The LGBT community actively getting involved in media can be traced back to the 1970s (). Back then, a group of lesbian writers and activists initiated a gay liberation movement that represented both lesbians and gay men. However, other lesbian activists felt that the movement needed to be focused more on lesbians because they felt that gay men had their own agenda. So the lesbian community decided to create their own identity by immersing themselves in their own culture. This culture included good, creative writing, art and music (). They even created their own news periodical, called Lesbian Connection, which “in the early 1970s in East Lansing, Michigan, this periodical had a circulation of five to ten thousand copies bimonthly, making it the lesbian periodical with perhaps the largest number of readers of its time” (). Basically, because they were not being fairly represented by the media itself, they decided to make their own media “by lesbians, for lesbians” (). The funding for their media projects was tough though; whether they were asking for small or large amounts money, they always had a hard time raising it. If they were asking for or making too much money, then they were seen as exploiters for the cause rather than supporters. On the contrary, when they asked for small amounts of money to finance their products, it still “see med bound up with a rejection of a view of creativity that emphasized skill and technical competence as well as the professional artist 's mystique and exclusivity” ().
During the same time the lesbian activists were creating their own media movement, movies depicting them, as well as the rest of the LGBT community, were being created as well. The first breakthrough film, The Boys in the Band, w...
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...oes admit in his article though, that further research needs to be done.
Cartoons tend to misrepresent or underrepresent groups of people as well. Mainly, the misrepresentation and underrepresentation the LGBT community. According to () research, “anywhere from 4% to 9% of all adults are gay or lesbian (McWhirter, Sanders, & Reinisch, 1990; Sell, Wells, & Wypij, 1995), and recent evidence suggests that the bisexual population is likely to be comparable in size to the homosexual population (Mosher, Chandra, & Jones, 2005); but in the cartoon universe, only 0.3% of the characters studied were anything other than heterosexual” (). That is an extremely low percentage of representation compared to the LGBT population. Not only that, but in () research, they did not find any lesbian or bisexual cartoon characters; and this was out of more than 4,300 cartoon characters.
“The unprecedented growth of the gay community in recent history has transformed our culture and consciousness, creating radically new possibilities for people to ‘come out’ and live more openly as homosexuals”(Herdt 2). Before the 1969 Stonewall riot in New York, homosexuality was a taboo subject. Research concerning homosexuality emphasized the etiology, treatment, and psychological adjustment of homosexuals. Times have changed since 1969. Homosexuals have gained great attention in arts, entertainment, media, and politics. Yesterday’s research on homosexuality has expanded to include trying to understand the different experiences and situations of homosexuals (Ben-Ari 89-90).
It is often found that the stereotypical “butch” and “femme” pairing are more visible than other lesbian relationships. However, this does not mean that they do not exist. The ever-growing popularity of the lesbian social sphere has symbolized both difficulties and effects of identifying with such a label. The label or identity itself, though distinctly separating lesbians from “normal” heterosexuals begins to exhibit pre-existing conflict experienced by gay males: “there’s always been something wrong (Aldrich, 38).” This quote implies the conditioned and ingrained belief that homosexuality’s “taboo” existence was more than just wrong, but distasteful and something that society should look down upon for being an “abnormality.” Sometimes, this social reality for lesbians made it hard for them to “come out the closet” and be visible. This experience is exemplified as “The repressed lesbian has a harder time of it, for she is less aware of her abnormality (Aldrich, 41).” Additionally, to be able to clearly and accurately identify “the lesbian is to meet the many women she is at close range; to see her against her various backgrounds, hear her sundry voices, and familiarize yourself with the diverse facades of her several lives (Aldrich, 42).” Here, the presence of the “double life” is demonstrated to further analyze the lack of privileges that the lesbian community had, including the social aspect of their
Today I am going to introduce to you the Lesbian Avengers. I will lay out the history of activism that led up the this group and then introduce the queer context that this group was founded under. When I have established that foundation, I will tell you how the Lesbian Avengers were founded and by what means they ran the group. Specifically, I will explain and analyze an action of the Washington, D.C. chapter. I argue that the Lesbian Avengers are fighting for a new lesbian visibility, different from that of Lesbian groups in the 1970’s such as Lesbian Nation. I also argue that the Lesbian Avengers have a specific understanding of action and queer theory which is why their group has been a success.
. Gianoulis, Tina. "Gay Liberation Movement." In St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture., edited by Thomas Riggs, 438-43. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: St. James, 2013. Gale Virtual Reference Library (GALE|CX2735801056).
