In the 1990s gay and lesbian culture has gone mainstream, from Ellen's coming-out episode to the push for same-sex marriage. At the same time, the gay market has become one of the most sought after by advertisers like Bud Light, Absolut, Benson and Hedges, and even Ikea. But in its eagerness to be embraced by the mainstream, the gay movement's political identity has been whitewashed. Identity politics and identity-based consumption tend to serve the interests of white, middle-class men, and tend to underserve the interest of women, people of colour, and the poor. Alexandra Chasin's lively and provocative indictment of the marketing of a sanitized queerness is certain to set off a wave of controversy among all readers, gay and straight.

'...this book is an overdue argument for why a booming gay market is not necessarily a sign of progress...' - Out Magazine

'a passionate analysis of gay politics...' - Publishers Weekly

Preface
Introduction
Caveat Emptor, or Buyer Beware!
The Gay and Lesbian Press and the 'Business of Liberation'
Advertising and the Promise of Consumption
Boycotts will be Boycotts
Strings Attached: How Money Moves the Movement
Stealing This Show: Away from Identity and Toward Economic Justice
Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index

ALEXANDRA CHASIN is a visiting faculty member in the Department of English at the University of Geneva and co-chair of the Board of Directors of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.