Process
Status Items Output None Questions None Claims None Highlights Done See section below
Highlights
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commodification—the act of taking something’s original form and commercializing it, turning it into an object of trade and capital. Commodification is socially constructed and involves businesses taking things such as identity and language and turning aspects of them into a service or good
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Diffusion is the process of spreading styles, ideas, values, and norms into a wider society (Haenfler Lecture 2017). Once the market focuses on an object or identity to commodify, it starts the process of advertising and promoting that thing to the public.
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Defusion is the process of depoliticizing or ‘watering down’ the values, meanings, ideals, and subversive potential of a group (Haenfler Lecture 2017). Businesses use defusion to alter the meanings of and commodify things that may not have been originally accepted by the public. In doing this, they are able to present certain ‘enjoyable’ parts of identities and leave out other aspects, constructing the identity or item to be more marketable.
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A problem with commodification of subcultures is the commodifier’s attempt to defuse the culture and misinform the audience about it. This isn’t necessarily a deliberate process by the commodifier, but because of their sole focus on positive marketing, misinforming the audience and defusion of the subculture tends to be a result.