other ways.
UI01: The really poor kids…the ones who come from a really bad situation and you see they are really forcing it, they want it bad. They steal clothes, money, pick pocket, they break in.
UI03: You get home and you see money that belongs to my dad, for example, you steal it and go buy things with them. Sometimes I manipulate my parents and get very angry and
Costly Signaling
Power &
Powerlessness Sexual
Signaling
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they feel bad for me and go to the neighbors and they borrow so that I can pex. At home there is this big debt.
In each of these cases, the coding still becomes a “they” thing. This appears to be a way to preserve the anonymity of their peers, but again, it is precisely that anonymity of language that bears a reference to the structural power around these youth.
4.5 What about the parents?
Most iZikhothane try and keep this activity hidden from their parents. When parents find out there is typically extreme tension and conflict. But sometimes parents will enable their children out of feelings of guilt. Moreover, almost uniformly, iZikhothane insist that their parents engage in similar behavior --- conspicuous consumption --- but without the destructive aspect.
UI02: I will pex with food instead of tearing and burning clothes. Because at home they start to notice that your clothes are missing and they start to punish you. But you make a plan, you know, to get money. At home they are not happy about this.
UI05: If they have no money at home then you make your parents feel bad and you point to all the other kids in your group and you tell your parents that you know they are messing up your life and eventually they feel bad and make all means to get you the money, borrow whatever…
UI06: The adults really complain. But they also boast, you know, in their own way. Only they don’t go drinking and destroying things but they do it. But at the same time they want to complain about us and tell us this thing is wrong.
The gestures to encourage their parents to sacrifice, for example, are manipulations about their circumstances. In each case, the justification for any financial activity is prompted by an invisible system that manifests as a form of shared experience among the iZikhothane and their supporters. But the parents too are subject to this experience, and the young iZikhothane are aware of this.
4.6 Moral Tension in Ukukhothana
Most iZikhothane experience a moral tension. In the short term, there is an intense need to engage in ukukhothana for the sense of power and elation that it brings. But, in the longer term, they also grapple with guilt and despair at their wastefulness. And where severe poverty meets heedless materialism, the results can be truly ugly.
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UI02: It makes me feel good, I feel like the owl. It means I am better and above everybody else and I feel good. I am cool and people fear me.
UI09: I feel like the best. Like I can do whatever I want and people love me and respect me. I am held higher than anyone else and I become feared and respected, when I walk in the streets people love me and talk to me and say there is that girl who can afford her life and is living a good life.
There is a sense of pride and empowerment that manifests in the short term. As they are introduced to the idea of being feared, they associate that with respect, and that converts itself into a sense of liberation from the powerlessness felt. However, this quickly converts to an acknowledgement of the scarcity of resources and the level of vulnerability this practice produces:
UI09: Yes, I know it’s unfair and if my mom found out she will be unhappy. We could be using this money for food, there are people out there who are hungry and I think it’s wrong, you know.
UI02: This thing is wasteful and my mom is very unhappy, you know, because I have burned so many clothes and sometimes she refuses to buy me clothes. People are hungry out there who need food and I waste food; who need clothes and I just tear them up.
The mindfulness of the negative affects implies that there is more than just individual gain at play. There is a structural, collective work involved in ukukhothana, and as power articulates itself collectively, a system of sacrifice and tragedy becomes a part of that narrative:
UI01: There is a kid from Daveyton --- it was two years ago --- and he wanted Michael Jordan for the Witbank trip and they could not afford it at home. So he killed himself.
UI09: There was a boy that was stabbed and killed. But he started talking about other kids' parents and the fact that they are orphans and that is bad because some of the kids who pex are orphans and things turn out ugly.
It is noteworthy that the eldest of those interviewed were those that expressed the more tragic implications involved. These youth are clearly aware of the differences in power derived from social and economic circumstances, which makes their commitment to this practice a nuanced one, filled with a conviction that is much more complicated than personal gain. At each point, the youth make references, implied or otherwise, to the structural poverty and the confrontation of that poverty with an evolving system of privilege that exists externally.
