We've explored demographics of wine drinkers in the class, age-wise, gender-wise, income-wise, country-wise, and education-wise. However, I was still curious to hear about the actual statistics around a phenomenon I had observed in my life, the differential drinking habits of gays versus straights in both genders. I do think this bears significant relevance to the business sphere, as advertising is becoming increasingly targeted (particularly as technology enables advertisements to be tailored for small or even single-person audiences). I've noticed alcohol companies courting sexual minorities by pledging political support, marching in parades, and doing gay-themed advertisements. Also, should wine providers behave differently to straight bars than to gay bars?
According to http://www.statista.com/statistics/250039/sexual-orientation--preferred-drinks-of-gay-lesbian-and-straight-americans/, the biggest difference between any two of the four groups (gay men, lesbian women, straight men, straight women) is actually between straight men and lesbians. Over 50% of lesbians said that wine was a preferred drink, compared to only 30% of straight men. Gay men were a little below 50%, and straight women were close to 40%. In short, gays of either gender consider themselves much more wine-positive than straights of either gender. A similar dynamic exists for champagne and sparkling wines, though with lower levels for all of the groups. For those of you who suspect that this is a matter of gays earning more money, I would refer you to Nathan McDermott's article "The Myth of Gay Affluence" in the Atlantic. There may be an issue of more disposable income in a group that has fewer children to take care of, though.
Still, what makes them more likely to choose wine? Is there a group reinforcement or validation around certain hedonistic-leaning items in a tightly networked sub-population? Is there less consideration of how others might judge what you drink, or perhaps more? If wine is a stereotypically feminine drink, what does it mean that lesbians are the biggest proponents?
59% of heterosexuals describe themselves as current drinkers, while 75% of gays and lesbians say the same (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/12/29/drinking-stats-who-drinks-the-most-alcohol.html). Bars, clubs, and other establishments serving alcohol have played a major role in how gays and lesbians were able to find a community in the pre-networked age, and even since the advent of mobile and social networks, they continue to be the important cultural landmarks and gathering places in the gay neighborhoods of major US cities.
I'd be curious what people think about the roots of this phenomenon, and ways in which wineries and wine providers might connect with this group commercially. I will not be offended by what you have to say -- I'm interested to learn here.
The statistics are really fascinating, James. Thanks for posting this. I'd be curious to look at a city-by-city breakdown regarding the demographics of the four groups. In class, some people posited that the reason only several states make up the majority of wine shipping/consumption is that major metro areas, where wine is consumed more, are in several states. It's possible that wine is "pushed" on urban city dwellers more than in rural states. It's also possible that gays and lesbians are more likely to live in urban settings (on a per capita basis) given the history of oppression and discrimination that may have affected migration over the past several decades. Looking at those data points, or asking, "Do gays and lesbians disproportionately live in the major "wine" metro areas?" might suggest one reason why wine is preferred to other beverages. Wine has also been growing in popularity among city-dwelling millennials, so it may follow the same patterns. I'd be interested to hear other theories.
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