Examining the dupe trend as cultural resistance in online spaces: A meaning-making perspective

The emergence of participatory culture on social media has given rise to viral trends, such as the dupe trend in the beauty community, which influences consumers' consumption habits. Conceptualizing the dupe trend as a practice and further imbuing acts with oppositional dynamics enables an understanding of the dynamics of cultural shifts as relationships among products, acts, and meanings become apparent. Brands and products acquire meaning through continuous interaction with various market actors, including the brand, consumers, and popular culture. More research on cultural meaning-makers is needed to understand better how brands acquire specific meanings. This manuscript, belonging to the interpretive paradigm, contributes to this need in the literature by exploring the meanings associated with dupe practice. Social media influencers are regarded as cultural production systems and meaning-makers who articulate and negotiate cultural meanings in dupe practice. In this practice, affordable products that resemble luxury products in terms of performance are known as dupe products and acquire cultural meanings of accessibility. Dupe consumers acquire symbolic meanings by their preferences, such as smart consumers, and their consumption choices signal achievement and utilitarianism. Further, the specifics of the meaning of "dupe" are negotiated in the beauty community through continuous interactions between social media influencers and consumers.