Marketing White Ethnicity: An Anthropological Dialogue with an Ethnic Festival
(University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
Las Vegas is often depicted as a contemporary mecca of consumerism. As such, Las Vegas seems the appropriate venue for a study focused on the commodification of white ethnicity. There has been an increasing amount of attention given to ethnic marketing over the past twenty years which coincides with the emergence of the Las Vegas San Gennaro Feast, a semi-annual ethnic festival. In this paper I explore the various meanings behind the marketing of ethnicity, through the lens of an ethnic festival. This study is designed to address such questions as: what is the profit margin for the commodification of ethnicity, how does this specific festival contribute to larger issues such as the (re)emergence of white ethnic identity and how anthropology is utilized as a marketing tool in the public domain. Data consists of participant observation as well as interviews with Las Vegas locals. By examining these issues through anthropological inquiry I unravel the message(s) contained within this particular festival as well as the meaning behind the marketing of white ethnicity and its relation to white ethnic identity.