Whether associated with tampons or tee-shirts, cruises or cruising, LesBiGay identities have been commodified, and they are among America's hottest. Heat is a matter of degree, however, and several key questions linger. When LesBiGays are put into the commercial spotlight, are they likely to find nurturing warmth there? Or will the intensity of the glare dazzle and deceive them as to the mythical character of the marketplace? Or blind them to the plight of less privileged LesBiGays? When LesBiGay identities are fired in commerce's furnaces, will they form to molds of their own making? Or will they be mere clay for commercial shaping? Only time will tell, of course, but capitalism may well kindle complex and contradictory effects.

Compared to being ignored, shunned, and assaulted, it feels pretty good to lounge on an R.S.V.P. or Olivia cruiseship, sipping an Absolut martini, draped with a Rainbow Flag towel, while listening to kd lang's "Invincible Summer" disc. In this sense, capitalism works on more than a monetary level. For many LesBiGays, commercial attention works on a deeply emotional level as well. Having a commodified identity means more than buying and selling; it can also mean feeling "wanted" and socially "validated." As marketing professor Lisa Penaloza observes, "[I]n a capitalist society, market incorporation is of the utmost importance because it summons a social legitimation approaching that of citizen."⁹⁶ Generally speaking, LesBiGays are famished for the recognition and acceptance of citizen-consumers, and this is a hunger that commerce has noticed and is eager to sate.⁹⁷ For instance, when the T.V. program Northern Exposure broadcast its first lesbian episode, the network was overwhelmed with letters of praise from lesbian viewers. The episode's writer recalled, "[T]hey were very grateful, like starving people getting a crust of bread."⁹⁸ When LesBiGays are starving, they are hardly going to bite the only hand that feeds them.