Taste the Waste – Constructing New Moralities through Taboo Consumption

The interplay between morality and consumption, specifically focusing on the role of taboo consumption behaviors in constructing new moralities, is discussed. Here, Gollnhofer argues that morality is a socially constructed concept that can change over time. She explores how taboo consumption behaviors, such as dumpster diving, can act as catalysts for change by destabilizing prevailing social structures and codes. Her study aims to answer research questions related to the processes involved in constructing new moralities through taboo consumption, the tensions that arise, and how these tensions are overcome or negotiated. Ethnographic data from the practice of dumpster diving is used to examine these nuances. Her study highlights the role of materiality in shaping morality and challenges the social constructivist concept of morality. It suggests that through the material violation of established orders, a new morality can be created. The study also adds to the understanding of morality by emphasizing the role of embodied consumption practices in the overall system of consumption.