Ethnographic case study on Feminist commodity networks and sisterhood building in Melbourne, Australia

Abstract: This thesis examines feminist commodity networks through an ethnographic case study of QVWC SHOP in Melbourne, Australia. The work is built through an emic perspective on the understanding of selling, producing, and buying through the QVWC SHOP. The emic perspective is also connected to the larger systems, such as social networks and community building. QVWC SHOP is a store focusing on selling locally made items by women, including cis, trans and nonbinary. QVWC SHOP is part of the Queen Victoria Women’s centre in Melbourne, which is a non-profit building that rents space for different organisations for women’s needs. The centre is also an important cultural space, organizing events and exhibitions around the year. In 2020, the Women’s centre opened the QVWC SHOP, that they promote as a feminist shop selling goods made by women, for women. The focus in this thesis is on understanding how the shop builds a community for the women involved with the store, reflect over what feminist commodities are and what it means to be a producer, employee, or consumer at the QVWC SHOP. The reflections are built through data from participant observation and semi-structured interviews with interlocutors from the field, as well as relevant theoretical works. Furthermore, themes of care, sustainability, attachment, and solidarity are all important in the work. Overall, this thesis focuses on the processes of creating social networks and community building in the context of a feminist shop.