The condition of 'Cosmo-housewives': leisure shopping, the mainstream and its ambiguities

Leisure shopping' is a particular kind of shopping activity that is devoted mainly to fashion clothes and accessories. Women are commonly represented as the main leisure shoppers, and consequently, they tend to be at the centre of shopping centres' mainstream discourses. This article argues that interpretations of representations of leisure shopping' and the corresponding practice have too often ignored the daily and seemingly banal' experiences of the social actors involved. The primary purpose of this article is to show how gender roles are performed and reified in high-end factory outlet villages in Italy. It adopts a cross-sectional approach to leisure shopping' that includes an analysis of the languages' of two Italian high-end factory outlet villages, the social space' represented by the same sites and the stories' about a few ideal-typical female shopping experiences. These aspects are situated in the Italian cultural and political context at the time the research was conducted. Very different demands - such as sensuality, efficiency and motherly care - are put on women in Italy, as well as in the majority of Western societies. The analysis reveals that through their practice of browsing in a high-end factory outlet village, women often reproduce stereotypes while simultaneously trying - though ambiguously - to challenge them. La condicion de Cosmo-amas de casa': ir de compras por placer, la corriente dominante y sus ambiguedadesLa compras por placer' es un tipo particular de ir de compras que se dedica principalmente a la ropa y accesorios de moda. Las mujeres son comunmente representadas como las principales compradoras por placer, y en consecuencia, suelen estar en el centro de los discursos dominantes de los centros comerciales. Este articulo propone que las interpretaciones de las representaciones del comprar por placer' y la correspondiente practica han ignorado con demasiada frecuencia las experiencias cotidianas y aparentemente banales' de los actores sociales involucrados. El objetivo principal de este articulo es mostrar como los roles de genero son performados y materializados en villages de compras outlet de las marcas de moda en Italia. Adopta un enfoque transversal al comprar por placer', que incluye un analisis de los idiomas' de dos villages de compras outlet italianos, el espacio social' representado por los mismos lugares y las historias' sobre algunas experiencias tipicas de compras de las mujeres. Estos aspectos estan situados en el contexto cultural y politico italiano en el momento en el que la investigacion se llevo a cabo. Se ponen muchas demandas diferentes - sensualidad, eficiencia y cuidado materno - sobre las mujeres italianas, asi como en la mayoria de las sociedades occidentales. El analisis revela que a traves de su practica de recorrer en un village de compras outlet, las mujeres a menudo reproducen los estereotipos al tiempo que simultaneamente tratan - aunque en forma ambigua - de desafiarlos.