Hospitable Transactions: LGBT Welcome In Mississippi’s Small Businesses

• In Event: 463 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 18. Social Movements Inside and Against Economic Institutions

Abstract

In our society, much interaction across demographic difference occurs within the economic domain. This reality might have import in constructing more inclusive civil society: in fact, the first self-described pro-LGBT campaign in Mississippi that has found broad initial success and momentum rests firmly in an impetus to understand LGBT persons as deserving equal treatment as consumers. In April of this year, Mississippi passed the Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which opponents decried as potentially codifying business discrimination against LGBT people. Although the bill passed with little contestation, in its aftermath a campaign expressing support for the state’s LGBT community swiftly emerged. This campaign, dubbed “If You’re Buying, We’re Selling” (IYBWS), was initiated by small business owners and encouraged businesses to use a decal of the campaign’s moniker to demonstrate a refusal to discriminate against LGBT customers. IYBWS differentiated itself from other Mississippi pro-LGBT campaigns by becoming the first to garner statewide support, hundreds of business participants, thousands of individual supporters, and both local and national attention. This paper considers the campaign’s import for both buyers and sellers, using a close reading of the campaign logic, semi-structured interviews with participants, and coding and analysis of campaign content to demonstrate the possibilities and limitations such a campaign – pro-LGBT, located in Mississippi, grounded in capitalistic transactions – represents and enacts for furthering LGBT acceptance and inclusion in conservative social locations.

Author

• Kelley Frances Fenelon, Vanderbilt University