This study analyzes the ways consumers legitimize their regional ethnic affiliation. An analysis of 29 introspections highlights the means individuals use to legitimize their ethnic affiliation and its authenticity. More precisely, it (1) demonstrates how individuals hijack and invent new sources of ethnic legitimacy, (2) emphasizes the role of archetypes in perceived ethnic authenticity and (3) examines dissonances linked to ethnic authenticity (artificiality and ambivalence). These results enrich previous research on reflexive ethnicity by introducing self-legitimizing processes and showing how individuals contribute, by consuming archetypes, to developing the collective constructs on which ethnicity is based. This leads to recommendations regarding the legitimization of regional brands.
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