Consumption, especially high profile brand consumption, implicates our identities. More than that, brand consumption connects our lives to others through shared lifestyle expressions to the extent that subcultures of consumption emerge. However, as this work shows, the meaning of particular consumption objects or brands cannot be assumed. Using visual ethnography, this study describes the experiential meaning of the legendary Harley-Davidson to owners and riders in Australia. For more than three years, fieldwork was conducted primarily from within a chapter of the Harley Owners Group (HOG) and included participant observation, interviews, and visual documentation of the Harley-Davidson experience. The findings show the Australian Harley-Davidson experience to be a postmodern paradox. As an iconic American brand with a rebellious image, Harley-Davidson is readily embraced in this Australian subculture of consumption. Also, despite the widely assumed deviancy of those on a Harley-Davidson, the Australian HOG subculture is shown to uphold mainstream values in a family-friendly environment. Moreover, as an iconic symbol of freedom, this experience is achieved through regulation and organization. This work also shows the act of consuming Harley-Davidson creates the experiential meaning and postmodern spectacle that demands attention. In effect, consumers become producers in co-constructing the postmodern paradox of the (Australian) Harley-Davidson experience.

This paper outlines the findings of a study which asked parents how they experienced participating in family preservation programs (FP) in Melbourne, Australia. The study explored whether participation was influential in changing their perceptions of themselves as parents. It was expected that participation would lead to a stronger sense of self-worth and that this could be harnessed to facilitate change. The study found that parents’ sense of self as a parent was enhanced by participation in FP programs and this led to an increased sense of hopefulness in their capacity to care safely for their children.