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5. Conclusion and Suggestions for Future Research
Ukukhothana draws together three streams of literature on conspicuous consumption and unites them into a practice of a youth driven theatre. The strong emphasis on authenticity flies in the face of typical status signaling of the poor; as does its greatest point of departure: victory comes to those who destroy that which is coveted. Here lies its great moral hazards; consumption for status in a sea of need. To this end they are a mirror for global inequality – the demonstration of surfeit wealth in a sea of poverty. It has very powerful historical and social markers; it serves as a strong social critique.
Implications for marketers and policy makers
Ukukhothana coincides with the ‘Born-frees’, the first generation born after Apartheid. It is for this generation where the test of the post-Apartheid project is made. Like other BRICS nations, the promise of a brighter future has generated the veneer of prosperity that lies in stark contrast to the social realities of the impoverished within those countries. The messages economic progress cultivated by the Beijing Olympics and the FIFA World Cup were surrounded by social protests and utterances of gross economic disparity. The excess of architectural spaces like the Bird’s Nest in Beijing serve as a monolithic reminder to the poor of a promise that is potentially (and quite literally) empty. The Winter Olympics in Sochi serve as a segue into the ethnic strife of the Crimean Peninsula, and in India, discussions of mass corruption and poor infrastructure plague the idea of an upwardly mobile democratic agenda. In each of these cases there are pockets of deep structural poverty situated within the machinations of economic growth. Within these promises lie the very dangerous possibility that the most vulnerable of these populations will revolt and be repressed, as has occurred in many South African ‘service delivery protests’ found in these same communities and the horror of the Marikana massacre. A society that equates wealth with consumption and brands with status through a myriad of marketing messages may be heading for social unrest as many are systematically excluded from this process.
Flooding a society with aspirational brands may have real negative consequences, both for the brand and those who aspire but cannot fulfil their desires. Ukukthotana is nothing if not a deep reaction to materialism. Marketing and its association with materialism may have a deep set of internal dilemmas to contend with and a potential set of legislators who seek to restrict its practice. As Sheth (2011) highlighted, in emerging markets the line between the political, the social and marketing is blurred and stakeholders, such as government, are equally as important as consumers themselves.
Future studies may contend with phenomena such as Ukukhothana as viewed by people in similar economic conditions (the BRICS and beyond) to see how their spectatorship interprets the
dynamics made visible by these youth and to contrast it with the behavior of youth in the
developed world, such as ‘vaskning’ or ‘sinking’ in Sweden, where bartenders are told to pour an
20
expensive drink down the drain by spoilt wealthy young socialites.10 While listening to the perspective of iZikhothane was a necessary first step, the next steps must incorporate qualitative methods of spectatorship, and more specifically for a global perspective, cross-cultural
spectatorship. Achieving this will give us a sense for how the ritual of ukukhothana itself is consumed, and how the moral tensions implied by this phenomenon translate into other forms of growth that are presently changing the global cultural and political economy.
Finally, further studies may take into consideration a longitudinal study. Because this is a relatively new phenomenon, it would be worthwhile to evaluate the perspectives of "retired"
iZikhothane. From this perspective several dimensions can be understood. First, as these youth get older one of the dimensions of their powerlessness will have diminished. What will happen to their perspective on this practice as they age? Second, as discretionary income rises, some iZikhothane may find themselves with greater relative income. As their relation to poverty changes how will this change their relationship to ukukhothane? One lingering question that remains as this practice is better understood: is the destructive element of ukhokhothane a way of preserving credibility within an impoverished community? In other words, while wealth retains a level of respect in a more conventional way, there is a way in which the destruction of these goods also retains the credibility of being poor. As the shift in power dynamics among the world's poor evolves, how are the things that make poverty a special state of power? Could it be that nostalgia for poverty and the morality that comes from living in poverty be a thing that is being protected by the poor as they become less connected to that poverty? This is a compelling result of learning about ukukhothana, and future work may explore this problem with a different set of qualitative approaches.
10 http://walternaeslund.com/sinking-%E2%80%93-the-next-big-swedish-viral-export/
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