ABSTRACT
A salient characteristic of Israeli-Palestinian consumption is that it extends across a range of markets, which are located within the state and beyond, and which offer varied types of goods, price levels, and interactions. A widespread local assumption, then, is that being part of modernity, consumption entails profound changes in gender relations. The utilization of gender as a key symbol in representations of national and ethnic identity is well documented in the literature. In the 1990s then, and to some degree already in the 1980s, Israeli Palestinians were assimilated into a fast-increasing national and global consumerism. Historically, the region divided by national borders was cultural domain, where communities maintained marriage relations, political alliances, businesses, and cultural exchange. Practices of consumption create “an unstable field of floating signifiers”, which unravels simultaneous possibilities of difference and sameness within and without the national collectivity.
