Cultures of Authenticity
Published on 18. May 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
360 pages
978-1-80117-939-3 (ISBN)
Description
This volume contains an Open Access Chapter.
?Authenticity has become a buzzword for our times. Much of the travel industry is built around the provision of 'authentic' experiences, global brands fight to be seen as 'authentic' and social media platforms are awash with arguments about the authenticity of this post or that vlogger. But what do we mean by authenticity? And why have these debates grown so dramatically in the last two decades?
This collection explores the complex and at times controversial idea of authenticity. Addressing the concept from an interdisciplinary perspective and offering a diverse range of topical cases, the authors bring together the latest empirical and conceptual scholarship addressing authenticity and its centrality to debates about contemporary culture, media and society. In this way, the authors are able to pinpoint the growing significance of the concept of authenticity, the various ways in which different disciplines approach the topic, and possible ways of advancing the field across disciplines.
With sections covering travel and tourism, branding and marketing, popular culture, social media and political communication this exciting and innovative collection will make fascinating and crucial reading for scholars and students across the social sciences and humanities, and helps to define what these different disciplines mean by authenticity.
?Authenticity has become a buzzword for our times. Much of the travel industry is built around the provision of 'authentic' experiences, global brands fight to be seen as 'authentic' and social media platforms are awash with arguments about the authenticity of this post or that vlogger. But what do we mean by authenticity? And why have these debates grown so dramatically in the last two decades?
This collection explores the complex and at times controversial idea of authenticity. Addressing the concept from an interdisciplinary perspective and offering a diverse range of topical cases, the authors bring together the latest empirical and conceptual scholarship addressing authenticity and its centrality to debates about contemporary culture, media and society. In this way, the authors are able to pinpoint the growing significance of the concept of authenticity, the various ways in which different disciplines approach the topic, and possible ways of advancing the field across disciplines.
With sections covering travel and tourism, branding and marketing, popular culture, social media and political communication this exciting and innovative collection will make fascinating and crucial reading for scholars and students across the social sciences and humanities, and helps to define what these different disciplines mean by authenticity.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Bingley
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 151 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
516 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80117-939-3 (9781801179393)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Marie Hermanova is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.
Michael Skey is a Senior Lecturer in Communication and Media Studies at Loughborough University, UK.
Thomas Thurnell-Read is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Loughborough University, UK.
Michael Skey is a Senior Lecturer in Communication and Media Studies at Loughborough University, UK.
Thomas Thurnell-Read is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Loughborough University, UK.
Content
Chapter 1. Introduction: Cultures of Authenticity; Thomas Thurnell-Read, Michael Skey, and Marie Hermanova
Part I: Tourism, Heritage and Place
Chapter 2. Authenticity in Tourism Studies; Jillian M. Rickly
Chapter 3. Negotiating the Spirit of Place: Towards a Performative Authenticity of Historic Buildings; Jonathan Djabarouti
Chapter 4. Authenticity Issues in Nueshu Cultural Heritage in China: Authentication, Discourse, and Identity-Making; Xihuan Hu
Chapter 5. Permanent Souvenirs: Traditional Tattoos and the Search for Authenticity in the Northern Philippines; Sam Pack and Justin Sun
Part II: Branding, Consumption and Commodities
Chapter 6. Authenticity in Material Culture, Consumption and Branding; Valerie Gannon and Andrea Prothero
Chapter 7. Past and Present in Branding Authenticity: The taste of history; Iben Bredahl Jessen
Chapter 8. One Brand, Multiple Authenticities: The Case of the World's First Pay-Per-Minute Cafe; Alexandra Kviat OPEN ACCESS
Chapter 9. Authentic Sports Branding in the Digital Age; Sian Rees
