Queering Branding: Negotiating Fluid Identities and Queer Agency in Brand Environments

Abstract

Brands increasingly signal LGBTQ+ support through gender-neutral campaigns, unisex options, and Pride-focused messaging, refl ecting Gen Z’s embrace of more fl uid identity expressions. However, these gestures often reinforce heteronormative standards instead of challenging them. Drawing on queer theory and cultural branding, this study examines how Levi’s, TomboyX, and Telfar negotiate and represent queerness between 2014 and 2025. Using a qualitative multi-case approach, I conducted genealogical discourse analysis and netnography on a dataset that included 256 Instagram posts, 62 archived webpages, 80 public comment threads, and 28 brand statements or interviews. I identify three distinct branding positions. First, Levi’s leans on performative allyship that preserves heteronormative brand environments and upholds existing power relations. Second, TomboyX broadens representation through product design but stays rooted in fi xed LGBTQ+ identity categories. Third, Telfar embraces ambiguity and radical opacity to refuse fi xed identities, redistributing power democratically and allowing multiple expressions of self—including the option to remain undefi ned. From these cases, I propose a queer agency model that brands can adopt to create those conditions. Theoretically, this framework extends cultural branding, off ering an open-ended approach that resists closure and keeps tension alive. In practice, it gives marketing professionals concrete strategies for designing more democratic and culturally resonant brand experiences.