How spas as social spaces shape men’s identities and their consumption norms

Research into the geographies of social relations highlights the importance of social actions in the development of social space (Lefebvre, 1991) and the impact of social space on the construction of one’s identity including gender, sexual orientation and race (Van Ingen, 2003). This developmental paper considers the close connection between gender and consumption (Costa, 1994; Firrat, 1994; Kimmel & Tissier-Desbordes, 2000; Nava, 1997) and between social space and gender construction (Little, 2012), discussed in the literature of geographies, and suggests for the research into consumer behaviour a theoretical framework embracing gender, consumption and space. By drawing upon the work of Lefebvre (1991) and Van Ingen (2003), who argue that social practices create social spaces and identities, this paper aims to incorporate social space into research on consumer behaviour that is explored through a gender lens. It takes spa services/locations as a research context and argues that spas in the UK serve as consumption zones where social relations and gender identities are formed. With a specific focus on the male spa consumer market this developmental paper aims to shed light onto the impact of the spa space on the construction of masculinity and consumption norms.