A straight boy—quiet, mysterious, sexy—meets dorky, inexperienced and equally-as-straight girl waiting for just the right man to sweep her off her sneaker-clad feet (she's not like other girls). What just came to mind—Twilight? Fifty Shades of Grey? A paperback copy of that romance you read as a guilty pleasure on the summer holidays? Carbon-copy media permeates our storylines and, unfortunately, leaves little room for diversity. This is especially so for LGBT characters and their relationships. Though increasing (and, marginally, improving) in recent years with increasing societal acceptance, myriad problems still pertain to the amount and nature of queer media representation.
In our society's ever-increasing recognition of diversity, the
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Actually, if they do exist, they're usually dead (GLAAD, 2016). GLAAD's report found queer women alone carried 10% of TV deaths—a number distinctly disproportionate considering only 2% of all characters were LGBT.
Amidst this lack of positive LGBT representation, then, CW's drama The 100 (2014-) seemingly provided a welcome respite. Heralded as one of the greatest examples of positive teen media, the notable LGBT representation came in the form of the bisexual female lead Clarke (Eliza Taylor), and openly lesbian clan leader Commander Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey).
Set in an post-apocalyptic society, the show brought to its vulnerable demographic the vision of an idyllic culture; nobody seemed to care who kissed whom, who liked whom. In the societally-advanced commentary reminiscent of the early progressiveness of Star Trek (Snyder, 1995), Lexa's powerful status was easily juxtaposed with open lesbianism, and such a combination was unremarkable. Similarly, Clarke's bisexuality proved no inhibition to her merits or public view of
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The 100 seemed to be the solution to a long-desired modicum of positive representation, and heaped wide, critical praised for its execution of it (Rotten Tomatoes, 2016).
Or, it was—until it employed the 'Bury Your Gays' trope, also known as the 'Dead Lesbian Syndrome.' In the show, the slow build of Clarke and Lexa's relationship was finally consummated in the now-famous episode on March third, with a record 30 seconds between the coital scene and the lesbian's death by stray bullet (Swift, 2016).
Alarmingly, it not only echoed a series of similar deaths earlier in the year—shows The Shannara Chronicles, Code Black, The Expanse, Jane the Virgin, Janet King, The Magicians all killed off WLW (Bernard, 2016)—but also copied this destructive storyline from a TV show over forty years ago.
Julie Solkin (Geraldine Brooks) from Executive Suite (1976) was one of the first lesbian characters to exist on TV for more than one episode. As she confessed her lesbianism to her best friend Leona, the latter, too, realised that she had feelings for Julie. Strongly upset by this, Leona walked into traffic to get away from her, Julie closely following—only to get hit by a car and
Sex and Gender was the subject of the two movies Dreamworlds 3 and Further Off The Straight & Narrow. In Dreamworlds 3 Sex is portrayed as a status of life and happiness in the media. This media displays people as objects that can be manipulated for sexual pleasure. As the media is populated with sex it tiptoes around gender, specifically that of gays or lesbians. The film Further Off The Straight & Narrow emphasized the movement through media gay and lesbian topics. This text analyzes iconic television programs and how they reflect the societal stance during that time. As a member of a generation that has had the topic of these issues prominent I believe they are important but are banal. In this reflection I will be responding to two questions, what would woman driven Dreamworlds look like? And Do you agree with the statement that if you are not on television you don’t exist?
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
This show lacks diversity. The majority of characters are heterosexual, white, and middle class. The only exception is Fez, an immigrant and the only coloured person on the show. Throughout the show, Fez is depicted as stupid, and as something to laugh at; the backing track laughs after almost everything he says. As far as I could tell, there are no queer characters, or any mention of queer issues, in these episodes.
As the television and film industries mirror reality we see more human issues arise in popular entertainment. The booming world of reality shows and sitcoms showcase many of these issues and the subject of race and gender are among the most prominent. We have always followed the female plight through these types of shows, but never before has television been geared toward feminine viewership as it is today. With a growing female audience, writers and producers have the ability to make the female characters the lead actors. The Mindy Project is a perfect example of a current television show with a female main character and through its episodes we can look to see just how prominent a role gender plays. By scrutinizing a female character on The Mindy Project, we can apply the ideas set forth in an article written by Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan called, “Introduction; Feminist Paradigms.” This article addresses the two formal perspectives of feminism; constructionist and essentialist viewpoints.
Imagine being in the shoes of someone who like guys and girls. Even imagine your world crashing down when you eventually come to a realization of being a girl in a boy’s body. These can be put into a community called lgbtq. Lgbtq is lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning. About 57% get threats, 51% get harassed, 51%have violence, and 34% say they’ve had verbal harassment in a bathroom or being questioned in the bathroom. In this community there can be a lot of ruckus, and when it comes to that there are activists, shootings, and a person being disrupted throughout the day.
Media is changing and there is gradually more positive and highly visible LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) role models. I will let the kids recognize some LGBT role models through the media, such as video, newspaper and magazine. I will introduce LGBT role models and explain why they will do so. I will also answer their continuous questions as they must feel curious and strange to these LGBT role models.
