Many fans in the present WNBA era complain that the WNBA doesn't do enough to market to their lesbian fans. If you followed newspapers from a decade ago, however, that would clearly not have been the case.

BusinessWeek reported in its 2001 article "Growing Pains for the WNBA" that:

Also, in a move that has caused some controversy, WNBA franchises are plainly marketing to their loyal lesbian fans. The Los Angeles Sparks and Miami Sol have made ticket-selling trips to local lesbian bars. The Minnesota Lynx advertise in one of the Midwest's best-read gay-lesbian magazines. The Seattle Storm sponsored a Gay Pride Night last season to which a group of 300 lesbian activists bought tickets.

(My first comment is "what exactly is a lesbian activist?" Are they given a card? Are dues paid?)

The "controversy" wasn't over, at least not in Los Angeles. Marcia C. Smith of the Orange Country Register wrote that:

Talking about lesbians got the Sparks attention, controversy, air time on talk radio and ink from the New York Times, which is just what the franchise sought to boost attendance at the Staples Center.

The article from 2001 is an interesting look back in time. The big debate was whether or not courting lesbians was a good financial move. Becky Heidesch of Women SportServices thought that it was a good idea, but the problem was that if a WNBA team courted the lesbian market it might lose another one. "Will the lesbian market fill seats while it possibly alienates young families?"

The Seattle Storm's "Gay Pride Night" mentioned in Heidesch's article was just that, where gay and lesbian groups got a discount on their tickets. Furthermore, two teams actually made team-sanctioned appearances at lesbian bars. The Miami Sol made appearances at two lesbian bars in Broward County in Florida and the Los Angeles Sparks appeared with members of L. A.'s Girl Bar at the Factory in West Hollywood. (Lisa Leslie did not show, claiming a previous engagement.)

The following year, however, Sports Illustrated wrote about the WNBA's efforts to achieve the "hyper-heterosexualization" of its players. It seems that after one year of outreach, the pendulum swung back in the other direction. New York was so resistant to marketing to gay fans that Liberty fans felt compelled to hold a "kiss-in" that same year. Ira Berkow of the New York Times wrote about it under the headline ""A Lesbian Group Protests Too Much" (August 5, 2002) in a meandering article where he makes it clear that he doesn't approve of...something, whether it's oversensitive lesbians, people "foisting" their lifestyles on others, or the failure to recognize that the sexual orientation of athletes just doesn't matter anymore.

Indeed, it doesn't matter so much that sportswriters are still writing about Kiss-Cam as late as 2009. It seems that the WNBA has made a lot of progress of the issue of marketing toward its lesbian fans...most of in the form of "one step forward and two steps back". What a difference a decade makes.

View Original Post at swishappeal.com

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