Archive for April, 2009

Marriage Matters

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Picture1 Wedding season is upon us. Formal invitations, matching earlier save-the-dates, have recently flooded my mailbox and I’m busily writing toasts, selecting gifts, and booking flights for my best friend’s and little brother’s summer nuptials. Add to that the growing mainstream and LGBT news media coverage on same-sex marriage, and recent movement in the legislatures of Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Washington D.C. and New York, and I can’t stop thinking – or talking – about marriage. [Check out Laura’s post that looks at the online buzz on same-sex marriage.]

Both of the big weddings I’m in and looking forward to are in Kentucky and Florida, two states banning same-sex marriage. As the hopeless romantic still believing in a happy family of my own one day, I have recently focused on how to communicate the importance of marriage equality in my daily interactions, and in between the cake cutting and bouquet tossing this summer (if the topic is raised).

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| April 30th, 2009 No Comments »
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Lesbians Optimistic About 2009 Economy

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The current issue of Curve has a very interesting poll* on the lesbian economic outlook for this year. Almost half of lesbians see the glass half full: 49 percent say “I’m making some cuts, but overall I’ll be Ok.” Fourteen percent said things are looking good from where they stand, and an 11 percent said “Recession? What recession?”

Based on this poll, about 75 percent of lesbians have a positive outlook on the economy. That is a promising number. So who is getting our attention? Advertisers in the magazine lean heavily on the travel and tourism side with Sweet and Damron among others, along with online dating and music festivals. The list seems pretty varied, however the majority are gay and lesbian companies. From the non-gay and lesbian business community: Bridgestone (yes, the tires), Visit Las Vegas and Subaru.

There needs to be a little more diversity within these pages. As pretty much the only nationally distributed lesbian publication, this is an important platform in reaching your optimistic, forward-thinking, brand-loyal female. The diversity in support will compliment the diversity of women that grace each page of the publication and our community.  In addition to celebrities, authors and musicians, Curve recognizes ten powerful lesbian politicians.

I’d like to take a moment to highlight two Latinas who made the list: Rosie Mendez, NYC councilmember and Mautner Project board member, and Sheriff Lupe Valdez – the highest ranking law enforcement officer in Dallas County, Texas.

I digress. Our community will only diversify as time passes and progress is made. There are plenty other ways to communicate with this audience as alternatives to advertising in publications; some ways even more credible. Ways of connecting with your audience have grown exponentially, mainly through the digital arena ( social networking, bloggers, Twitter, etc.) And as each dollar spent on your product is increasingly becoming more and more valuable, so should targeting a population which is most willing to listen and take action.

*Curvemag.com

| April 29th, 2009 1 Comment »
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Re:Post – Thank You for Being a Friend

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As you may know, actress Bea Arthur died over the weekend. Much of the LGBT media and blogosphere coverage of Arthur's death referenced her fan base in the gay community. Arthur's star turn as Dorothy on The Golden Girls, her history-making role as Maude in the sitcom of the same name and her Broadway, film and other TV work endeared her to millions of fans. 

It's not always obvious why some people become gay icons or why some television programs resonate so strongly with different LGBT communities. Our very own Peter Klaus examined this issue more than a year ago right here on the Out Front Blog. In Bea Arthur's honor, we thought we'd run Peter's post again to give a useful perspective on that question. In this Re:Post, we present Peter's original post from January 4, 2008:

Friend Photo I’ve often wondered exactly why the classic TV sitcom The Golden Girls is a stereotypical favorite of LGBT community and what that communicates about this specific audience. I started thinking about this again when I stayed at a gay friend’s apartment (he’s in his late twenties) in NYC on New Year’s Eve and tripped over a stack of The Golden Girls DVDs the size of a loaf of bread (must have been every season).

Certainly, the razor wit of the dialogue, inclusion of LGBT-sensitive plot lines (according to Wikipedia, the show’s original pilot episode even featured a gay character named Coco who was the girls’ cook…who knew?), and the larger-than-life characters are key draws.

