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.
Released in 1994, 14 years into the AIDS epidemic, the film had a phenomenal response around the world and in Australia. Travelling from Sydney, the three main characters, played by Hugo Weaving, Guy Peirce and Terrance Stamp, travel to Alice Springs for a cabaret show hosted by Mitzi’s wife. The audience is positioned to sympathise with the main characters during their hardships, and good times. The movie confronts different types of masculinity in an extreme environment. The film presents the stereotypical behavior of gay men that is evident in our society.
A large portion of contemporary film and theatre has been lacking in substance. More often than not, we are presented with a “been there, seen that” scenario. One such exception to this rule is Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a film by John Cameron Mitchell that was released in 2001. Set primarily in post-Cold War America, Hedwig is a film that characteristically breaks convention. Our story follows Hedwig, a forgotten and confused homo…trans…well, human being. Growing up in East Berlin during the Cold War, Hansel Schmidt (John Cameron Mitchell) lives what I would call a horrible childhood in the bleak landscape of communist occupied Germany. He falls in love with an American soldier, and undergoes a sex change in order to marry him and leave East Berlin. The operation is botched, leaving him/her as a physical contradiction. Not quite a man, but not yet a woman, Hansel (now Hedwig) has what she describes as an “angry inch.” When describing it in lighter terms, she calls it a “Barbie doll crotch.” Upon arriving in America, the soldier leaves her the same day the Berlin wall comes down. Destroyed, Hedwig spends some time discovering her new self and eventually finds a soul mate in a young boy named Tommy Speck (Michael Pitt). They collaborate musically and romantically, but upon discovering Hedwig’s secret he leaves with all of their music. He becomes a huge rock star, living Hedwig’s dream while simultaneously leaving her in the dust. From then on, Hedwig and her band “The Angry Inch” follow Tommy as he tours the nation while Hedwig tries desperately to gain the notoriety she deserves for her music. Viewing this film through the lens of a feminist gender perspective, I find that Hedwig is a pioneer on the forefront of changing the gende...
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
. 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).
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. Negative portrayal of transgender TV characters.
Many times throughout our history, elected and future leaders will fight a war on poverty. Leaders like George W. Bush will run on his campaign trail saying, “The purpose of prosperity is to leave no one out-to leave no one behind”(2). His words were misleading to the public and the nation as a whole. The LGBT community was left out and left behind under his administration. “In fact, after controlling for a number of factors associated with poverty, rates for LGB adults are higher than for heterosexual adults.”(4). If receiving aid to be helped out of poverty, one had to meet a certain criteria, it should have been clearly stated in his speeches. His effectiveness of ending poverty cost the LGBT community their way of life.
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 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).
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.
The mental health of individuals in the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) community is something that is a serious problem. For most of the history of the United States and many different parts of the world LGBT people faced much persecution and in some cases even death. This constant fear of discovery and the pressure that one feels on oneself when “in the closet” can lead to major mental distress. Research has shown that people who identify as LGBT are twice as likely to develop lifetime mood and anxiety disorders (Bostwick 468). This is extremely noticeable the past couple years in the suicides of bullied teens on the basis of sexual identity and expression. The stigma on simply being perceived as LGBT is strong enough to cause a person enough mental stress that they would take their own life. This is always unfortunate, but in the case of young individuals it borders on unthinkable. Older LGBT individuals do not tend to fair much better either seeing as they were raised in generations who were stricter on what was considered proper and morally right. All this being said, even as the culture of the world shifts to more accepting LGBT individuals their mental health is something that is only now being looked at thoroughly.
Diversity is a notion, when applied to the majority of circumstances, can create a positive conclusion. The trick to producing a positive outcome is often how the different aspects are brought together. Consider a classic dinner combination peas and carrots, the two colors look appealing and the two flavors comes together as one making a superb side dish. Now consider oil and water, these two substance are not often considered a good combination. Although, this is not always the case; olive oil and vinegar (which is water based) when mixed, come together into a delectable salad dressing. Diversity and inclusion should also apply to humans by bringing people together who are different it can creates a whole that is enhanced by the uniqueness of each individual.
Community is a broad term, but it would be best described as a “feeling of companionship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.” The LGBT Community is the joining of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their supporters, with the purpose of celebrating individuality, sexuality, and diversity. In addition, the LGBT community actively fights for equal rights and calls for an end to sexual-orientation based discrimination. The LGBT Community is made up of people from all races, socio-economic, religious and non-religious, and age backgrounds. The LGBT community supports all three assumptions, and also somewhat challenge assumptions two & three. Although the LGBT community is accepting of types
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
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.
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.