Consumption and Liminality - How Interracial Couples in China Experience Marriage and Construct Identity

This study seeks to understand, how interracial couples in China make consumption choices, and how these choices facilitate their ongoing identity projects (Sheriff and Chin, 2020), during the liminal transitional stage of interracial marriage (Van Gennep, 1960; Tonner, 2016; Cody, 2012; Turner, 1969). By recognising that identity is in a constant dynamic negotiation according to the context, our findings show that interracial weddings, abundantly rich with traditional cultural, symbolic, and ritualistic practices, create a liminal environment and period, whereby individuals rethink and reflect on who they are, their ethnic selves and express this through their consumption practices. This process is enriched by the conflicting context that interraciality brings about and the interactions that unfold in the online world.