Media Influence On Lesbian Identity

The representation of the LGBT community in the film industry has long been a topic of much debate. In her article, “It Ain’t Easy Being Bisexual on TV,” Amy Zimmerman addresses this topic with specific interest on bisexual representation. By appealing to the logic of her audience, using an informal tone, and referring to relatable content, Zimmerman constructs an argument which persuades readers of The Daily Beast that the film industry is unfairly and inaccurately representing bisexuals. However, her argument holds little influence over those who are not movie fans or The Daily Beast readers.

As the years have gone by, you can see the change of how gays and lesbians are widely seen in mostly every tv show or movie in today’s society. This is something most of our own parents didn’t even grow up seeing gays throughout the media. Living in today’s time period, you’re able to see how the influence has changed the way people see gays and lesbians. The nation has become more accepting of the gay and lesbian culture verses back in the days of when our parents and even grandparents were our age. Not only was is rare to see homosexuals on television, it was portrayed negatively, and now you can see it portrayed positively.

The inaccurate or lacking representations of LGBTQ people in media results in misconceptions about the community. Media, such as literature, television, and music, particularly those targeted towards middle

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?

Some women seek lesbian relationships because they want to reject this sort of powerless state they may feel in a heterosexual situation. Relationships between men to men and women to women hold several differences, but at the same time they share several similarities. Downing concludes the article by stating that there are both gay men and lesbians that dismiss the homosexuality myth, but it is crucial that they understand that the myth does hold a cultural vision on the power of gender and human selfhood. In order to get past the myth, we must understand to accept its existence.

Media plays an aggressive role in the way we view ourselves. We are always trying to fit in with the norm. We let media choose our sexuality, because if you aren’t heterosexual you are judged. You are judged by every move you make that is against the norm. Your identity should be you, not just something that the media should portray. Films, plays, books,

In the current society that we live in, there are many things that help shape our perception of sexual identity. In the discussion with the class, there was a consensus that family, media, religion were the major influencers on how we develop our sexual identities and how we view other’s sexual identity. From childhood, most of us are shaped by the view of our parents and often follow the same principles and views at them. Though many people usually divert from this thought process, it still serves as a foundation for our future views and principles, whether we agree with our parents or not. Going through our individual groups discussions, many people in my group felt that a large part of their perception about the LGBT community came from the media and how the community was portrayed in the media. We discussed that in our childhoods we were often presented with gay characters that were often very flamboyant, feminine

Growing up as a Catholic, Puerto Rican gay boy in the 90s and early 2000s, I struggled to discover my queer identity as well as queer representation in the media I consumed. Being gay was something that was never discussed. If it was brought up, it was usually in hushed tones (I remember being introduced to my uncle 's close 'friend ' each holiday) or as something negative (I still remember the sting of being called a faggot in elementary school). This reflected exactly how homosexuality was portrayed in media at the time. Queer characters and homosexuality were at best portrayed in codified, 'blink-and-you 'll-miss it ' labels and affectations, or at worst, something to laugh at, pity or even hate. As someone who still regularly watches reads comics, watches Saturday morning cartoons and plays video games, it is so exciting to discover the lengths of progress that has been made in queer representation in all ages media. In this paper I hope to detail the highs and lows of LGBTQ representation in all ages media and highlight the impact of media representation.

Although, we have improved in our acceptance many still target such individuals who sexual orientation differs. It is alarming when looking at the advertisements and media in today’s society and how they depict women and gay individuals. Women for instance are often depicted in the media as objects of men’s desires and treated as so on television broadcasts. Gay individuals are depicted in a comical way which is degrading. Another alarming factor that went unmentioned in the documentary is the age of many girls in the advertisements.

While many believe that homosexuality has only been seen in mainstream media for only a few decades, it has actually been with America cinema since the early 1920’s. The portrayal of homosexuality in film and TV has come a very long way since the 1920’s. What viewers see on TV about homosexuality is really just a representation of America’s changing public view on the subject. While we have come to accept the topic of homosexuality in American society more willingly, we have substituted much of our prejudice about gays with the stereotypes that we see on TV constantly. Because as a society we are constantly forced to see these stereotypes, we are being halted in our progression to accept all different kinds of lifestyles.

For example, some people believe that lesbians are not a real sex experience because there is no phallus involved. This translates to the idea that there needs to be a man and a woman, or aka, the dominant and the submissive. Therefore, women cannot emulate masculinity- only a man can assume that role. Not even butch lesbian women could mirror that aspect, and if a woman were to claim that feature then they were pretending to be man. Therefore, a stigma gets attached to lesbian relationships, and renders the butch as a less desirable being. While in the 19th century Butch-Femme was a more prominent trend in lesbian relationships, it does not translate to today’s times (Smith and Stillman). In itself, this occurrence may be a revolt, and may be one of the main contributions to the lightening of homosexual views as ‘revolting’. On the one hand, common lesbians are stereotypically viewed as obese, short haired, and ‘ugly’ women. On the other hand, with the rise of online dating apps, especially for the homosexuals, more attractive women are gradually coming out to shed the image of the stereotypical lesbian. Consequently, lesbian women are demeaned as only something physically appealing to look at by others, as observed by the considerable porn websites like Pornhub categorizing lesbian porn under a ‘straight’ category. Likewise, while female body issues are in general more prominent in the media than men, males are experiencing increasing pressures to attain a certain

The increasing prevalence of LGBT representations in film and television has had positive contributions in challenging the dominance of heteronormativity. Representations through LGBT characters in film and television increases awareness of the LGBT community. These representations may challenge people’s perceptions of things such as masculinity and femininity or homosexuality and heterosexuality. However, not all representations are positive, as they often distort characters into dangerous stereotypes and misrepresent the community entirely. This misrepresentation holds true with bisexual characters.

Similarly, as steady with social perspectives of sexual orientation are delineations of ladies as sex objects who are normally youthful, thin delightful, aloof, subordinate, and frequently clumsy and moronic. Female characters dedicate their essential energies to enhancing their appearances and dealing with homes and individuals. Since media infest our lives, the ways they distort sexes may contort how we see ourselves and what we see as ordinary and attractive for men and

Media and its representation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual (LGBT) themes has been prevalent throughout time. According to the collections of studies and stories by Meem, Mitchell and Jonathan (2010) concerning LGBT individuals, it is important to represent such themes because it is able to enlighten people on how our society as a whole, has become dynamic. The Media can be seen as a “central source” where negative perceptions can be created. As a result, stereotypes can be either created or perpetuated about this group, negative or otherwise. Media as a medium, therefore, is an extremely powerful tool in our society, and can be used to change or create people 's perceptions about this particular segment of our world (LGBT).

Sexuality is an issue that has been widely discussed and has often been misunderstood by society. It has often been a misconception by members of the heterosexual community that all lesbians want to be men. Through applying common sense, it can be understood why people may think gay women want to be men when looking in on the lesbian community, some lesbians prefer to express themselves and their sexuality through the way they dress and act; their short hair, masculine clothing, wearing no make-up and their macho