Imagine living in a world that did not cater to you. A world that did not approve of the types of relationships you had or desired; a world that only used you for the punchline of a joke or for taboo sex appeal; a world that would rather pretend that you do not exist. For members of the LGBT community, this is their reality. Television shows, movies, music, advertisements — all of these mediums are most assuredly intended for a heterosexual audience. True, there are handfuls of television shows that have queer characters, but it is very rare for these television shows to be on primetime television. Primetime television is the hotspot of all media. It is the time when all of America is watching, and the shows featured during these time-slots
The film genre of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer, better known as LGBTQ has been around for a long time. Two terms often associated with the genre include gender identity and sexual orientation. Gender identity is how one identifies their gender whereas sexual identity is who someone is attracted to both physically and emotionally (“Lgbtq Archives.”). The main element that makes and LGBTQ film just that is that the protagonist falls into the category of being LGBTQ. The overarching, as well as reoccurring themes of the genre include the rejection of heteronormative belief and breaking normalcy. The genre was built around rebellion and difference, the first of which is the Hayes code in the 1940s. This can be evidenced by, “the
When television first appeared back in the 1940's, times were very different. What we would consider completely normal today would have seemed quite taboo just a few decades ago. For example, in 1953, Lucille Ball was not allowed to say the word "pregnant" while she was expecting baby Ricky and it wasn't until the 1960's show Bewitched, that we saw a married couple actually sharing the same bed. Considering how conservative the television networks were back then, it is not hard to deduce that something as controversial as homosexuality would be far from discussed or portrayed at any level. It was only in 1973 that television premiered its first homosexual character. Over the next three decades the emergence of gay and lesbian characters in television has increased and decreased as the times have changed. Due to the resurgence of conservatism that came back in the early 1980's, homosexual topics were again reduced to a minimum. Since that time though, as many people can see, there has been a rise of gay and lesbian characters on television. One might think after a first glance at the previous sentence that there has been progress among gay and lesbian communities to have a fair representation in the media. However, if one looks hard at the circumstances surrounding their portrayal, many people may start to believe that if there has been any progress then it has been quite minimal.
The 1990s saw 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 and it’s supporting character of teenager Jack McPhee, we are slowly seeing gay and lesbian characters creeping into the mainstream media.
In sociology, the LGBT community is viewed as a subculture to the dominant world culture. The community is generally accepted by the dominant culture and although the group has some of its own beliefs and rituals/traditions, it still adheres to the fundamental beliefs and cultural expectations of the dominant culture. Before being considered a subculture, homosexual relationships and variations of sexual orientation were classified as devian behaviort. Even before that, someone who experienced homosexual thoughts or tendencies was labeled as mentally ill. The idea of homosexuality being a mental illness appeared in the DSM until 1987. There are still remnants of homophobia today but the consensus (at
For example, the representation of women on television was for a long time restricted to roles of “loving wives, dutiful daughters, gossiping girlfriends, fashion plates, and the occasional dowdy maid, nanny, or granny” (Zeisler 2008, p. 9), which is a reflection on the roles it was considered ‘acceptable’ for women to take on in real life. Often going against the hegemonic gender ideal is used as shorthand for comedy within popular culture, such as men dressed femininely being played for laughs on countless sitcoms. Popular culture that genuinely challenges hegemonic ideology often faces backlash, as was the case when Ellen DeGeneres’ character coming out on Ellen (1997), as did the actress in real life, resulted in the show being cancelled after only one more season. This is reflective of what was the pervasive belief, that heterosexuality is the only acceptable option, though the changing attitudes about this can be seen through the increased inclusion of gay and bisexual characters in pop culture over the past two decades. Looking at the relationship between gender and popular culture consequently becomes important to the field of gender studies as it provides a way to study not only what is considered to be the gender norms in a society, but how these norms have
In the face of a homophobic society we need creative and critical processes that draw out the complexity of lesbian lives and same sex choices, not a retreat into the comforting myths of heroines and unfractured, impeachable identities
We live in a world where a 21st century woman can vote, work full time, and raise a family on her own terms. Woman can choose when to have children, if they want to achieve a higher education, and obtain jobs that women in the 60’s only dreamt about. Most of these accomplishments were brought on by the Women’s Movement of the 1960’s. They brought up conventional thoughts and ideas that changed the course of history. However, in their quest for women’s rights and equality amongst men, there were some that were left out of the mass movement. Lesbians of the 1960’s were considered to be social pariahs by the Woman’s Movement of the 1960’s and not to be connected with. By being the outcasts, Lesbians created and founded their own movement that focused on not only Women’s Rights, but Gay Women’s rights as well. This movement was just as controversial if not more as the Women’s Movement of the time, but made just as big of an impact.
DYER, Richard. Gays and Film. Online at http://gente.chueca.com/peliculas2/libros/richarddyer/gaysandfilm.htm . Consulted on Friday, April 02, 2004
A community according to Webster’s dictionary is “a social group of any size, where members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common culture and historical heritage”. There are many different types of communities, but all have the same premise and that is to support one another within that community. LGBTQ communities let individuals talk openly about their feelings without being discriminated against. These communities have allowed an escape for its members from the stigma of the still largely ignorant society towards the LGBTQ community. Communities are a positive thing as long as animosity does not exist within these communities. Rancor within an LGBQT community diminishes the ability of that community to effectively provide for those who identify as LGBTQ and seek its support.
Media portrayal of the LGBT community is varying. It may be very positive and a “good” portrayal or negative and instead focuses on the stereotypical aspects of the LGBT community. One definition of a good LGBT television portrayal is one that depicts an LGBT character without over glaringly obviousness of their sexual orientation, or without adding many LGBT stereotypes that are all too often added.