Towards (and Beyond) LGBTQ+ Studies in Marketing and Consumer Research

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Coffin, Jack; Eichert, Christian A and Noelke, Ana-Isabel. 2019. Towards (and Beyond) LGBTQ+ Studies in Marketing and Consumer Research. In: Susan Dobscha, ed. Handbook of Research on Gender and Marketing. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 273-293. ISBN 9781788115377 [Book Section]

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Abstract or Description

This chapter provides a critical review of Marketing and Consumer Research on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans*, Queer, and other non-heterosexuals (LGBTQ+). We identify five underdeveloped areas in this literature: a lack of research beyond urban Anglo-American consumer cultures; a focus on gay men at the expense of other LGBTQ+ consumers; a paucity of theorizations that consider how sexual identities intersect with race, class, and other markers of difference; a dominance of subculture-theory enabled studies assuming that non-heterosexuals are universally stigmatized; and an opportunity for interdisciplinary research that engages with insights from sociology, psychology, and geography. We trace the historical origins of sexual identities as modern categories and the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement. We furthermore suggest how marketers and consumer researchers could surpass the limitations of existing literature toward LGBTQ+ studies and beyond, and highlight the relevance of such research within wider discussions regarding sexual identities, sexual practices, and sexualised/gendered bodies and places.

Item Type:

Book Section

Additional Information:

This is a draft chapter. The final version is available in Handbook of Research on Gender and Marketing edited by Dobscha, published in 2019, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.

The material cannot be used for any other purpose without further permission of the publisher, and is for private use only.

Keywords:

marketing, consumption, LGBT, sexuality, gender, subculture, intersectionality

Departments, Centres and Research Units:

Institute of Management Studies

Dates: