Homosexuality and the Media
There are many different aspects of life that Americans are exposed to on television each day. Some examples are things such as violence, sex and alcohol and in today's more accepting society, the issue of alternative lifestyles. This issue was not as predominant ten years ago as it is today. Yes, for many years there have been sexual undertones in many popular television shows or movies, but it was not until recently that these actors and actresses were actually said to be living an alternative lifestyle.
What exactly is an alternative lifestyle? According to Encarta's Online World Dictionary, "an alternative lifestyle is one of abnormal circumstances, a way of living adopted by people who reject the prevailing lifestyle, for example, because they consider it to be too materialistic, to dependent on technology or simply living outside of the basic ways of life"(Encarta Online World Dictionary). This term, alternative lifestyle, is one that is often used to describe people who engage in homosexual relationships. The true definition seems to fit, but today this lifestyle is not as out of the ordinary as it was in the past.
Many people think that homosexuality is an old trend that has been around since the beginning of time. In reality, homosexuality is still a relatively new idea in many cultures. This idea is also relatively new for the mass media and Hollywood. "In a hundred years of movies, homosexuality has only rarely been depicted on the screen. When it did appear, it was there as something to laugh at, to pity, or even something to fear. Hollywood, that great maker of myths, taught straight people what to think about gay people... and gay people what to think about...
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...on 2). With this in mind Jacobson explains, "now that changes are finally being made in the way that people are raised, people will also be able to accept changes easier than they did in the past" (Jacobson 2). If this is the way that society actually operates then homosexuality should not be as hard to accept as it was in the past.
Works Cited
Bantam Publishing. "Encarta Online World Dictionary." Issue 23, Vol. 43 page 121.
Bishop, Alfred. "Homosexuality and Life." Dec. 5th 2001. http:<www.seuxallife/lt.ctrl.article45/23-tglm_bish.htm>
Encarta Publishing. Encarta Online World Dictionary. 1999 http:/</Encartaworld/dictionary/alternativelifestyle.ht/htm>
Jacobson, Alexander. "Society and Our Lives." Stanford University. 1999
The Celluloide Closet. Dec. 3rd 2001. http:<celluloidecloset.net.art-10_life/sex/23htm.>