Throughout this past week, our class focused our discussions around the LGBTQ community and their representation in the media. We began the week by watching a documentary titled Further Off the Straight & Narrow: New Gay Visibility on Television (2006). The documentary discussed many different television sitcoms that feature gay characters within their story lines, and how their characters are overall represented within the context of the show. The documentary not only highlighted their visibility within the mainstream media, but also the stereotypes media perpetuates and promotes for gay characters on television. Some of the shows the documentary had discussed were Ellen, Will and Grace, Six Feet Under, Sex and the City, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, The L Word, Queer as Folk, and The OC. All of these shows feature a character who was gay within the context of the show, or shows that featured homosexual people in real life playing the characters in the shows like Ellen Degeneres. Over the years the integration of LGBTQ representation in media has definitely increased; however, not all of those representations have been a good portrayal.
In addition to the documentary, our class was able to enjoy a presentation by two members of the LGBTQ organization from here at UW-Parkside. One of the members had mentioned that LGBTQ people in the media back as far as the 1950's had always been portrayed as people who are villainous, and joker/ clown character, and/or suicidal. The documentary expanded this topic by explaining that in the 1980's and early 1990's gays were presented in media mostly only through stories of AID's and HIV. In the 2000's this had shifted where baby plot stories were also becoming incorporated into sitcoms with gay individuals. The media perpetuates many stereotypes around these characters. Some of the stereotypes may include that being gay is just a phase, the hyper-masculine depictions of lesbians, or the hyper-feminine depictions of gay males. The media also enforces the idea of people being able to tell the difference between gay and straight people based on stereotypical gender roles. There are many more stereotypes surrounding the LGBTQ community within the media, and although some of them have gotten better throughout time, they are still an issue being represented. One of the speakers had mentioned in their presentation, " gender is between your ears and sex is between your legs." This quote stood out to me because I had never heard it before but it still tells why some people are still having issues with discriminating that community. Regardless of how one person understands gender and sex, discrimination isn't necessary hindering people from achieving their overall happiness. As guilty as the media is for perpetuating stereotypes of the LGBTQ community, there is still much media that perpetuates this Homophobic idea too. It is very hypocritical, and deceiving to people who don't question what they witness through media.
Today, the media had made more frequency within programming of sitcoms to represent the gay community. Again all of these portrayals are not in the best lights, but some of them do depict a better identity. With that being said, we see a lot more gays being represented in the media perpetuating both bad and good ideas. Two of my favorite sitcoms, Pretty Little Liars and American Horror Story have lesbian characters in them. Some of how they are represented are good, and while some images are still stereotypical and promote the representations in a bad image. Overall, the LGBTQ media has increased. Even though some of the same harmful stereotypical views are still prevalent, the representations of good images associated with the community has also increased. It is a win or lose battle within media, but with all the bad there is more good.
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