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GLBT Expo

chase mutual funds from a guy whose
advertisements showcase the rock-hard abs
of a potentially available, but just out—of-
reach Adonis; where the horny urges of
lust can be satiated with a quick trip to the
gay bookstore. What fabulous new thing
have I been missing?

Heteros in Homoland

The Expo is produced by the RDP Group,
a Connecticut—based marketing firm.
Vendor booths are organized under various
themes: The Passport Travel Pavilion, #1
Entertainment, a small—business area, and
(my personal favorite) the Same—Sex

"Wedding Expo’s Loveland, which helps

attendees “discover the hottest trends in
weddings and commitment ceremonies”
because we must _“now,more than ever
support same—sex marriage rights.”

  {TEE Babb is’ at"s’h'bvié&;i‘s'é’for busi'-'*”
nesses wanting a piece of the estimated
$35 billion gay market. Some businesses
were gay—owned and operated; some were
mainstream American companies. Genre,
Provincetown Tourism, GLNation.com,
A&U, Pride National Network,
Cybersocket.com and other recognizably
gay companies sat side—by-side with Fleet
Bank, Prudential Finance, JP Morgan
Chase, Bud Light, Hair Club for Men,
Washington Mutual and a host of other
major U.S. corporations. They sent repre-
sentatives to staff booths, handed out key
chains, and talked about how much they
love gay people.

When asked why they attended
the Expo, most bragged about their compa-
ny’s track record on diversity or said nice
things about the queer community.

“They’re a great community to
work with,” said Alba Cera, director of
catering at the fancy W-Union Square
Hotel. “W is a brand — pushing the enve-
lope. For us, it’s a natural thing” to reach
out to gay and lesbian people.

Jennifer Jordon, Marketing
Manager from Okamoto USA, the makers
of Crown and Beyond Seven condoms was
less subtle in her reasoning for attending
the Expo. «

“We hope to get a market we
haven’t had before and increase our sales,”
said Jordon. “We’re here to market to the
gay community because they use a lz : of
condoms.” Yes, we do.

,3.I‘Ch?_:; p,‘ g,

' tunity "to" léarri *whb=s ‘market?

I generally find apple polishing
and other sorts of sycophantic behavior
off—putting, but not here. One of the things
I learned about myself at the Expo was
that I enjoyed being a target of sophisticat-
ed marketing. Is there anything special
about Piper—Heidsieck cozying up to me in
the hopes I’ll buy their champagne? Not
really. If I get a seven—colored knickknack
or a lemon—scented aromatherapy candle
out if it, so be it.

So what makes the Expo different
from any other event of a similar nature?
Why did 21,000 queer consumers from as
far south as Florida to as far north as
Maine pay twelve bucks to
descend the escalator and
walk through the rainbow

-“It’s avgvreatoppor

ing to the gay community,”
said New York City resident
Sandra Thomas. “It’s nice to
know who wants our busi-
ness.”

Stanley, who didn’t
want to give his last name,
came down from Connecticut.
He was enjoying seeing the

JP Morgan Chase,

Hair Club for Men, and a
host of other major U.S.
corporations sent
representatives to staff booths, hand out
key chains, and talk about

how much they love gay people.

“big companies next to the little compa-
nies all trying to make us happy.” His
friend, George, was liking all the free stuff.
' Most simply, the quid pro quo
being offered by companies at the Expo is
“You scratch our back; We’ll scratch
yours.” But I’m not sure it’s that simple.
In a letter to the “Faithful and
Fabulous Attendees” in the Expo’s pro-
gram, Steven Wesler, President of the RDP
Group, casts attendance at the Expo in

political terms.

“You have shown Mainstream
America the economic and political power
the GLBT Community wields,” writes
Wesler. “I encourage you to utilize the
companies that support our cause and sup-
port them with your purchasing power.”

Despite the potential for a compli-
cated social and political context here, the
power dynamic between queerconsumers
and big corporations is such that queer
people are really second-class citizens,
dependent on

 
 
  
  
 
  
 
  
  
 
  

Sell me something.” But this isn’t.social
change. It’s just good retail.

Shopping can feel like accept-
ance. What we buy often tells us some-
thing about ourselves. Buying my first
home felt like adulthood in a way for
which I was completely unprepared.
Personally, the experience of buying
leather affirms my own acceptance of sex-
uality, of being a sexual person who is
interested in going beyond the limits.
Imagine how many queer people’s first act

of coming out

the whims of was buy-
institutions to ing their
accept or not first gay
accept us. In my maga-
view, the zine.
exchange at the But
Expo is, this only
explains
half of
what was
going on

 
 

Bud Light,

“You buy our stuff and we’ll treat you like
a human being.”

This is the secret to the Expo’s
huge number of attendees. No big surprise,
queer people desperately want to be treated
like human beings. The Expo is an exer-
cise in being accepted. It feels great. All
these companies, some with names you
know, some with names you don’t, act like
they like you. It’s refreshing to just put it
all out there and say, “I’m here. I’m queer.

at-the ’
Expo.

Economicorganizing: A
Very Brief History
Queer people have been
organizing around economic
issues since the beginning of
the movement. In the mid-
twentieth century, queer people consolidat-
ed economic power by forming neighbor-
hoods in urban areas. Gay bars, restau-
rants, and other businesses served as focal
points and places to meet for the commu-
nity. While many of these businesses
weren’t gay—owned or operated, a mutual,
if silent, agreement often maintained a del-
icate balance between the community and
the business.
As the

cont’d on p.