Advertising Gay and Lesbian-Themed Films to Mainstream and Niche Audiences: Variations in Portrayal of Intimacy and Stereotypes

ABSTRACT

Research of gay and lesbian content in advertising materials remains limited. Because most products are not inherently gay or lesbian in nature, this content analysis examined advertisements for gay- and lesbian-themed films from 1980 to 2013. The analysis explored whether there were variations in the portrayal of gay and lesbian content in advertisements depending on the distribution width and date of release. The study therefore explored whether marketing materials differed when films were advertised to mainstream audiences compared to niche audiences. Findings suggested that films marketed to mainstream audiences had advertisements that less frequently portrayed same-sex intimacy. Findings also showed that portrayals of gays and lesbians have generally not changed over time, suggesting that advertisements differ more based on the market segment being reached than the date an advertisement was made. This study fills a gap in the growing area of literature involving gay and lesbian content in advertising.

Acknowledgments

A special thanks to Dr. Dan Riffe for being a sage mentor and Laura Marshall for her wonderful assistance with this project.

Notes

¹ The term “queer” has varied meanings and is used by some scholars and LGBT individuals, but not all in the field support the use of the term, which has long been used as a slur. Critical scholars often use queerness as a term of disruption—in this instance, disrupting the norms of gender or sexuality.

² The Scott’s Pi for the variables are as follows: Portray queer content = .806, Gender of queer content portrayed = .852, Hugging = .957, Sexuality of hug = .919, Gender of same-sex hugs = .901, Kissing = .835, Sexuality of Kiss = .888, Gender of same-sex kiss = .955, In-bed = .959, Sexuality of in-bed = .918, Gender of same-sex in bed = .931, Longing looks = .832, Sexuality of longing looks = .916, Gender of same-sex longing looks = .938, Nudity = .852, Gender of nudity = .847, Sexual activity = .884, Sexuality of sexual activity = .838, Gender of same-sex sexual activity = .90, Male stereotype = .87, Female stereotype = 1.0. One variable attempting to capture any additional queer content found in an advertisement’s dialogue, text, or narration was dropped from the study as adequate reliability was not obtained.