Page 146 - Purchasing Power Black Kids and American Consumer Culture

Anthropologist on Shopping Sprees . 131

with a simple, "Thank you," and opened up the box, moving to sit on the
floor as she began to try on one of the shoes. Her foot did not seem to go
in very well. "They don't fit," she said, scrunching her eyebrows down.
Cherie stood almost frozen, not believing that this could be true. Deanna
pulled her foot out of the shoe and saw that her thick athletic sock was
hanging over her toes, bunching up inside the shoe. She readjusted her
sock, and tried the shoe again. It was a perfect fit. Deanna was all smiles,
and Cherie, with evident relief, began passing out bags of chocolate
coins to her grandmother and aunt, the enjoyment of this radiating out
of her in all directions.
Interpreting the meaning and importance of children's purchases for
themselves, which constituted the great majority of purchases overall, is
perhaps even more complicated than unraveling the complexities of gifts.
For one, children on the whole did not seem driven by their impulses.
Kids often managed to buy an astonishing amount for twenty dollars,
and overall they were careful, thoughtful, and critical in their buying.
Second, when they bought things for themselves, it was not in most cases
appropriate to assume that these purchases were self-centered or selfish.
Children's purchases for themselves revealed a profound practicality, and
the purchase of "needed" items emerged as a central element of kids'
shopping. With her twenty dollars Sheila bought a pair of shoes, one
package each of socks and underwear, and a bottle of nail polish. Her
mother had told her beforehand to be sure and buy socks and underwear
with part of her twenty dollars. Marvella, a fourteen-year-old, bought
Clearasil, deodorant, and school notebooks with part of her money.
Cherelle came prepared with a list that included items such as "gel for
the back of my hair" (which she did not buy) and a hair bow to match
her school uniform (which she did buy).

Tanika
Tanika had been wearing her brother's sneakers to gym class since she
had outgrown her own a few months before. Buying herself sneakers
when she needed them was not only practical, but something she found
immensely satisfying. "My mother is going to be so happy that she doesn't
have to buy me sneakers now," she crowed on the way home in the car
(table 5.4).
Unlike many children in her class, Tanika was not regularly expect-
ed to spend part of her own money on things she needed, like socks and
underwear. Although Tanika's family was not as economically on the
edge as Davy's family, Tanika was keenly aware of the stresses upon her