In our study of women across cultures, and women empowerment it is imperative to include not just heterosexual women but lesbian and bisexual women as well, due to the fact that it integrates a sense of multiculturalism that inputs and values multiple perspectives of women experiences. In the fight for women’s equality heterosexual feminists have often overlooked lesbian and bisexual women, because of the negative connotations that have emerged, that deem all feminists lesbians, and haters of men. This is also frequent due to the fact that homophobia and heterosexism are often used to combat feminism, causing heterosexual women to resent the association of lesbians with feminists. In the specific context of the United States, lesbian feminism has created a foundation for women who like other women, to take a powerful stand and contend against patriarchal traditions. From the workplace, to marketplace, lesbians and bisexual women face daily discrimination and unacceptance, due to the incomprehensibility of people to understand and tolerate their specific way of life. In the paper I plan to discuss, the origins of lesbian movements in the United States. Secondly, talk about the oppositions towards lesbians and feminists to live non-heterosexual lives, due to factors such as compulsory heterosexuality, and heteropatriarchy. Third, I will entail the consequences of society’s perversion towards lesbian and bisexual women, forcing them to hide, known a lesbian and bisexual invisibility. Lastly I will touch upon the responses lesbians in America have disclosed as a means to normalize lesbianism and reduce its negative stereotypes, as well as mention grass root organizations that have been created to fight against the inequality present i...
Skorek, Mał Gorzata. “A Thin Line between Being Straight or Gay: Portrayal of Lesbian Women
Have you ever met someone who acted just as teens are stereotyped? Not many people have because they do not exist. Real teens are poorly portrayed in the media and are the complete opposite of their stereotypes. Books and TV shows make teens out to be wild or crazy, irresponsible and out of control. One hardly ever hears about teen-heroes. Instead, newspapers and magazines are plastered with stories of teens and crime. And while looking at commercial billboards and other related media, the regular teen seems to be sex-crazed and image-obsessed.
The depiction of transgender women characters in mainstream television has been offensive, insulting and derogatory. An article from GLADD called “Victims or Villains: Examining Ten Years of Transgender Images on Television”, examines 102 episodes and storylines on mainstream television that contained transgender characters since 2002. Of these, more than half were characterized as containing negative representations of transgender. In 2007 only 1% of television series had a recurring transgender character, which has slowly increased to 4% in 2013.
Queer theory cheats, by focusing on cultural texts (rather than real life) where it is easier to find sexual or gender ambiguities. Some have taken this to be an account of real social life. Fans of Judith Butler often ignore real-life oppression and instead support their optimistic worldview by gazing at gender-blending movies and photography. Discrimination at home and at work, for everyday queer people, are forgotten about in this approach. Butler 's argument that gender exists at the level of discourse ignores its significance as 'an institutionalised social practice '. It is important to capture real-life statistics of people who don’t fit the “norm” in either traditional gender or sex categories. If we stop identifying people who may not fit the “norms” of the binary, then we mask the structural and individual oppression they will experience. By celebrating difference, queer politics makes the 'gay ' or 'lesbian ' identity to be what some consider too important. Queer theory celebrates pleasure and therefore puts a lot of emphasis on sex. It also puts a lot of emphasis on the visual, as well as a lot of emphasis on the young and trendy ("Queer Theory:
This was the most interesting topic of the discussion because it is not something I would usually talk about. Now I ask myself, “why not?” I believe it is because I don’t have black friends who are queer and the conversation never really came up. Also, discussing the topic taught me about the different portrayals of queer black women. I found the portrayal of queer women in the media to be very interesting because they are hypersexualized. One example we talk about was Cleo, in “Set it Off” and how she was the most sexual out of the four friends. Stony had sex with the car dealer, but she was doing it so her brother could go to college. Whereas we see Cleo continuously touching and kissing on her
Ellen Page started acting in large movie roles at a young age, causing her to become one of the film’s industries big names. The nominated Oscar movie star has appeared in movies such as Juno, Inception and this year’s upcoming motion picture X Men: Days of Future Past. At only the young age of twenty seven, talking at Human’s Right Campaign Foundation’s Time to THRIVE conference, she publicly halfway through her speech came out as gay. Not only surprising the entire globe she also stood up and passionately supported the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community. “It’s weird because here I am, an actress, representing at least in some sense an industry that places crushing standards on all of us-and not just young people ,everyone.”(Page, E 2014) Openly speaking about her industry and herself as an actress as regards to the large influence and sense of power she has, she displays a sense of responsibility to speak up. In that particular section of her speech, admitting that the film industry has standards for ‘all of us’ she involves everyone into her speech. Not only Ellen’s famous profile adde...
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.
middle of paper ... ... Works Cited Adam Sharpiro, Megan Schultz, Christina Roush, Cassandra Schofar, Emily Shilling, Tawnia Simpson, Natalie Sampiller. Portrayal of Homosexuality in Media. 26 March 2014 http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/tcom103fall2004/gp16.pdf>. Huegel, Kelly.