Since the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) population was first labeled the “dream market” in the 1980s, corporations have changed from stigmatizing and avoiding homosexuals to establishing a gay market niche. Based on a study of New York Times news articles over three decades, social scientist Angela Ragusa suggests that corporate America moved through three distinct phases in its treatment of the LGBT population: (1) corporate shunning in the 1980s, (2) corporate curiosity and fear in the 1990s, and (3) corporate pursuit in the 2000s. The LGBT consumer market is currently estimated to have an overall buying power of over $835 billion.

Over the past decade, corporate recognition of the attractiveness of LGBT consumer spending patterns has led to quite a dramatic increase in LGBT-oriented ...