However, I think I have a more fundamental answer to the question after reading the results of a new study focusing on the behavior of older LGB adults.

Some of the study’s key findings are featured on 365Gay.com. It was conducted by Arnold H. Grossman and Eliza Dragowski of New York University, and Anthony D'Augelli of Pennsylvania State University and was published in the Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services.

The research finds that older LGB adults have a “history of caregiving” during times of illness and that social networks in this population often develop to fill unique support gaps, such as estrangement from biological families (based on homophobia or being closeted) or the inability to access health coverage through partner benefit plans.

Despite increased debate and discussion about gay adoption during the past several years, the fact remains that the majority of LGBT folks do not have children. Even though not all children may end up supporting their parents when they fall ill, I believe there is still a general societal assumption that children are obligated to support their parents when they reach an age when they can no longer care for themselves. 

Well, where does that leave most in the LGBT community? I know I’ve personally thought about this particular concern: “Who’s going to care for me if I become ill when I’m in my twilight years? Who is going to care for me and about me during that time?”

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| April 28th, 2009 1 Comment »
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Equal Marriage Rights Dominates Online Media

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J0422174 Marriage equality headlines living room debates, office cooler conversations and court room deliberations, but not your daily newspaper. Based on a recent study from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, the topic of equal marriage rights has dominated the blogsphere following the Vermont and Washington D.C. Equal Marriage Rights votes. Despite a substantial amount of blog and social media links on the topic, traditional media has chosen to minimize coverage. The study claims 26 percent of links from April 6-10 focused on the topic of marriage equality compared to only 1 percent of traditional newspaper coverage.

What I find most interesting is the root of conversation about marriage equality. The online community chose to focus on two subjects during that designated time period — marriage equality and the death of a man on the G20 Summit. However, traditional media discussed more global issues, such as the economic crisis and the hostage situation with the Pirates of Somalia. Prior to the advent of online outlets, the public’s primary form of news and current events was traditional media. Today, people around the globe are instantly engaged in dialogue — not only debating issues but connecting on personal and emotional levels.

The question can be raised – is marriage equality not a top priority for traditional media? If so, can social media, generated through every day people, cultivate an environment for public action on political challenges? What do you think?

| April 27th, 2009 2 Comments »
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Which Cars Move You?

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Our friend Joe LaMuraglia of gaywheels.com this week released his list of the “top 10 most-researched vehicles” on the site for the first quarter of 2009. In his press release, Joe says that the results of this quarterly snapshot “support the results of our recent LGBT Auto Owner’s survey.” Here’s the list:

  1. Volkswagen Rabbit

  2. Volkswagen Eos
  3. Volvo C30
  4. Saab 9-3
  5. Audi A-3
  6. Toyota Yaris
  7. Mazda MX-5
  8. Maserati Gran Turismo
  9. Volkswagen Jetta
  10. Mazda 3

And here’s what Joe had to say about how this list matches up against his survey: “Volkswagen and Audi are two brands that are overrepresented by Gay Men in the study and those brands represent 40% of the Top 10 list. Other brand positions further supported the recent survey results; the Saab 9-3 has consistently been on the most-researched list and that brand is the most over-indexed for both Gay Men and Lesbians.”

I looked back at the post I wrote on Joe’s second quarter 2007 report and the lists are pretty similar. I find it interesting that our community’s brand interests are apparently fairly consistent, even with dramatic changes since then in the auto industry and the economy. For me, the question is whether that consistency will continue. As the recession continues and auto makers of all kinds struggle with falling sales, will media coverage of the economic impact on automakers affect our interest and ultimate purchase of specific vehicles?

We’ll keep tracking Joe’s results and report back in the future. In the meantime, what do you think? Are you thinking about buying a car? If so, what are you considering? What factors will affect that consideration? Let us know in the comments below.

| April 24th, 2009 No Comments »
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