Becoming ‘a woman to the backbone’:  Lingerie Consumption and the Experience of Feminine Identity

This study investigate hoe women’s consumption of lingerie may enhance their experience of inter- and intra-psychological identity. This process of identity formation is analysed with reference to Foucault’s concept of ‘technologies of the self’. Lingerie is treated as such an instrument, and the categorizations that consumers use are treated as a form of practical knowledge of how to determine the ‘right’ underwear for the ‘right’ occasion. The study is based on interviews with 22 women about their underwear and lingerie consumtion.