Consuming My Way Gay: An Autoethnographic Account of Coming Out as Consumptive Pedagogy
Date
2012-01
Authors
Eichler, Matthew
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Sage Open
Abstract
As members of consumerist societies, we are socialized into what it means to be good citizens and participate in society through our consumption. For many, this is taught in the home, yet for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals, home is often not a source of reliable information about our identities. As such, LGBTQ individuals turn to the marketplace to seek information about their sexual and gender identities. This autoethnographic account shares, through three vignettes, how coming out as a queer man is shaped by consumptive pedagogy—that is, learning through consumption. First, material goods are explored as the signifier of sexual orientation. Then, the gay bar as marketplace and the online marketplace for relationships are explored.
Description
Keywords
lesbian, gay, consumption, pedagogy, coming out, Organization, Workforce, and Leadership Studies
Citation
Eichler, M. (2012). Consuming my way gay: An autoethnographic account of coming out as consumptive pedagogy. SAGE Open, 2(3), pp. 1–6.
Rights
Rights Holder
© 2012 The Author(s).
Rights License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.