The role of consumption culture in the commodification of marriage

Throughout the historical process, marriage has been transformed in terms of meaning, purpose and function depending on social changes. Especially the structure that emerged in the post-industrial period and shifted from production to consumption has also affected the institution of marriage. In this study, the role of consumer culture in the process of turning marriage into a commodity and the individual and social reflections of this process are discussed. In this study where qualitative research method was adopted, case study design was used. 24 in-depth interviews were conducted with 24 participants consisting of engaged and married individuals using a semi-structured interview form consisting of 24 questions. Participants were reached through purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The data obtained were analysed by content analysis method. The findings show that consumer culture transforms the perception of marriage in dimensions such as meaning, expectation and happiness; marriage preparation processes and marital roles are reshaped with the effect of commodification. The study aims to contribute to the sociological discussions in this field by revealing the impact of consumer culture on individual relationships with a special focus on the institution of marriage.