Ian Johnson, Out Now
July 8, 2007
Language is a funny thing.
When targeting the gay market, companies need to get it right. The target market reacts best when the language used understands them as gay consumers. But each individual is different.
There are various terms used. Here is a quick explanation.
- LGBT - Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
- GLBT - Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
- gay - can mean gay men and gay women, or may mean just gay men when compared with lesbian
- lesbian - homosexual women
- bisexual - men or women that prefer relationships with either gender
- transgender - men or women that feel they were born into the 'wrong' gender and seek to live in their correct gender.
Some lesbians for example prefer the term lesbian to gay women. Others prefer to refer to themselves as gay women, not as lesbians.
In the gay community, there have been certain terms such as 'coming out' that have developed as the GLBT communities have evolved. Some terms used initially as attacking words such as queer have been reclaimed by the gay community.
In the 1970s in many cultures including the UK, US and Australia, there was a strong lesbian feminist grouping amongst women that may now be more comfortable seeing themselves as part of a broader gay and lesbian community.
That has implications for companies targeting the gay market.
The answer lies in market research and knowledge of the gay community. In Australia in the 1990s a health fund used the term 'come out' in advertising targeting the gay community and the target gay market were less than impressed.
Having to endure the often painful experience of coming to terms with one's own sexuality is a process that is different for each individual and to see that term used as an advertising market strategy targeting the gay market made people feel resentful towards the company in question.
At Gay Market News we use the shorthand term 'gay' and 'gay market' to describe a range of strategies used when targeting various segments of the broader gay market.
For companies wanting to understand how they should act when developing marketing strategies targeting the gay market, the answer is almost always to make sure they use accurate gay market research to best understand the target market consumer by way of effective gay market knowledge, and then develop market strategies to respond accordingly.
For help with targeting the gay market effectively, contact Out Now.
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LGBT communications successfully reaching the lesbian and gay consumer market since 1992.
All content on all Out Now websites (C) 2007 - Out Now. Out Now Gay Market News -- Gay Marketing 101 gay market updates site. LGBT communications. Gay PR. Global gay PR marketing, gay public relations strategy, GLBT PR, LGBT issues training, gay advertising, LGBT market, lesbian and gay market research leaders, GLBT marketing. Gay Market News is Gay Marketing 101 - Out Now Gay Marketing, Advertising, Gay PR, Market Research. Travel Market. Training.
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