Threshold event: Exploring a commercial sponsorship of LGBT rights during the Sochi games

This mixed methods study examines the 2014 Sochi Olympics as an exceptional time period in which the commercial culture shifted potentially forming a convergence of mainstream support behind LGBT rights. A content analysis initially illustrates how LGBT-coverage surged among popular US magazines and websites in sports, business, home & lifestyle, technology, and entertainment, surrounding the Olympic games. From the 2011 repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to the 2014 Olympics, LGBT coverage among these media increased by 1024%. A deeper frame analysis of select media then reveals how within 77% of the articles, LGBT rights were aligned with "pro-Western values" set against Russia's "oppressive antigay culture." Twenty percent of the characterizations reflexively focused on the lack of equality in certain US/Western policies. Thus, as nations openly criticized the antigay culture of Russian society, they were also forced to confront their own definitions of LGBT equality. Finally, a political economy analysis of brand name institutions such as AT&T, Chevy, NFL, and Google found an unprecedented sponsorship of LGBT equality emerging during the Games, which continues today as major American corporations like PayPal and sports organizations like the NBA and NCAA increasingly boycott US states that discriminate against LGBT citizens.