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Gay Consumers and Brand Usage: The Gender‐Flexing Role of Gay Identity
Author(s) -
Oakenfull Gillian
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
psychology and marketing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.035
H-Index - 116
eISSN - 1520-6793
pISSN - 0742-6046
DOI - 10.1002/mar.20578
Subject(s) - psychology , social psychology , schema (genetic algorithms) , identity (music) , construct (python library) , gender identity , product (mathematics) , masculinity , physics , geometry , mathematics , machine learning , computer science , acoustics , psychoanalysis , programming language
Prior research suggests that gender identity congruity between an individual and product brand will yield positive responses in terms of consumer behavior, However, gender atypicality has been observed among gay males and lesbians, which may confound previous research conducted under a heteronormative gaze. Drawing on research in psychology that considers gay identity as a cognitive construct and a component of self‐concept, the findings of this study indicate that an individual's strength of gay identity and involvement in the gay community appear to invert effects of “typical” gender schema congruity on brand usage for both gay males and lesbians.