Wildcat Press, my own publishing company, sees a quarter of our gay-owned vendors out of business. Among the survivors, some buy fewer books and substitute profitable sidelines like coffee, videos, gifts, T-shirts. Wildcat s gay-friendly list shrank recently by fifteen percent. As everybody now knows, chain store and online competition forces some independent stores to close. Another chain-related threat may be more insidious and long term as independent stores vanish, the present rich diversity of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered titles suffer.
Chain stores do provide gay people with benefits, though.
They sell gay and lesbian books to closeted teens and adults, the parents of gay children and curious or compassionate straights who might never visit a gay bookstore. In some cities where there is no gay bookstore or community center, I have seen the chain store coffeehouse functioning as a gay-friendly meeting place for youth and adults. Some chain store managers bravely cross swords with the religious right over Gay Pride Month displays. Threats from Our Own Community Gay books also have problems caused by gay people. Several gay and lesbian bookstores do sell books online, but can t compete with thirty percent discounts.