| |
In examining gender representations, it is also important to
consider the ways in which gays and lesbians are represented in
the media. |
It has only been recently that gays and lesbians have even appeared
in films, television programs, and commercials; if they did appear
in the past, they were stigmatized in negative ways as highly effeminate
or deviant. This began to change with the film Philadelphia with
Tom Hanks portraying a gay man fighting AIDS and Ellen DeGeneres on
her prime-time television program. |
The video The
Celluloid Closet documents the ways in which
Hollywood movies shifted in its representations of homosexuality
from helpless or tragic characters to more recent characters in
films such as The Boys in the Band and The Hunger
are portrayed in more complex ways. More recently, programs such
as Will & Grace and Queer As Folk, and films
such as The Birdcage, have resulted in a shift in representations
towards less stereotypical representations (Wilke, 2002):
|
While in recent years gay men have been desexualized in media,
QAF [Queer as Folk] has turned that around. “The thing Dan
and I are most proud of (in the show) is making gay men sexual,”
says Cowen. “I think this is very positive showing people
who aren’t ashamed of their sexuality. It’s the most political
thing we’re doing and the most important thing for straight people
to see.”
Cowen observes that for gay acceptance in media, “We’re
exactly where we were 25 years ago for black people, like with
Sanford & Son, Good Times and Diahann Carroll in Julia (1968-71)
— the first sitcom starring a black woman. She was a saintly
nurse, but maybe we’ve skipped a step with QAF!”
It can be argued that advertising thrives on stereotypes such
as the happy family, annoying in-laws or lazy husbands, but they
are not oppressed minorities. Eventually, blacks and women in
advertising have kept up with the times. Women today show up less
often on the hood of cars as behind the wheels, though they still
regularly toil for household cleaners, and blacks now appear in
ads with such frequency that they represent the “every man”
or woman.
But what of gay men, lesbians, and transgenders?
Advertising remain slow at reflecting social change,
thus homophobia and classic gay stereotypes continue
to be regularly used as a source of comedy. Lesbian
representation is mostly limited to embodying
straight male fantasies — after all, desire
is the inspiration to buying most everything,
not reality. Transgenders continue to be misunderstood
by society and repeatedly appear as sexual tricksters
of straight men or frightening monsters.
|
Another analysis of Will and Grace indicated that the
gay characters are portrayed as operating in realistic social contexts,
while as the same time, they are having to still deal with stereotypical
perceptions that still persist in these contexts.
|
Despite these changes, analysis of primetime television programs
for Fall 2002 by the The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
(GLAAD) found that: |
The Fall 2002 season includes only seven lesbian and gay characters
in primetime — all of whom are white. There
are nobisexual or transgender characters. Last
year, 20 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
(LGBT) characters regularly appeared on network
television.
Visit GLAAD
for a complete list of the lesbian and gay characters
appearing this fall, and a season-to-season comparison.
This fall, only six shows on network television feature lesbian
and gay characters: returning shows “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,”
“ Dawson’s Creek,” “ER,” “NYPD
Blue” and “Will & Grace;” and the new ABC
drama “MDs.” Eleven shows with lesbian and gay characters
from the 2001-2002 season are not returning, including: “
Spin City,” “Felicity,” “Once and Again,”
“The Ellen Show,” and “Dark Angel.” The
only shows to feature a bisexual and a transgender character —
“That 80’s Show” and “The Education of Max Bickford,”
respectively — were also canceled last season.
|
|
From a rhetorical/audience perspective, it is often the case
that audiences’ homophobic attitudes shape their responses
to representations of gays and lesbians. In a study of the reactions
of six television viewers in their 20s to representations of gay
issues on television, these viewers’ reactions varied considerably
due to differences in their attitudes.
|
For further reading on media representations of gays and lesbians,
see The
Columbia Reader on Lesbians
& Gay Men in Media,
Society, and Politics
(Gross, L., &
Woods, J.), Columbia University
Press. |
See also information about gays and lesbians in films:
AOL Search
The Commercial Closet
|
|
| |
|
| | |
|
