Fashion and clothing: the construction and communication of gay identities

Purpose – This paper explores the importance of clothes for gay males as semiotic markers for identity creation and communication in order to highlight the increasing fragmentation of this market and the role of consumption practices as cultural markers.Design/methodology/approach – The study is grounded in qualitative data from participant observation, diaries interviews and a focus group of Manchester‐based respondents; findings are linked back to literature on postmodernism, image and identity.Findings – Findings point to communication of individual identity through clothes; firstly, on a community level, as a marker of “gayness”; secondly, on a neo‐tribal level, indicating tribal allegiance and aiding inter‐tribal communication; thirdly, on a situational level, where clothing facilitates acceptance and integration. The proactive use of clothing as a semiotic marker enables the fluid construction and linking of multiple identities. Findings indicate the existence of quite specific codes with (gay) cult...