The Reality Of Television : Television, It Really Isn 't That Long

In the early 1990s, the Communication Law Centre and the Media Entertainment and Arts Allegiance aka Actors Equity (MEAAA), with some assistance from the Office of Multicultural Affairs began a campaign to address what they felt was poor record of achievement when it came to the proper portrayal of cultural diversity in popular television drama. This came after research into the representation of non-English speaking people in Australian television drama. At that time, it was estimated that less than 2% of available roles were given to performers of culturally diverse backgrounds and there were no continuing or recurring roles for indigenous performers (May, 2001). Australian TV networks are failing to represent the people who make up the majority of this country’s population; it being one of the most culturally diverse countries on the planet. One of the main excuses given by producers and directors when asked why they don’t cast ethnic/LGBTQIA actors is that there are no actors from those two communities who want the job. That is a lie. If you go to any Performing Arts schools or centres in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth or all of Australia, you will find actors of colour as well as LGBTQIA actors waiting for a chance to be cast in a good role, or any role available. Another excuse that is regularly given out is that they would not know what to do with such characters. They would not know how to properly

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

The 1970s was considered the “Me Decade” because of the increasing amount of individuality that people were beginning to exhibit. Americans started discussing important issues, such as divorce and gender roles but remained silent on the subject of sexuality. One of the reasons was because television in the 20th century hardly mentioned homosexuality. The idea was considered taboo, and many Americans were not comfortable or familiar with this issue, much less talking about it. In recent decades, Americans have made tremendous progress towards the acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in just forty years because of the television programs that have introduced Americans to these types of people. Many of the individuals that belong to either one of these categories have long struggled for equality and respect, just as other minorities have in the past, and continue to do so. Although American culture is more focused on individuality than conformity in today's times, the idea of what is “normal” is still an issue for many people. However, more television programs are bringing awareness to the idea of homosexuality, which makes for the gradual acceptance of it. The increasing amount of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender characters portrayed on television programs in today’s society has helped change the views of many Americans into embracing gay individuals into their lives. People are also more accepting of same-sex relationships or marriages and are

The uprising of gay and lesbian entertainment in shows such as “Will & Grace,” Showtime series “Queer As Folk” and “The L Word,” has overthrown the former cookie cutter husband and wife TV series. Gay and lesbian affairs in the media emerged quickly after the coming out of Ellen Degeneres in her hit sitcom, “Ellen.” The comedian now has her own daytime talk show, achieving mainstream popularity for obvious reasons: she’s funny, down-to-earth, and openly gay. In earlier decades homosexuality was previously limited to a closet of taboos, where no one knew about it, and no one admitted to it. Primetime programming would never house a show in which gay men and lesbian women openly discussed their sex lives and sexual preferences, nor a show that based its entire plotline on gay and lesbian couples.

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,

Since media has a large impact on the way gender identities are constructed, perhaps companies can televise the inclusion of people who do not fit the general social norm. In fact companies are just starting to initiate in this practice. One recent example can be seen in the new Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast, where a cast member is portrayed as an openly gay character or Amazons streaming release of Transparent, about a Transgender Mother. No law states that film cinema must be this inclusive in their productions, yet Disney decided to promote the civil liberties of others through their inclusion and did so successfully. Disney did obtain some criticism from this action however it has also obtained praise from progressive communities. If this were the 1960s Disney would have never considered casting an openly gay character but since todays society and culture are more accepting and open minded this was possible. Disney was influenced by society to move forward on such an uncommon casting decision, which portrays the countervailing forces model. The model suggests there is no dominant entity and

The representation of LGBTQ youth in the media is just sickening and makes many of the youth of America hate themselves, just by the way they’re portrayed. They make it seem like you’re supposed to act a certain way or be a certain way to be accepted. Or they make it seem like certain sexualities and genders do not even exist. The way media portrays everything on this topic is just completely inaccurate. The worst part of it all is the fact that a lot of people, queer or not, believe it and think that it’s a proper and accurate representation. Queer people feel pressured into acting a certain way or else they’re not really queer and straight people feel the need to force these stereotypes on those that are queer.

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.

While watching Love is All You Need, I was alarmed at how most people treat the gay, lesbians, or even just the minorities in society. It shows that these people have to hide their identities in most situations, just so they are not treated like human beings, or face severe consequences (like being disowned or bullied for life). It’s sad that society does this to these poor helpless people that just want to defy the norms.

Now, in the film Further Off the Straight and Narrow, it examines how the LGBT community is portrayed in the TV shows and films, and how they have to be a certain way to be accepted. In addition, gay characters on TV have to be the civil middle class to make it easier to ease into the people watching. It is a taboo thing on TV and I think they put these gay characters in these “better” or high-class status. One example is Modern Family, where the gay couple that is upper middle class and shows no physical affection. I agree that gay characters have to embody middle class like in George Lopez, his supposed father was a marriage gay man and he was polished and lived in a very nice home. Shows have to make gay characters look well put together

There is media already doing this; cartoons like Steven Universe, Adventure Time, and Legend of Korra are all modern shows aimed at kids that feature same-gender couples. For teens, Pretty Little Liars, Glee, and Gossip Girl are among many other shows exploring same-gender relationships; Game of Thrones, Friends, and Empire portray gay and bisexual couples for primarily adult audiences. While not one of these shows is totally free from any problematic aspects in how they portray their non-heterosexual characters, they exist as shows where a story is being told and characters happen not to be straight.

Watching procedural cop shows makes me worry about the stereotypes of the LGBT community. Procedural cop shows are not the only shows, dramas, musicals and comedies. Lesbians are viewed as being victims of sexual abuse, butch, or always wanting to

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).