ABSTRACT
In recent years, the American gay market segment has been recognized by publications and businesses as large and lucrative. This widespread corporate interest and associated targeting activities are less than 30 years old. However, whether purposefully, or inadvertently, U.S. businesses have been marketing to gay consumers for well over 100 years. This market segment has developed as a result of a series of historical and societal events, paralleling the development of the gay community, and involving activities on the part of both buyers and sellers. This paper traces the evolution of the gay market segment from the late-nineteenth century to the beginning of the twenty-first century through three historical phases: (1) the Underground Phase, pre-1941; (2) the Community-Building Phase, 1941- 1970; and (3) the Mainstream Phase, 1970-2000. A conceptual framework linking buyer and seller activities to historic events in these three phases is presented along with examples of products and services marketed to gay Americans within each phase.
This chapter was originally published in B. Branchik, Journal of Macromarketing, (June 2002), pp. 86-97, copyright 2002 by Sage Publications, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications, Inc.
The author thanks Dr. Eric H. Shaw for his course in the development of marketing thought, which provided the genesis for this paper, and for his invaluable editorial advice and support.
