If you were given the task to pick out a homosexual character in a television series, most of us would be able to pick off who that character would be, but why is that? How is it that we’re able to determine the sexuality of a person just by looking at their appearance, listening to them talk or even just by looking at who they associated themselves with. Ever since the first appearance of a same sex couple on the big screen in 1895’s “The gay brothers” directed by Edison Short, every large media outpost has sought to put their own spin on their portrayal of the average gay man. Although some popular media outposts have attempted to create well-versed gay or lesbian characters, they regularly continue to re-establish
David Thorpe’s exploration into this newly based concept shines light on the homophobia that is based in the United States, but also bringing to light gay identity in itself. A large advantage to this documentary that may benefit better than other documentaries surrounding the LGBT community is that is directed and experienced through the eyes of the self-proclaimed homosexual, David Thorpe, In this sense the viewers are able to get statsitcis and raw feelings from a gay individual without having that bias or stereotypical onset feel to the film if it were in comparison to have been written by a straight male or straight female. Another Advantage to the film, is the use of professionals to support and back ideas on the origin of the gay voice. Through the course of the documentary, David visits with a vocal coach where he aims to change his “Gay” sounding voice to that of a “normal” sounding voice. The vocal coach gives profession insight on why the “gay” voice sounds the way it does. What I plan to use from this documentary is the idea and the motion of the social construction of what a “gay” sounding voice sound like. Again to use it as a back burner support system to link in with my
Shugart’s journal “Reinventing privilege: The New (Gay) Man in contemporary media” explores the many ideas ranging from the idea of blatant sexism being reinvented through the use of gay portrayal in the media to the concept of the gay male identity being defined in a way that re-establishes heteronormativity. The journal has another main argument, stating that the reason why stereotypes of the LGBT community exist is for the reason that many of the people behind the camera; play writes, directors, producers… are for the most part heterosexuals that are struggling with their own feelings and reaction about the community. This journal for the most part is fairly well rounded, the only disadvantages I see from this particular journal are that for one, the author is VERY opinionated. She’s very good at drilling an idea in the reader’s head, which isn’t always a bad thing however in this particular situation it’s going to be hard to stay grounded to my own particular viewings on the subject without being influenced by an idea the author had. Secondly, the journal is very poorly organized, all similar ideas aren’t grouped all together making it difficult to take out the good key arguments of the journal. The article makes some strong arguments pertaining to the heterosexual aspect of the gay identity, in the sense of how the emotions and feelings of the heterosexual individuals towards homosexual individuals. It goes in depth on how although media has attempted to
I reached many other people since last week, some of them did not show much interest in doing the interview when they heard it was about homosexual representation analysis; the other people were unable to do the interview because the lack of time or other reasons. Anyway, diverse interviewees were picked to convey a considerably fair research for the attitudes toward the homosexual representation in the show Glee. These three chosen interview subjects not only vary in race (Both my boss and my roommate are Asian-American and my friend’s sister Lily is Caucasian) but also in gender (My boss is male and the other two are female). Because the main focus of the show Glee is about daily life of a group of high school students who attend their school glee club, the audience’s age range is unavoidably narrow. Despite the fact
Language is a powerful tool. The artful manipulation of language has sparked countless revolutions and has continuously fueled social progression over the course of human history. In Carmen Vàzquez’s “Appearances,” Vàzquez argues that homophobia is a serious concern in society. She rallies for all people, regardless of sexual orientation, to challenge society’s unyielding gender roles and homophobia. Through the art of persuasion, Carmen Vàzquez blended careful diction, emotional stories, and persuasive structure to aggressively address the problem of homophobia both coherently and effectively.
Gay male, lesbian, and transsexual networks/communities, and cultural practices often had their own differences that coincided with meshing similarities. From the late 1940s to the 1960s, these identities were shaped through experiences of “the closet” and living a “double life,” among other factors. Alan Berubé explores the war’s impact on homosexual identity, speaking for both gay males and lesbians in “Marching to a Different Drummer: Lesbian and Gay GIs in World War II.” In “We Walk Alone,” Ann Aldrich helps identify the varying types of lesbians, addressing their intimate relationships with each other that are becoming more visible. Harry Benjamin touches more on the medical and scientific side of transsexualism and the obvious fact that
In an effort to legitimize all subcategories of sexuality considered deviant of heterosexual normatively, queer theory acknowledges nontraditional sexual identities by rejecting the rigid notion of stabilized sexuality. It shares the ideals of gender theory, applying to sexuality the idea that gender is a performative adherence to capitalist structures that inform society of what it means to be male, female, gay, and straight. An individual’s conformity to sexual or gendered expectations indicates both perpetration and victimization of the systemic oppression laid down by patriarchal foundations in the interest of maintaining power within a small group of people. Seeking to deconstruct the absolute nature of binary opposition, queer theory highlights and celebrates literary examples of gray areas specifically regarding sexual orientation, and questions those which solidify heterosexuality as the “norm”, and anything outside of it as the “other”.
Author Steven Seidman writes that “it is the power of the closet to shape the core of an individual's life that has made homosexuality into a significant personal, social, and political drama in twentieth-century America “(38). Those that are homosexual tends to tell lies and play deceitful silly games just to appease family, coworkers and a few dear old friends. They feed into the prejudices and fears about homosexuality. In Angels in America, many of the characters are homosexual, and the truth about their sexual preferences comes out. Kushner shows us the difficult struggle that often precedes a gay person’s acceptance of her or his identity, and the ways in which one’s ability to enact this identity is dependent on the acceptance of others.
