CONSUMER CULTURE AND FEMALE SELF-CONSTRUCTION IN THE DIARY OF A SOCIAL BUTTERFLY

Abstract

The present study examines how consumer culture is signified and how femininity is created in the Moni Mohsin's The Diary of a Social Butterfly. This study explores the role of the consumerist values including materialism, brand consciousness, social visibility and class performance in the construction of the female identity in the elite strata of Pakistani society. It states that the femininity of the novel is not fixed or natural at all, but is rather a performance that is socially constructed by the expectations and norms imposed by consumers and the hegemonic patriarchy. The research method used is qualitative and the technique that is applied is textual analysis. The theoretical framework is based on feminist theory, consumer culture theory and postmodern views of the construction of identity. They contribute to the comprehension of how the protagonist, Butterfly, internalizes consumerism and builds her identity through luxury consumption, social events and public performance. The humor in the novel is also examined, as it is a critique of superfluous “femininity” within the upper classes, as well as elite consumer culture. Identities are found to be influenced by consumer culture, and in the capitalist context, the value of women is bound up with their looks, belongings, and their social acceptance. The study also shows how femininity is enacted through repetitive acts of consumption, emotional labor and social involvement, and the role it plays in establishing class distinction and gender expectations. Furthermore, Mohsin's satire uncovers the paradoxes of femininity which is consumer-driven, and reveals the narrowness and performative side of it. It is argued in the study that The Diary of a Social Butterfly is a critical study of the interdependent relationship of gender, class and consumerism, revealing how elite female identity is created, controlled and marketed in a consumerist social order.