Chapter 10. Authenticity, Distinction and Value in the Narratives of Chinese Consumers of Vintage Costume Jewellery; Jingrui Hu and Thomas Thurnell-Read
Part III: Popular Culture
Chapter 11. Introduction: Gender and Authenticity in Contemporary Popular Culture & Advertising; By Jilly Boyce Kay
Chapter 12. Authenticity after Cock Rock: Emo and the Problem of Femininity; Judith Fathallah
Chapter 13. 'The Best a Man Can Be?': Finding a Place for the 'Real' Man in Grooming Advertisements; Kai Prins
Chapter 14. Keeping it Real? Dynamics of authenticity and branding in RuPaul's Drag Race; Mads Moller Tommerup Andersen
Part IV: Social Media
Chapter 15. What I Talk About When I Talk About Authenticity: An Auto-Bibliographic Inquiry; Crystal Abidin
Chapter 16. The Authenticity Gap: How Influencers Commodify Authenticity on Instagram; Lucy Frowijn, Frank Harbers, and Marcel Broersma
Chapter 17. 'I'm Always Telling You My Honest Opinion': Influencers and Gendered Authenticity Strategies on Instagram; Marie Hermanova
Chapter 18. Liquid Figures, Solid Structures: The pursuit of an Authentic 'Consumer Steward' Identity in Online Communities; Yan Han Wang, Helene de Burgh-Woodman, and Keri Spooner
Part V: Politics and Political Communication
Chapter 19. Authenticity in Politics and Political Communication Research: Analytic Concept and Political Issue; James Stanyer
Chapter 20. Strategic Political Authenticity. How Populists Construct an Authentic Self; Christina Holtz-Bacha
Chapter 21. Right Wing Co-option of the Perceived Authenticity of Citizen Journalism; Jessica Roberts
Chapter 22. Post-authentic Engagement with Alternative Political Commentary on YouTube and Twitch; Daniel Jurg, Dieuwertje Luitse, Saskia Pouwels, Marc Tuters, and Ivan Kisjes
Chapter 23. Exploring 'the Authentic' in Taiwanese Politics: An Intergenerational Analysis; Ssu-Han Yu and Miaoju Jian
Part I: Tourism, Heritage and Place
Chapter 2. Authenticity in Tourism Studies; Jillian M. Rickly
Chapter 3. Negotiating the Spirit of Place: Towards a Performative Authenticity of Historic Buildings; Jonathan Djabarouti
Chapter 4. Authenticity Issues in Nueshu Cultural Heritage in China: Authentication, Discourse, and Identity-Making; Xihuan Hu
Chapter 5. Permanent Souvenirs: Traditional Tattoos and the Search for Authenticity in the Northern Philippines; Sam Pack and Justin Sun
Part II: Branding, Consumption and Commodities
Chapter 6. Authenticity in Material Culture, Consumption and Branding; Valerie Gannon and Andrea Prothero
Chapter 7. Past and Present in Branding Authenticity: The taste of history; Iben Bredahl Jessen
Chapter 8. One Brand, Multiple Authenticities: The Case of the World's First Pay-Per-Minute Cafe; Alexandra Kviat OPEN ACCESS
Chapter 9. Authentic Sports Branding in the Digital Age; Sian Rees
Chapter 10. Authenticity, Distinction and Value in the Narratives of Chinese Consumers of Vintage Costume Jewellery; Jingrui Hu and Thomas Thurnell-Read
Part III: Popular Culture
Chapter 11. Introduction: Gender and Authenticity in Contemporary Popular Culture & Advertising; By Jilly Boyce Kay
Chapter 12. Authenticity after Cock Rock: Emo and the Problem of Femininity; Judith Fathallah
Chapter 13. 'The Best a Man Can Be?': Finding a Place for the 'Real' Man in Grooming Advertisements; Kai Prins
Chapter 14. Keeping it Real? Dynamics of authenticity and branding in RuPaul's Drag Race; Mads Moller Tommerup Andersen
Part IV: Social Media
Chapter 15. What I Talk About When I Talk About Authenticity: An Auto-Bibliographic Inquiry; Crystal Abidin
Chapter 16. The Authenticity Gap: How Influencers Commodify Authenticity on Instagram; Lucy Frowijn, Frank Harbers, and Marcel Broersma
Chapter 17. 'I'm Always Telling You My Honest Opinion': Influencers and Gendered Authenticity Strategies on Instagram; Marie Hermanova
Chapter 18. Liquid Figures, Solid Structures: The pursuit of an Authentic 'Consumer Steward' Identity in Online Communities; Yan Han Wang, Helene de Burgh-Woodman, and Keri Spooner
Part V: Politics and Political Communication
Chapter 19. Authenticity in Politics and Political Communication Research: Analytic Concept and Political Issue; James Stanyer
Chapter 20. Strategic Political Authenticity. How Populists Construct an Authentic Self; Christina Holtz-Bacha
Chapter 21. Right Wing Co-option of the Perceived Authenticity of Citizen Journalism; Jessica Roberts
Chapter 22. Post-authentic Engagement with Alternative Political Commentary on YouTube and Twitch; Daniel Jurg, Dieuwertje Luitse, Saskia Pouwels, Marc Tuters, and Ivan Kisjes
Chapter 23. Exploring 'the Authentic' in Taiwanese Politics: An Intergenerational Analysis; Ssu-Han Yu and Miaoju Jian