We're Here, We're Queer, and We're Going Shopping! A Critical Perspective on the Accommodation of Gays and Lesbians in the U.S. Marketplace

This paper draws from studies of social movements, consumer culture, and postmodern cultural theory to argue that gays and lesbians constitute a viable market segment in the U.S. Marketing practices targeting gays and lesbians are then critically analyzed, with attention to their impact on the U.S. market, on individual gays and lesbians, and on gay/lesbian communities. While marketing incorporation of gays and lesbians offers a strong sense of legitimation in capitalist society, these marketing representations tend to provide asomewhat distorted perspective of gay and lesbian life and culture, and for this reason merit serious critical attention.

Keywords:

consumer culture  postmodern theory  marketing representation  gay community  lesbian community  LGBTQ+  social movements 

Citation:

Lisa Peñaloza (1996). We're Here, We're Queer, and We're Going Shopping! A Critical Perspective on the Accommodation of Gays and Lesbians in the U.S. Marketplace. Journal of Homosexuality, 31(1-2), Pages 9-41. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J082v31n01_02