The
visibility of LGBT characters have come a long way since the beginning of
television. From the first girl on girl kiss on an
episode of Roseanne to Ellen Degeneres “coming out” on her sitcom, this increased visibility on TV has helped liberate
those in the LGBT community. With this
queer theory seeping into media, the companies who own it have struggled to
depict accurate representations of gays and lesbians. Representations of lesbians are often unrealistic
and only depicted for a male heterosexual viewers pleasure. The flamboyant gay male has become the single
norm for gay men in the media. If a man
is shown acting feminine, he is automatically assumed to be gay. He is seen as the comic relief in many TV
shows. However, the “straight acting”
gay men are almost invisible in media and assumed to be heterosexual. Will
and Grace is an example of this. Will and Jack are both homosexuals yet Jack
is the flamboyant comic relief because he acts more feminine. Will, the “straight acting” gay male, could be
assumed to be in a heterosexual relationship with Grace.
Nonetheless, this increased visibility of LGBT character
in the media is helping pave the way for more complex gay and lesbian characters. Shows like the L Word strive to depict
accurate representations of LGBT people.
LOGO is an entire channel dedicated to the LGBT media. With this validation through visibility,
storylines are no longer limited only to sexuality. Rather, LGBT characters can be seen in
everyday life just like heterosexual characters.
Aside from LGBTQ characters, I have also noticed heterosexual characters that exhibit queer traits or traits that defy gender and social scripts. In a recent episode of Parks And Recreation, Ann Perkins is trying to have a child but not in the traditional sense. Rather than creating a child with a romantic partner she chooses from a list of men to be her sperm donor. Throughout this arc she displays confidence that a male figure is not needed in the raising of a child. She eventually chooses a donor, Chris Tragger, and both believe that they do not need to be together romantically to raise a child. Other queer aspects of the episode include Andy and April, a married couple, who ask an intern if he would like to marry them and Leslie Knope who asks Ann, "why cant two straight women marry each other?"I like how this questions the traditions of marriage and family in which orientation matters not but love and mutual goals are the key aspects.
ReplyDeleteI for one am glad to see the rigid barriers being taken down and more and more diverse characters being shown. It is refreshing that the community is seeing more aspects of the human rainbow for lack of better description than the same white heterosexual couple dramas. As someone who is different- pagan rather than mainstream religion, I have the same feelings as LGBTs, I think and cheer when a movie or show has pagan characters that aren't "Halloween-ized".
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