Strategic Ethnic Performance and the Construction of Authenticity in Urban Japan

The alienation of individuals in post-industrial societies from the production of the goods they consume results in an increased desire to find and participate in diverse forms of “authentic” consumption (MacCannell 1973; Warde et al. 1999). This drive towards authentic consumption experiences is particularly strong in urban environments because alienation from the production of consumed goods is acute. Within these urban spheres, “authentic” goods are often conflated with “exotic” ethnic goods (Peterson 2005; Wherry 2006) because the ideal type of authenticity for these consumers is often non-Western and “traditional” (Arnould and Thompson 2005). The relationship between the “authentic” ethnic goods being sold and the individual selling them is complex, but consumers are more likely to view ethnic goods as authentic if the seller appears to be a member of the ethnic group in question (Lu and Fine 1995; Peterson 2005; Becker 2014). This provides a unique opportunity for ethnic entrepreneurs seeking to occupy a niche within a crowded market if they can portray themselves as authentic (and possibly “exotic”) people selling authentic goods (Goffman 1959; Alexander 2004; Rath 2007; Wherry 2012).

The ability to “perform” an ethnic identity relies on mutually understood notions of social identity and authenticity (Peterson 2005). Individuals maintain several different identities and only some of those identities are salient in a given context (Tajfel and Turner 1986; Styker and Burke 2000). In societies with bright boundaries between social groups, notions of what aspects of identity constitute authentic membership within a social group are relatively fixed (Alba 2005). In this situation, information necessary to carry out an ethnic performance that resonates with the average consumer is readily available for the potential ethnic entrepreneur (Howard 2000; Lamont and Molnár 2002). Moreover, the link between social identities and authenticity means that ethnic entrepreneurs can craft environments that appear authentic to the consumer (MacCannell 1973; Rath 2007).  This is vitally important because, for most consumers who want to engage in authentic consumption, the commodities themselves are secondary to the act of consuming the commodity (Peterson 2005).

I argue that individuals engaged in ethnic entrepreneurship sometimes engage in strategic ethnic performance, or the selective presentation of an ethnic identity other than their own, in order to sell ethnic goods. I use the case of Sub-Saharan Africans engaged in selling African-American Hip Hop fashion to Japanese youth in urban Tokyo to illustrate one specific instance of strategic ethnic performance (SEP) in action. Japan, with bright boundaries demarcating ethnic groups and an elaborate niche-driven consumer culture, is fertile ground for entrepreneurs intent on selling ethnic goods. An in-depth analysis of Sub-Saharan African ethnic entrepreneurs in urban Japan and their signaling of African-American ethnic identity during different stages of interaction with potential Japanese customers both outside and inside Hip Hop fashion boutiques provides several examples of how ethnic identity in the marketplace is both malleable and contingent upon the opportunities available for ethnic entrepreneurs and the knowledge and expectations of consumers. Strategic ethnic performance is one type of impression management strategy sellers use to lower the cognitive dissonance consumers might feel when the ethnicity of the vendor and the good being sold do not overlap. This is a novel concept because - unlike previously identified strategies such as passing (Goffman 1963), affiliative ethnicity (Jiménez 2010), and assumed ethnicity (Becker 2014) - strategic ethnic performance usually occurs in areas without a significant presence of the ethnic group whose identity is being performed. Thus, strategic ethnic performance owes its existence to the globalization of information, identities, and markets.

I conducted fifteen months of ethnographic fieldwork in the Tokyo and Osaka Metropolitan areas from August to September in 2003 and again from July 2011 to August 2012. I conducted 60 semi-structured in-depth interviews of Sub-Saharan Africans living in both metropolitan areas (with the vast majority residing in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area). In addition, I conducted over 800 hours of participant observation within religious organizations, businesses, support groups, and various other entities run by or for Sub-Saharan Africans. Some of this time was also spent in well-known and highly visible areas where Sub-Saharan Africans worked.

I constructed the theory of strategic ethnic performance through triangulation of methods, which mainly involved combining findings from interviews and observations in the field. This enabled a deeper understanding of what underlying processes were involved with African vendors performing African-American identity to sell Hip Hop fashion in Japan. From this triangulation, I identified four sequential and interconnected areas that enable strategic ethnic performance: 1) the opportunity structure for potential entrepreneurs 2) the physical appearance and comportment of the seller towards the potential customer, 3) the design and ambiance of the selling venue, and 4) feedback loops between the impressions and knowledge of potential customers and the enacted performance of the seller.