This essay sets out to distinguish how male characters can be portrayed in the same fashion as their female counterparts, and therefore become subjected to the same erotic objectification. This will be researched under the circumstances that the production revolves around gay characters and the assumed audience is exchanged from a homogenous crowd of heterosexual spectators, to a homogenous crowd of homosexual spectators. To support this claim there will be references to a segment from the American remake of the television series Queer as Folk (USA, dev. Ron Cowen, Daniel Lipman, 2000-2005) where Brian Kinney (Gale Harold) and Justin Taylor (Randy Harris) first meet.
“Everybody’s journey is individual. If you fall in love with a boy, you fall in love with a boy. The fact that many Americans consider it a disease says more about them than it does about homosexuality”. -James Baldwin. In his impressionable quote Baldwin voices the prominent yet tacit unacceptance of Homosexuality. Baldwin indicates that homosexuality or queerness in America is equated to an incurable disease or illness has been a conventional theory that it reveals an attitude of intolerance within American society . This widespread notion has held an augmented presence most notably in the African American community.(Crawford et al. 2002:179-180). In a thorough yet, animated analysis of Floyd, Ayana Mathis reviews popular receptions of Homosexuality and Queerness in the African American community. The characterization of Floyd unveils the ostracization that homosexual Black men face which generates a deceptive performance of hypermasculinity. This false performance is displayed through masking emotion and unveiling an attitude of contempt for anything dearth to the ideology of masculinity while perpetuating Homophobia.
The acceptance of “abnormal” sexualities has been a prolonged, controversial battle. The segregation is excruciating and the prejudice remarks are so spiteful that some people never truly recover. Homosexuals have been left suffering for ages. Life, for most homosexuals during the first half of the twentieth century, was mostly one of hiding: having to constantly hide their true feelings and tastes. Instead of restaurants and movies, they had to sit quiet in the dark and meet each other in concealed places such as bars. Homosexuals were those with “mental and psychic abnormalities” and were the victim of medical prejudice, police harassment, and church condemnation (Jagose 24). The minuscule mention or assumption of one’s homosexuality could easily lead to the loss of family, livelihood, and sometimes even their lives. It was only after the Stonewall riots and the organization of gay/lesbian groups that times for homosexuals started to look brighter.
In his segment, “The Myth of the Gay Agenda,” LZ Granderson describes a life changing experience he had with the movie “Torch Song Trilogy,” which is essentially about a drag queen
Back in my younger days, I feared to lose my social and economic privilege as being seen as a homosexual female, so I policed myself to present this ‘straight girl’ persona, to avoid being publicly and institutionally sanctioned. Reflecting on Adam’s readings, “Adult heterosexuality was not taken to be an inevitability; it was an achievement of safe passage through adolescence.” (p***) Regardless, of how I felt back when I was young, I still do “act” heterosexual (acting heterosexual is the performance of the traditional straight sexual identity). Be that as it may, now I don't distress when peers around me don’t follow the social rules of normative femininity and heteronormativity in public.”Years ago I would have shunned them, or best, ignored them” (76); and yet with several developed friendships that I have made along my life journey, and a lot of courses that bring awareness to homosexuality; I’m proud to say that “gradually my awareness...was no longer the source of my shame, but the beginning of my empowerment”. (p.75-76) I have reached the point in my life, that now I force myself to acknowledge and not fear the social retaliation of the practices and normalization of heterosexuality by the women I know. Meanwhile, I may still be self-conscious around those women who don’t fit this normative, yet I won’t be imposing my opinions on them, those opinions are up to me
The 1990s saw a surge of gay characters in both television and movies. From Ellen Degeneres and her character Ellen Morgan coming out under much scrutiny on the TV show ‘Ellen,’ to Julia Roberts and Rupert Everett comedically playing off each other in the motion picture ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding.’ Sure, gays and lesbians have been around forever, especially in Hollywood. But never has there been a time to be more out. With the popularity of shows like Will and Grace, which feature leading gay characters, as well as Dawson’s Creek
If you were to go back to the 1950’s you would realize how differently homosexuality was looked at compared to today. Men were arrested because of their homosexual relations; people looked at it as a disease, something that was possibly curable. Over time, people have started to become more open and proud about their sexual orientation, demanding basic rights that had been taken from them. In our generation, homosexuality is a major component of Pop Culture and is one of the many causes of disputes between the citizens of the United States and their government.
This quote addresses directly the primary difficulty of the issue. The terms gay and lesbian are useful in literature in that they allow a group of people who have been marginalised and even persecuted to become visible. They enable a way of life and a set of identities, harmonious or conflicting, to be presented, to be questioned, to be understood and accepted. As categories they create ‘space’ in which there may develop a more evolved understanding of texts and they also create a genre within which many lesbian and gay writers are comfortable with being placed. A gendered reading of a text can reveal undercurrents and depths which might otherwise not be apparent. These categories also make ‘space’ for the author within the text which leads to a closer tie between the author and the reader in the reading process.
...viant, thus marginalized even demonized. While in recent times there has undeniably been a greater sense of acceptance toward homosexuals, there are definitely generalizations that tend to hinder the overall perspective on identity. The issue of sexual identity and gender has recently been brought to the forefront of social discourse due largely to the major activism of the LGBTQ community and countless progressive institutions. Through the recognition of the gender binary one can see that there are an array of preferences for being and behaving. Rather than having to follow traditional roles people should be able to be masculine, feminine, androgynous, aggressive, vulnerable, or indifferent. The issue is not necessarily diversity, but rather openness to gender possibilities and the freedom to experiment and shamelessly explore facets of one’s individual expression.
Adam Sharpiro, Megan Schultz, Christina Roush, Cassandra Schofar, Emily Shilling, Tawnia Simpson, Natalie Sampiller. Portrayal of Homosexuality in Media. 26 March 2014 .