We examine the identity refusal work of non-drinking university students who contest the collective &apos;non-drinker&apos; identity by employing a range of identity refusal positions. We outline these positions and contribute to theoretical development in the CCT identity projects stream. This identity refusal risks providing support for the stigmatized non-drinker identity

Anthony Grimes

Emma Banister

Maria Piacentini

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Identity Refusal and the Non-Drinking Self
Emma Banister, Manchester University, UK 
Maria Piacentini, Lancaster University, UK 
Anthony Grimes, Manchester University 
 
We examine the identity refusal work of non-drinking university students who contest the collective ‘non-drinker’ identity by
employing a range of identity refusal positions. We outline these positions and contribute to theoretical development in the CCT
identity projects stream. This identity refusal risks providing support for the stigmatized non-drinker identity.
 
 
[to cite]:
Emma Banister, Maria Piacentini, and Anthony Grimes (2015) ,"Identity Refusal and the Non-Drinking Self", in NA - Advances
in Consumer Research Volume 43, eds. Kristin Diehl  and Carolyn Yoon, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research,
Pages: 457-458.
 
[url]:
http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/1020044/volumes/v43/NA-43
 
[copyright notice]:
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457 
Advances in Consumer Research
Volume 43, ©2015
Identity Refusal and the Non-Drinking Self
Emma Banister, Manchester University, UK
Maria Piacentini, Lancaster University, UK
Anthony Grimes, Manchester University, UK
EXTENDED ABSTRACT
Introduction
This paper focuses on the identity refusal work of consumers; a 
refusal to accept a collective (‘non-drinker’) identity. Prior academic 
studies have invariably positioned non-drinkers in terms of collective 
identities based on their (non) drinking behaviors and motivations. 
In contrast we seek to develop understanding of the means by which 
non-drinkers defy or refuse the collective identity that is bestowed 
upon them, that of ‘the non-drinker’. 
Conceptual framing
We frame our study within CCT-oriented work which has fo-
cused on the way in which marginalized groups seek to develop le-
gitimate and positive collective identities (e.g. Izberk-Bilgin, 2012; 
Scaraboto & Fischer, 2013); adopt practices of demythologization 
in order to protect themselves from identity devaluation (Arsel & 
Thompson, 2011); and demonstrate symbolic identities through the 
refusal of tastes (Wilk, 1997). Prior work provides examples of con-
texts where consumers are drawn to a particular practice, identity or 
brand yet disagree with the connotations, associations or meanings 
that others link to their consumption choices. 
Non-drinkers are invariably positioned in terms of collective 
identities based on their (non) drinking behaviors and motivations 
(e.g. Nairn et al., 2006). The identity position as a non-drinker is, 
therefore, primarily understood as a spoilt identity (Goffman, 2009), 
which necessitates the employment of strategies for stigma manage-
ment (Herman-Kinney & Kinney, 2013). While a number of studies 
have explored identity work in relation to non-drinking practices, 
these studies do not identify circumstances where those who do not 
drink question their assigned identity as a non-drinker; suggesting an 
acceptance of the (non-drinking) identity yet the challenge of what 
to do with it, how to re-position it. In contrast the concept of identity 
refusal has received little research attention. We question whether 
non-drinking is (always) perceived as an effective or relevant means 
of categorization by non-drinkers themselves, and consider this 
question in relation to work focused on consumption communities. 
For some alcohol abstainers, not consuming alcohol can be an 
integral part of an important collective identity. However, under what 
conditions do consumers refuse a collective identity, perceiving it as 
an irrelevant or unwarranted identity marker? In community terms, 
some non-drinkers view the ‘non-drinking’ community as too hetero-
geneous (Thomas et al., 2014) to suggest shared experience. While 
communities of practice, by definition, suggest shared practices (e.g. 
not drinking alcohol), these shared practices should reflect a common 
endeavor (Lave and Wenger 1991; Wenger 1998). The focus of our 
study is on those consumers who ‘happen’ to share practices with 
others (not drinking alcohol) but reject commonalities, shared mean-
ings, experiences and endeavors; essentially they resist the notion 
that not drinking alcohol is relevant to their identity work.
Methods
Eighteen undergraduate students participated in interviews. 
These varied in length from 45 minutes to two hours. An agreed ap-
proximate interview schedule was compiled, but our aim was to have 
an informed conversation with participants, accepting that their var-
ied experiences would lead to diverse discussions.
Findings and discussion
Our findings reveal that non-drinkers specifically refuse under-
standings that position their non-drinking practices as central to their 
identity work, a set of practices that we term ‘identity refusal’. We 
elaborate this understanding with four themes: (1) Irrelevant identity 
marker: rejection of the ‘community’ of non-drinkers; (2) A matter of 
taste, not a moral judgment; (3) An identity marker but not relevant 
to me; (4) Concealment: the secret non-drinking self. These themes 
range from a complete rejection of the relevance of the non-drinker 
as an identity marker (1), to the concealment of non-drinking prac-
tices (4), a concealment that provides support for the existence of a 
non-drinking community with associated practices.
We demonstrate that identity refusal can be understood as a 
form of distancing from the perceived community of practice of the 
non-drinker. We reveal a complexity around defining ‘otherness’. We 
demonstrate that for some non-drinkers, it is non-drinkers who are 
‘othered’ and viewed as more alien than drinkers. We therefore dem-
onstrate that ‘otherness’ or difference is constructed in relation to 
consumers, but also in relation to other non-consumers. 
We question whether alcohol refusal can be understood as a per-
sonal act of resistance (incorporating symbolic associations), regard-
less of the route to abstention and whether or not there are conscious 
political/ideological motivations (Portwood-Stacer, 2013). For some 
non-drinkers, the potential ‘misreading’ emerges from them not con-
suming something that has become normalized within their wider 
culture. The identity that they distance themselves from frustrates 
them, because they do not see it as their own making. Their refusal 
to embrace the identity, however, risks providing tacit support for the 
negative connotations (e.g. not social) and an acceptance that these 
associations are relevant to abstainers more generally. This risks 
marginalizing non-drinkers further and emphasizing abstainers’ po-
sitioning as against the norm, and is a key concern for public policy 
and social marketing in this context. 
It is clear there is not one unified, homogeneous community 
of non-drinkers, and our informants demonstrate their refusal to be 
identified in this way. From a public policy point of view we need 
to be more open and informed to the heterogeneity that exists within 
non-drinkers (Thomas et al, 2013), and indeed what value emerges 
from this identification at all, since some people (such as our first 
category of informants) refuse to be identified in these terms
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