lesbian/gay advertising rage!

In Fred Fejes "Advertising And The Political Economy of Lesbian/Gay Identity" he talks about how lesbian and gay males are accepted as political/sexual subjects and their acceptance and importance as consuming subjects. Lesbians and gay's are avid consumers, which makes them attractive to advertisers, so they can increase the market and it gives them equality. But gay males are more equal then lesbians for advertisers. The advertising industry can get the gay consumer through advertising aimed at the straight market.
It is important to point out that gay men are not trying to prove they can "live like the joneses" but according to them, they live a lot better. Gay men are seen to consume high-priced goods and are trendsetters for new designs and products, aka hyper-consumers. Fashion designers and major advertisers, like Gucci, Versace, American Express, and Merrill Lynch began to put gays in their page publications. To be "gay" in the media, the gay make must have a yearly income of $50,000 so he can have the classiest things, like great alcohol, a expensive car, and affording the gym. Whereas, in the past the focus on gays was coming out about their sex, but now its all about consumption.
Homosexuality can lead to job loss and other harmful consequences because in some states it is outlawed.



This picture shows people handcuffed, by police, with shirts that "separate is not equal" …suggesting that being gay is not equal because they are separate from the heterosexual rights. This goes along with the outlawed statement because they were probably protesting in a state where homosexuality is not a law, and being handcuffed could lead to harmful consequences.
The Human Rights Campaign put out a "assimilationist" strategy to advocate lesbian and gay marketing to the mainstream. The Human Rights Campaign put out gay and lesbian images to the media, like TV or magazines to put them on the track to political equality and power.
If they have not achieved equal rights as a heterosexual citizen, gay's can at least achieve status of a consumer. The construction of the gay and lesbian community is paid more attention to in the media images than the process of identity formation in individuals of other groups. The identity of gay and lesbian people have been commodified to the construction of a "straight" identity for them being homosexual. This "fake homosexuality," according to Sarah Shulman, is a way to have a double marketing strategy. One, being the emotional need to be accepted and two, selling homosexuality to heterosexuals so they can keep their dominance. I think this is very interesting and very smart, because homosexuals are still not fully accepted by the heterosexual world, but they can manipulate both sexes into consuming products based off dominant needs for the heterosexual and emotional needs for the homo.