Ideologies and Forms of Domination in the Organization of the Global Production and Consumption of Goods in the Emerging Postmodern Era: A Case Study of Nike Corporation and the Implications for Gender

This paper uses a case study of Nike Corporation to examine some of the contradictory gender-based ideologies involved in the two main processes of the production and consumption of athletic footwear: manufacturing and advertising. It uses the newly developing paradigm within world-system theory, a commodity chain analysis, to compare and contrast the social relations of gender within each of these two segments at both the micro- and macro-level. Noting the increasing importance of advertising and consumption patterns accompanying emerging post-industrial, postmodern trends, this paper highlights the need for political economy analyses to address more cautiously cultural, political and social factors involved in the production and consumption of goods. This study employs an exploratory approach, using gender as a variable to detect linkages between the economic and cultural realms at the individual and global level. Drawing on some of the post-Marxist literature, it points to new potential for alliances in forging social change. The main attempt is to expand upon development theory which tends to neglect the role of gender, while also expanding studies of gender by investigating gender issues within the framework of the global political economy.