Homosexuality In The Media

Select a topic that interests you. Introduction. Media has great influence over the way people live their lives. The question is, do media or culture influence sexual orientation?

With the media becoming the main source from which the current society gets their daily information concerning products, news stories, and entertainment, it is wise to think critically about the messages they are conveying to us. These corporations spend large sums of money every day in order to grasp our attention. The question as to whether or not they have their customer’s best interest in mind arises and leaves the public no answer but to look to the advertisements they have produced. Consider the pistachio industry using a woman with a whip to grasp the viewers’ attention. In reality, is a provocative image what it takes to sell us a simple bag of pistachios? With advertising decisions like these come negative consequences such as the

“Gay rights have come a long way, but there’s more to do” by Greg Waters, Sydney Morning Herald (2018), outlines a national journey but also personal journey of the author. Waters highlights how as a nation, Australia has come so far since the 20th century in terms of gay rights, yet there is still more work that needs to be done, to ensure all discrimination stops. Waters uses evidence from 1972 to highlight how inhumanely gay people were treated, including being dismissed from employment for being gay and that protestors against these practices were not looked upon favourably . In 2018 however, a big win for gay rights was the legalisation of gay marriage in 2017. Yet, he argues there is still so far to go, as in 2018,

Sexuality is a fundamental aspect to culture and to individual identity. Sexuality is not static; the norms regarding sexuality changes over time and is relative to culture. In the modern age, the methods and means for media expression have multiplied to new, great heights. The opportunity to consume media is omnipresent in many cultures of the 21st century. The media has affected sexuality over the course of the past two decades specifically. The paper considers the spectrum and quality of affects media has had and continues to have upon sexuality in cultures around the world. Media does affect sexuality, yet the consumers have the power to affect the media; media representation of sexuality and it affects, then are an expression of tension, conflict, or the struggle for balance between the unspoken laws of culture and the influence of the few media companies who own most of the world's media.

The existing studies have indicated the gay male adults are more likely to develop body image dissatisfaction than other male populations due to variety of social and culture elements—particularly in media. Lanzieri and Hildebrand argued that gay media sources had produced the ideal male physique that negatively impact on its audiences. They had conducted a research to study the impact between media imageries and its audience’s perceptional change in body image by utilizing objectification theory. The result suggested that the media imageries were internalized by gay men which negatively affect their body image.

The purpose of this study is to statistically determine if attitudes toward homosexuality have changed or shifted due to the media’s consistent portrayal of it

Is the hypersexualization of childhood truly detrimental to children and society? In the world today, children continue to passionately desire an older look at a younger age. Girls are taught to show skin and pose in sexual manners through the representation of women in media. They are also taught to use their bodies for the pleasure of men. In a similar way, the media shows boys that it is acceptable to utilize the body of a women as an object for his own enjoyment. Due to these frequent overly sexualized images in the media, children are taught from a young age to have a high tolerance for sexual images. In fact, around 80% of young boys access porn. Additionally, many young girls feel comfortable taking pictures of themselves in scanty clothes doing sexual poses due to this tolerance and a desire to stand out in a society where sexual imagery is common (Sext Up Kids). The oversexualization of childhood through sexualized products marketed to youth, the example set by young celebrities trying to transfer into adulthood, and the portrayal of characters in children’s films has negatively impacted the psychological characters of children and all people in society.

Since I as a kid I was very sheltered regarding the media that I was allowed to consume. My parents were very deliberate about not encouraging me to “grow up too quickly” by assisting me in selecting age appropriate clothing, media, and friends. Regardless, I was always aware of my body because of dance. I was classically trained in ballet for 11 years of my life, and from an early age I was aware that my body did not match the prima ballerina—tall, reed thin, flat not curvy. When I started developing breasts I knew that I was in for it, I’m a curvy girl and that isn’t celebrated in the ballet community. When my mother started realizing that I was comprehending and taking in these messages she took me out of ballet when I was in 7th grade.

In the world we live in we are constantly being categorized either by gender or economic class within the many areas. If you chose not to be a male or a female you are categorized as androgynous. “People who identify as pangender or androgynous may consider them as having flexibility and adaptability with a combination of both male and female traits. Gender questioning individuals are uncertain as to where they fall relative to gender” (Crooks & Baur, 2016, p.135). A perfect example is our social security number; this “legal” number is how the government could identify us. Being categorized by gender terms could be difficult depending on the situation, now a day most people are comfortable with the idea what woman are very efficient. However,

Once the humanization of an idea is created people realize that these ideas aren’t as foreign as they seem. The importance of this paper and media influence on the subject shaped many people’s early understanding of the issue. It included both sides of the argument going back and forth leading to a clear divide amongst the media. Some used it (media) to promote their own opinions and political agendas while others used it as visual ornaments to sell magazines. Images of gay individuals were twisted and used to shape political ideology in an upcoming controversial issue at the time.

My research will look at gender and sexual fluidity, analysing its portal in the Irish media. Due to the growing social change over the last two decades, a discourse analysis through time, looking at how sexuality is discussed through time it can be argued that people in Ireland now have the ability to talk more about sexuality and sexual identity.

During this semester, I’ve shaped my understanding of sex and sexuality through readings and discussions presented in class. Moreover, I’ve notice how the media is the major influence on our development as humans nowadays and that things are being expressed and experienced at younger ages, than ever before. Children and teenagers are discovering their sexuality at early ages. Thanks to the freedom that social media offer them; they have better access to express their personal identity rather than to limit themselves to their biological sex and society’s role expectations. Also, I think that the media has been a helpful tool to change society’s narrow point of view over gender roles, gender identity and sex. Today people feel comfortable to talk about their sexual orientation and sex in public. Homosexuality, transgender people and sex are not a taboo anymore and have become more common.

Television is one of most pervasive and influential forms of media. Sadly, there is a lot of sexual context on television. It is in movies, TV shows, and commercials. Sometimes it is subliminal but it can be obvious. I can admit to it myself I was completely ignorant to the sexual content in television shows I watched as a child, like show in Figure 1 now that I am older, I can clearly see the signs. Besides being naturally curious, TV is usual the first exposure to sexual content. Research show that sexual content is being shown early through television and that children 6 to 11 are attached to shows with high sexual content (Teenage Sexuality 39).

Homosexuality refers to sexual behaviors and desires between males or between females. Gay refers to self-identification with such practices and desires, like homosexual, both terms mostly used only for men. Lesbian is its female counterpart. Such definitions have run into major problems, and nowadays the concept “queer” is used to indicate the fluency of sexual practices and gender performances.

Media is an important agent in our society. It shapes ideas and creates movements that cultivate our country. It can do something as little as providing an entertaining element in our lives to something as big as starting a revolution. Throughout history media has played an integral role in the progression in ideas that were considered socially deviant. From war propaganda to abortion, media has provided a method of getting the word out. Media has particularly had an impact on the LGBTQ community. It has allowed the voices of LGBTQs everywhere to be heard and not ignored. The two main forms of media that have had an impact on the LGBTQ community are film and literature. These two forms are broadly used as representation of many issues because of the appeal it has to an audience. However, for the LGBTQ community it provides much more. While both gay literature and film combat the oppression of the LGBTQ community by illuminating their voices in society, Film gives a less ambiguous portrait of the LGBTQ life while literature shows added expression.