Queerness in the media (March 14, 2009)
I struggled with this assignment because I feel like I don't watch enough TV to make a holistic argument about media representation on any given topic. However, after talking with some friends, I feel like I can discuss the few representations of queerness that I've witnessed over the past couple of years. As a quick disclaimer, this post is based on my personal observations and perceptions; I am very open to all opinions as anyone reading this is likely to be more versed in television/movies than yours truly.
First of all, I've noticed that the media seems to place gays and lesbians in two separate and distinct categories. Further, it seems that the gay community or at least gay relationships are more heavily represented in mainstream media. However, my perception regarding the gay vs. lesbian representation binary is based on the number of shows in which gays are portrayed as opposed to lesbians. That said, several question remain: is the portrayal of gay men accurate? Is greater quantity of representation desired over greater quality/accuracy? Does greater representation necessarily equate to greater social acceptance?
Based on the TV representations I've seen, a number of stereotypes seem drive LBGT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transexual) portrayals and plot-lines. For one, I've noticed gay characters falling into certain categories: the strong/silent/firefighter/police-officer type, the emotional/anal-retentive type, and the fairy. Undeniably, these categories are present in shows like Will & Grace and Six Feet Under. (On that note, it's also significant to compare queer representations on mainstream TV shows as opposed to cable shows. Although, perhaps the most visible difference is the amount of explicit sexual behavior, etc.)
In regards to lesbian relationships, clearly, Ellen is TV's well-known lesbian leader. Interestingly, she "came out of the closet" on her sitcom, and the show changed and ended soon after. Now, Ellen DeGeneres has her own talk show (similar to Rosie O'Donnell...). It seems that mainstream viewers accept Ellen's political views as well as her easy-going demeanor. How did Ellen manage to break free of lesbian stereo-types? Is this "freedom" real or imagined? Besides the L Word (which I'm not going to write about since I haven't seen it), the other lesbian relationships/plot-lines I can think of seem to be side-plots (for instance, Callie and Erica on Grey's Anatomy and a lesbian plot line on the O.C.). In these examples, it seem that lesbianism is more of a experiment than a commitment. Often, lesbian characters are bisexual and/or dated male characters on the show. In this way, it's suspected that society doesn't take lesbianism seriously.
In an article outlining a round table discussion, the GBLTQ (gay, bisexual, lesbian, transexual, queer) scholars seemed to agree that queer representations in the media have expanded over the past ten years, a phenomenon that has provided more room for intellectual dialogue and discussion. GBLTQ scholar, Keeling, contributed, "We, for example, questioned rather than called for the drive toward greater queer visibility, even as we remained aware that our ability to ask questions about the drive toward greater visibility was possible only because some visibility has been achieved, both onscreen and in academe" (p. 125). However, the GBLTQ scholars also heavily problematized media representations. In addition to the stereo-types I observed, Roy Grundmann (2009) contributed, "TV promises to lend us all a queer eye; however, here, as in black-family and single-women sitcoms and countless other examples, TV is really a leveler of identity, not a diversifier. Its putative queerness is always already the product of nonqueer interests" (p. 120). Here, we find that the media still frames queerness within a heterosexual dialectic. (Personally, I find this interesting due the number of homosexual artists, directors, etc. involved in tv and film production). With this in mind, it seems that the media is not fully ready to explore and accurately represent queerness...yet, as the scholars mentioned, we are making progress toward this ideal.
You can view a list of more media portrayals here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_shows_with_LGBT_characters
Cited Article
Bronski, Michael, Terri Ginsberg, Roy Grundmann, Kara Keeling, Liora Moriel, Yasmin Nair, and Kirsten Moana Thompson. 2006. "QUEER FILM AND MEDIA PEDAGOGY." GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian & Gay Studies 12, no. 1: 117-134. LGBT Life with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed March 14, 2009).
First of all, I've noticed that the media seems to place gays and lesbians in two separate and distinct categories. Further, it seems that the gay community or at least gay relationships are more heavily represented in mainstream media. However, my perception regarding the gay vs. lesbian representation binary is based on the number of shows in which gays are portrayed as opposed to lesbians. That said, several question remain: is the portrayal of gay men accurate? Is greater quantity of representation desired over greater quality/accuracy? Does greater representation necessarily equate to greater social acceptance?
Based on the TV representations I've seen, a number of stereotypes seem drive LBGT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transexual) portrayals and plot-lines. For one, I've noticed gay characters falling into certain categories: the strong/silent/firefighter/police-officer type, the emotional/anal-retentive type, and the fairy. Undeniably, these categories are present in shows like Will & Grace and Six Feet Under. (On that note, it's also significant to compare queer representations on mainstream TV shows as opposed to cable shows. Although, perhaps the most visible difference is the amount of explicit sexual behavior, etc.)
In regards to lesbian relationships, clearly, Ellen is TV's well-known lesbian leader. Interestingly, she "came out of the closet" on her sitcom, and the show changed and ended soon after. Now, Ellen DeGeneres has her own talk show (similar to Rosie O'Donnell...). It seems that mainstream viewers accept Ellen's political views as well as her easy-going demeanor. How did Ellen manage to break free of lesbian stereo-types? Is this "freedom" real or imagined? Besides the L Word (which I'm not going to write about since I haven't seen it), the other lesbian relationships/plot-lines I can think of seem to be side-plots (for instance, Callie and Erica on Grey's Anatomy and a lesbian plot line on the O.C.). In these examples, it seem that lesbianism is more of a experiment than a commitment. Often, lesbian characters are bisexual and/or dated male characters on the show. In this way, it's suspected that society doesn't take lesbianism seriously.
In an article outlining a round table discussion, the GBLTQ (gay, bisexual, lesbian, transexual, queer) scholars seemed to agree that queer representations in the media have expanded over the past ten years, a phenomenon that has provided more room for intellectual dialogue and discussion. GBLTQ scholar, Keeling, contributed, "We, for example, questioned rather than called for the drive toward greater queer visibility, even as we remained aware that our ability to ask questions about the drive toward greater visibility was possible only because some visibility has been achieved, both onscreen and in academe" (p. 125). However, the GBLTQ scholars also heavily problematized media representations. In addition to the stereo-types I observed, Roy Grundmann (2009) contributed, "TV promises to lend us all a queer eye; however, here, as in black-family and single-women sitcoms and countless other examples, TV is really a leveler of identity, not a diversifier. Its putative queerness is always already the product of nonqueer interests" (p. 120). Here, we find that the media still frames queerness within a heterosexual dialectic. (Personally, I find this interesting due the number of homosexual artists, directors, etc. involved in tv and film production). With this in mind, it seems that the media is not fully ready to explore and accurately represent queerness...yet, as the scholars mentioned, we are making progress toward this ideal.
You can view a list of more media portrayals here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_shows_with_LGBT_characters
Cited Article
Bronski, Michael, Terri Ginsberg, Roy Grundmann, Kara Keeling, Liora Moriel, Yasmin Nair, and Kirsten Moana Thompson. 2006. "QUEER FILM AND MEDIA PEDAGOGY." GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian & Gay Studies 12, no. 1: 117-134. LGBT Life with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed March 14, 2009).
Comments
Post a Comment