Consuming Families: Marketing, Consumption and the Role of Families in the Twenty-first Century.

This article discusses the focus of this issue of the journal on the impact of the family on marketing and a consideration of the impact of marketing on families. A description of the review process for papers selected for the issue is provided along with a summary of the topics of the papers. Some of the topics explored include the initial journey toward family and the transition into motherhood. The issue of food is also discussed as it becomes an area of contestation and negotiation. Other papers explore beyond the nuclear family as white, middle class and heterosexual, to examine ethnic, poor, homosexual families, and families with disabled children.