Appropriating the State on the Council Estate

Abstract

This article is concerned with the nature of consumption in an industrial society. It investigates the manner in which tenants on a London Council Estate have decorated and altered their kitchens. Striking differences in the ability of tenants to appropriate facilities provided by the council are considered in relation to gender, ethnicity and other factors. Such a perspective illustrates the dialectical nature of gender categories under certain conditions. It also highlights the dynamic potential of long-term consumption as an arena through which social groups attempt to transform alienable goods into inalienable culture, but are often unable to accomplish this goal.