Download Marketing, Consumption, and Multicultural Identity in Los

Marketing, Consumption, and Multicultural Identity in Los Angeles: An Examination of
HIV/AIDS and Anti-Meth Advertising and Gay Identity in West Hollywood
Jacqueline Kauffman
Mentor: Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan
Several advertising campaigns were run in the predominantly Gay Los Angeles neighborhood of
West Hollywood in the fall and winter of 2008. These advertising campaigns focused on HIV/AIDS
testing, life with HIV/AIDS, and Methamphetamine use within the Gay community. Research was
conducted to determine whether these advertisements had a negative impact on Gay identity.
Research indicates that many Gay men within the community find that the advertising is educational
and builds awareness within the community. However, further research indicates that West
Hollywood is a community built around a unitary Gay identity, which has caused the community to
remain separated from mainstream society. Research demonstrates that even though these
advertisements have been successfully targeted at the Gay community, there may well be a price to
pay. The presence of such advertisements could have a negative impact on the Gay community’s
ability to seek legal representation because of the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS and drug use
within the Gay community. Placing these advertisements singularly within a community known for
its large Gay population perpetuates this stigma. Furthermore, I propose that the HIV/AIDS
advertising within the Gay community has turned the focus off of HIV/AIDS as a disease and has
turned has turned the disease into a brand of sorts, using the disease as an avenue to market lifestyle,
pharmaceuticals, and AIDS paraphernalia within the Gay community.