Jump to content

Gay Lifestyles Exhibition: Difference between revisions

From LGBT History Project
mNo edit summary
mNo edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
The '''Gay Lifestyles Exhibition''' was a consumer exhibition for the lesbian and gay market, held at the [[Earls Court Exhibition Centre]] in London in the mid 1990s.
The '''Gay Lifestyles Exhibition''' was an annual consumer exhibition for the lesbian and gay market, held in London from 1992.


The 1994 exhibition, branded ''Gay Lifestyles '94'', took place on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 December 1994. Exhibitor packs were issued by an organiser identified in advertising only as CMA, with a telephone and fax number in the Henley-on-Thames area.<ref name="bpg">Advertisement, ''[[Back Pocket Guide to London|Back Pocket Guide to Gay & Lesbian London]]'', issue 4, JWH Design, 1994.</ref>
By 1994 the exhibition was in its third year. Writing in ''The Independent'' in November of that year, the journalist Mark Simpson cited it as evidence that style and grooming products had been marketed to gay men well before they were marketed to heterosexual ones, noting that it featured fashion shows and a range of men's products. The article in which he did so, "Here Come the Mirror Men", was the piece in which he coined the term ''metrosexual''.<ref name="simpson">Mark Simpson, "Here Come the Mirror Men", ''The Independent'', 15 November 1994.</ref>


Exhibitors included the ''[[Back Pocket Guide to London|Back Pocket Guide]]'', the free gay street map of London, which took a stall.
The 1994 exhibition, branded ''Gay Lifestyles '94'', was held at the [[Earls Court Exhibition Centre]] on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 December 1994. Exhibitor packs were issued by an organiser identified in advertising only as CMA, with a telephone and fax number in the Henley-on-Thames area.<ref name="bpg">Advertisement, ''[[Back Pocket Guide to London|Back Pocket Guide to Gay & Lesbian London]]'', issue 4, JWH Design, 1994.</ref>
 
Exhibitors included the ''[[Back Pocket Guide to London|Back Pocket Guide]]'', the free gay street map of London, which took a stall in both 1993 and 1994. The photographer Stuart Linden Rhodes photographed the 1994 exhibition; his images show stalls including one for an HIV and AIDS charity.<ref name="linden">Stuart Linden Rhodes, Linden Archives.</ref>


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 07:00, 19 July 2026

The Gay Lifestyles Exhibition was an annual consumer exhibition for the lesbian and gay market, held in London from 1992.

By 1994 the exhibition was in its third year. Writing in The Independent in November of that year, the journalist Mark Simpson cited it as evidence that style and grooming products had been marketed to gay men well before they were marketed to heterosexual ones, noting that it featured fashion shows and a range of men's products. The article in which he did so, "Here Come the Mirror Men", was the piece in which he coined the term metrosexual.[1]

The 1994 exhibition, branded Gay Lifestyles '94, was held at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 December 1994. Exhibitor packs were issued by an organiser identified in advertising only as CMA, with a telephone and fax number in the Henley-on-Thames area.[2]

Exhibitors included the Back Pocket Guide, the free gay street map of London, which took a stall in both 1993 and 1994. The photographer Stuart Linden Rhodes photographed the 1994 exhibition; his images show stalls including one for an HIV and AIDS charity.[3]

References

  1. Mark Simpson, "Here Come the Mirror Men", The Independent, 15 November 1994.
  2. Advertisement, Back Pocket Guide to Gay & Lesbian London, issue 4, JWH Design, 1994.
  3. Stuart Linden Rhodes, Linden Archives.