Twenty Million New Customers!: Understanding Gay Men's Consumer Behavior
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Most of the world’s population is in the dark when it comes to the consumer patterns of gay men. But in Twenty Million New Customers!: Understanding Gay Men’s Consumer Behavior, you’ll leave all the dark, homophobic myths behind where they belong--in the closet--and come out into the light. In its colorful and informative chapters, you’ll see why gay men are a vital consumer lifeline to today’s clothing industries as you tap into revealing psychological characteristics that will benefit any business manager. A scholarly yet personal, poignant study, Twenty Million New Customers! is a mixed shopping bag, taking you on a day-in-the-life tour of the buying patterns of 44 gay men. As an up-to-date catalog of scholarly data, it helps you see how “mainstream” businesses can tailor their marketing methods to this rapidly expanding demand in a competent, professional, and ethical manner. As a commentary on lifestyle, it transports you to unexplored consumer behavior territory that most people still consider “deviant.” Specifically, you’ll read about:in-depth, personal interviews from gay consumersreal-life problems and market needs of gay menconsumer behavior as political protestself-concept, identity, community, and culturethe creation and maintenance of gay consumer subcultureresearch methods and managerial implications of the studyA recent survey estimates that over six percent of U.S. consumers openly acknowledges themselves as gay--clearly a priceless niche. So if you’re a gay man trying to get the skinny on the latest bodysuit trends, a marketing scholar involved in quantitative methods research, or a manager interested in retiring your old, outdated business savvy to the closet and exchanging it for a flashy, new, informed sense of marketing pizzazz, read Twenty Million New Customers! It’ll shut the closet on the harmful myths surrounding gay consumerism and open the door to success. Booknews Sheds light on consumer patterns of gay men and shows how mainstream businesses can tailor their marketing methods to this population. After a chapter overview on deviant subculture, gay identity, and symbolic meaning of consumer products, 44 gay men from Toronto are introduced and their day-to-day buying patterns are explored. Includes questionnaires and informant data. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
PrefaceAcknowledgmentsCh. 1An Ethnographic Study of Gay Men's Consumption1Ch. 2Meet the Informants29Ch. 3The Creation and Maintenance of Gay Consumer Subculture49Ch. 4Consumer Behavior and the Construction of Gay Identities81Ch. 5Consumer Behavior and the Construction of Gay Communities121Ch. 6Consumer Behavior as Political Protest145Ch. 7Consumer Behavior, Gay Community, and Identity163Ch. 8Managerial Implications of the Study181Ch. 9Conclusion193App. 1Open-Ended Questionaire199App. 2Specific Probing Questions201App. 3Informant Data205App. 4Informants and Consumer Ritual Stages208App. 5Informants and Conformity Strategies209Bibliography211Index227
