Evan Tambini
TA: Kristin Conover
Section: Thurs. 1pm
Representations of LGBTQ Youth in the Media
Though various forms of media have been around for ages, acknowledgment and representation of the LGBTQ community within the media is a modern concept. Although this is a positive step in representing all minority cultures, the portrayals of the LGBTQ culture is not always accurate. Typically, there is a set outline for what is acceptable in the media, such as in TV programs. For example, in the new TV series American Horror Story, a gay couple is depicted as the standard model that one could expect to see on TV. There is a more aggressive, masculine man paired with a flamboyant partner who has a high sense of fashion. Though this is quite entertaining, it is not an accurate depiction of all gay couples, or even most gay couples. This misrepresentation extends to teenage LGBTQ characters. There are two main stereotypes presented for teens: the flamboyant gay male and the hyper-sexualized, confused lesbian. These characters should create nothing but joy for their making it into mainstream culture, but the stigmas that they create do more damage.
A perfect example of the stereotypical flamboyant gay male is the well-known Kurt Hummel from Glee. He is a great friend, fits in socially among the other members of Glee club, is talented and motivated. He is an icon that aided in the movement where “homosexuality shift[s] from being an aberration for which individuals are punished to a condition that inhered in a person and defined one’s nature (“Homosexuality and American Society: An Overview”, John D’Emilio). However, Kurt also whines, is fairly self-absorbed, is delicate and feminine, incredibly sassy, and fashionably forward. Though he is a lovable character, he is not a good representation of gay males as a whole. For heterosexual, homophobic men, Kurt embodies everything that they feel animosity towards, everything they do not understand. For instance, in one episode “Kurt relentlessly pursued his straight classmate Finn, in a dangerous storyline that reinforced to a young audience that gay men are predatory, won't take no for an answer and will do anything to seduce any straight boy in sight” (“The gay one from Glee -- positive role model or dangerous cliche?”, www.guardian.co.uk) Even so, This representation of a gay male might not be such a terrible thing (it is good to expose people to what they are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with), but there are very few representations in the media of gay teenage males that deviate from this formula. To those that have very little knowledge of the queer community and do not interact with gay people on a regular basis, this could lead to negative opinions forming among the ignorant.
Another misrepresentation of Queer youth is the confused lesbian sex-pot. Santana, also from Glee, is a good example of this cliche, but to veer away from one TV show, Tea, from Skins-US, is another great example. Tea is introduced to into the show as the Lesbian, who is stunningly beautiful and independent and popular among the ladies. Despite the fact that all the characters of the show know that she is a lesbian, the men all lust after her. This is not so bad, it happens enough in reality that it is not a lie and it makes for entertaining TV. The problem is when she finds herself sleeping around with these men. Her character of being attractive and desired and also attainable is only created to fulfill the ideal fantasy for boys that watch the show; they make excuses for what they refuse to understand- lesbians do not want to have sex with men. Men cannot imagine a reasonable explanation for why a girl would not want to sleep with them, so they ignore that truth. It is just another example of “men’s control over women’s sexuality” (Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence, Adrienne Rich). This does not help lesbian teens learn to love and respect who they are as individuals, independent from the desires of men. It also does not help teenage boys to learn to respect lesbian teens for their sexual preferences; it lends to the notions that “no” really does not mean “no” and leads to sexual harassment of varying degrees.
Though these are not accurate representations, I understand why they are on TV: they are entertaining to watch. The problem isn’t that these characters exist, it’s that there are not enough other examples of LGBTQ Youth in the media that veer from those standards. The media needs to learn to incorporate more elements and characters from the queer culture and community, to fully represent LGBTQ people and educate society for the well-being of LGBTQ Youth.
References
-Cullen, Jack. "The Gay One from Glee -- a Positive Role Model or Dangerous Cliche?" The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 13 Nov. 03. Web. 22 Feb. 2012.
-D'Emilio, John. "Homosexuality and American Society: An Overview." 1983. Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities in the United States 1940-1970. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1983. Print.
-Rich, Adrienne. "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence." Professions of Desire: Lesbian and Gay Studies in Literature. New York: Modern Language Association, 1995. Print.
I agree with this posts statement that the representation of the LGBTQ community on television is causing a damaging mis-perception of the LGBTQ community in the eyes of people who do not identify as LGBTQ. Television has a big influence on the per-conceived notions that people develop towards others in our world. What is seen on television is often thought to be the real representation of reality. However, that is not the case. People who belong to the LGBTQ community are a minority in this hetero-normative world. Therefore, I agree with this post because as beneficial as it is for non-heterosexual identities to be seen on television, a stigma is being created that is damaging the perceptions of the LGBTQ community. This post mentions how there are two main stereotypes presented for teens: the flamboyant gay male and the hyper-sexualized, confused lesbian (Tambini, 2011). Therefore, although it is great to have people of the LGBTQ community on television, the radical amount of characters that represent the LGBTQ community almost all follow this stereotype. Thus, creating a perception that generalizes all gay people to be flamboyant and all lesbians to be hypersexualized, as this post suggests. Author, Hilda Raz would agree with the message of this post because she also believes that individual differences account more then over generalizations made over groups. In an article titled, “Scars,” she stated, “Our boots mark the new snow side by side, never again in the same tracks (Hilda, 2011). She is symbolizing that differences among united people exist. Although both Hilda and her trans-daughter are standing next to one another in boots, they are both taking different tracks. Consequently, although members of the LGBTQ community are united, they each still take there own journey on the tracks that they embark on. Therefore, I agree with this post that if television continues to follow the stereotype of how they perceive LGBTQ people to be then it is creating a stigma, further damaging the perception heterosexual people.
ReplyDeleteReferences
Tambini, Evan: “Representations of the LGBTQ Youth in the Media;” blogger.com; 2011.
Raz, Hilda. “Scars;” 2011. Feminist 80 Reader; University of California Santa Barbara.
I agree with your notion that media does a poor job in depicting the diversity of the LGBTQ community. In some cases LGBTQ representations in media can accurately illustrate a certain type of LGBTQ person, but the unfortunate part is that this depiction is the only profile that the predominantly heterosexual audience is aware of. This creates problems for the audience because many people in our heteronormative society began to use these images as criteria to identify LGBTQ people. I also believe that the way certain LGBTQ people are represented directly affects the way heterosexual people interact with them. You made a valid point when discussing how the character Tea in the television show, Skins, is a very feminine and desirable girl who identifies as a lesbian, yet she sleeps around with boys, and that gives the male audience the idea that all feminine lesbians are like this. I completely agree with that statement because I believe that this portrayal of sexually attractive lesbians who sleep around with men gives certain young male audience members the misinterpretation that lesbians want to sleep with them, and some young men may even develop a longing for more erotic material. In Adrienne Rich’s (1995) article on “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existance”, Rich discusses different methods in which male power is obtained, and she discusses how men less respect women when they are “used as objects in male transactions” (p.35). I don’t think that television shows like Skins or Glee have this direct affect of implementing a longing for more erotic material to their heterosexual audience members, but I think that television shows like these can influence some audience members in that direction.
ReplyDeleteAdrienne Rich. “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence” from Professions of desire: Lesbian and Gay studies in Literature. Ed. George Haggerty and Bonnie Zimmermann. (1995) New York: Modern Language Association.