ABSTRACT
This chapter draws on three streams of consumer research to understand the fetish community in Denmark. Starting with Hirschman and Holbrook’s seminal articles on hedonistic consumption (Hirschman and Holbrook, 1982; Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982), a (still) growing body of research has addressed the linkages between experiential consumption, emotions, social
relations and identity work. These linkages appear as tribes, life mode, and brand communities and cultures of consumption (Cova and Cova, 2002; Firat and Dholakia, 1998; Kozinets, 2001; Muñiz and O’Guinn, 2001). Other studies have examined communities as diverse as skydivers, bikers, mountain men, ravers and roller skaters (Belk and Costa, 1998; Celsi, Randall, and Leigh, 1993; Cova and Cova, 2001; Goulding and Shankar, 2004; Goulding, Shankar, and Elliott, 2002; Schouten and McAlexander, 1995).
