Drinking And Medicine:The Practice Of Consumption Discourse And The Construction Of Women’s Identity In Kuding Tea

The theory of consumer culture explores the practical significance of consumption from the social and cultural life of things,that is,consumption is not only the market behavior of buying,using and consuming goods,but also a social practice that shapes the values and lifestyles of consumer subjects.This study attempts to clarify how an ordinary small-leaf bitter tea from Yuqing,Guizhou,became an omnipotent miracle medicine in the eyes of consumers,and all physical ailments seemed to disappear after drinking bitter tea and restore health.The focus of the research is not to explore the health care role of bitter ding tea in the pathological sense,but to analyze what kind of words and methods a foreign bitter ding tea is accepted by consumers,and why bitter ding tea is welcomed by consumer groups and resonates with them,but at the same time there is controversy,how do consumers deal with this controversy? Can Kuding tea help consumers live their lives well? This study analyzes how consumer individuals are tempted by consumption from the perspective of mutual construction,and consumers also construct meaning for their own behaviors through consumption,and the reflexivity of consumption behavior constructs the social subject status of consumers.In this two-way construction process,the initiative of consumers is discussed.Middle-aged and elderly women are in the process of life stage transformation.Their discomfort not only comes from physical changes,but also their role playing faces the confusion of identity transition.The study found that with the help of the kinship network,Kuding tea has entered the sight of middle-aged and elderly female consumers.,and the consumption of Kuding tea has become a specific reality embodiment of the identity adjustment in the individual adaptation stage,and it is also a representation of consumers’ use of consumer discourse practice for role play and identity construction.Firstly,the sellers of Kuding tea compiled a set of consumption discourse system,which tells consumers that only continuous consumption can have health,through a set of health practices and self-realization mode of consumption,Kuding tea is integrated into the daily life of consumer groups;In addition,with the help of the kinship network of individual consumers,Kuding tea and its magical tea drinking cases were continuously spread,gaining people’s trust in the process,and then Kuding tea was seen and accepted by more and more consumers,and consumers used storytelling methods to actively join the action of deifying Kuding tea when recommending it to others.On the other hand,consumers also use Kuding tea to construct the identity of the subject,such as expressing individual desires,conveying their hearts or fighting for their own family life discourse,while Kuding tea is used by consumers in various scenes in life,drinking Kuding tea is considered to be a kind of life practice wisdom of consumers.Finally,in the "big health industry" shaped by Kuding tea sellers,consumers have obtained individual social value and imagination in it;In the industry community composed of consumer groups and sellers,consumers support each other,maintain the authority of the community,and group identity is generated.Therefore,local women consume Kuding tea not only to buy the use value of the item-the efficacy of Kuding tea,but also to buy these meanings and recognitions.So,consumers are not completely domesticated by consumption,but creatively participate in it.