Television is a popular form of social representation and a tool many young people use to assist in the formation of their personal identity. As a young person is forming their sense of identity, they will often turn to other people, searching for aspects or characteristics in the person which they may agree with or disagree with, in order to get a better understanding of themselves. It is important for young folks to have access to various types of personalities, lifestyles, etc. in order for This holds true for young members of the LBGTQIA+ members, or queer youth. For queer youth, who do not fit into the social expectation, that people are heterosexual and/or fit into the gender binary, television can play a key part in their formation …show more content…
As stated in Dunn’s article, the Gems use she/ her pronouns, which usually associated with a female identifying individual. The Gems also possess various physical characteristics that are widely accepted to belong to a female body such as breast, wide hips, high pitched voices, etc. Although most might believe that given these traits, the Gems must be female, Dunn and I argue this is not necessarily true. Dunn argues the Gems are agender, I believe this could be true. It could also be they are gender non binary. Evidence of this can be found in episode 9, “Tiger Millionaire,” which aired in January during 2014. In the episode, Steven and one of the Gems, Amethyst, join a secret wrestling group and create a different persona so that they are not discovered by those who oppose their passion for wrestling. Since Amethyst can shape shift, she physically changes herself to better fit her wrestling persona, the Purple Puma. The Purple Puma possess various physical traits that a generally accepted to belong to a male body such as a broad chest, body hair, and a deep voice. Purple Puma even uses he/him pronouns as proven when Steven corrects himself from referring to Purple Puma as she/her. This proves that Amethyst is genderqueer because although …show more content…
Her entire story and representation are not centered around the fact that she is genderqueer as many queer’s character’s stories are. In fact, her gender identity is not directly pointed out or made to seem as if it something that is irregular or weird. For these reasons, Amethyst’s character can be a role model for young people watching the show who may identify as genderqueer or agender. The Gem’s characters can also connect to female identifying audience members. Even though the Gems are genderqueer or agender, their traditionally female characteristics allow these female identifying individuals to feel a sense of connection with the Gems and so the Gems may also serve as a role model for
Gender, by definition, is the state of being male or female typically used with reference to social and cultural differences. Sex, by definition, is either male or female into which humans and many other living things are divided on the basis of their reproductive functions. However, society fails to separate the two. Judith Butler describes in “Phylosophe” that a young man who was murdered because he was dramatically feminine than he was “supposed” to be masculine. In the “Prelude: The Barbershop,” Ashanti Young details of his hardship of being denied from subcultural groups that he wants to identify with. Audre Lorde expresses her tyranny as a black, lesbian woman fighting through criticism and judgement and silence in “The Transformation
Building her credibility throughout, she maintains a front as a God-Loving Chrision and mother. But her outrage and highly opinionated argument is disreputed when she mistakes the expression of feminine traits by a male character as transgenderism. Her integration of specific facts displays her
One thing that we’re often taught from the moment we’re born is the fact that we have to check a box as either male or female. Leslie
Leslie Feinberg’s “Stone Butch Blues,” narrates protagonist, Jess Goldberg, through hirs bodily transformation as a transgender. Jess, born as a woman, went from identifying as a “he/she” to passing as a man, until ultimately identifying as neither male nor female. Jess’s journey as a trans was far from easy, due to the violence, from the police and peers, ze often fell victim to. Moreover, when growing up Jess never felt as if there was a place for hir in society. When Jess was around 16 years old, ze finally begins to search immensely for hirs “type of people.” Through the referral of a co-worker Jess was able to find a bar, Tifka’s, which possibly contained hirs “type of people.” Once inside the bar Jess describes it as “everything [ze]
Media is not only a form of entertainment; it also shows the social perspectives around the world. Through television and other forms of media, people learn social norms and how to interact with others. It can also influence personal perceptions, views and values. Media also has a large influence on how people view and treat others. How media portray events related to homosexuality has a powerful influence on public opinion. Many movies and TV series include gay and lesbian characters such as Modern Family, The Fosters & Pretty Little Liars. The media has encouraged social acceptance of homosexuality. Twitter has given a greater voice to the LGBT community worldwide to promote and support LGBT rights by starting campaigns such as the ‘It Gets Better Project’ which gives individuals to share their coming-out
Gender is a concept constructed entirely by society. We base gender off of what we perceive and what others perceive of us. Until fairly recently, it has been categorized as one of two things: male or female. When we watched the documentary in class, we saw evidence of society 's socialization of young children. Commercials for Nerf Guns, action figures, and cars and trucks were all depicted with young boys as their users. Never did we see a girl playing with GI Joes or with Hot Wheels, only boys played with those. Meanwhile, dolls, baking sets, and make up kits were only advertised to girls, and no boys were shown playing with Barbies or Bratz. Society begins to shape gender notions from a very early age, where people are shown that they are one or the other, either male or female.
Although she self-identifies as a lesbian, Rose has struggled with presenting as both feminine and masculine for her entire life. She recently released a personal, short film about gender-fluidity, a topic the previously was considered taboo. While some saw the video as inspirational, others disagreed. In my time studying English Linguistics, I have learned that gender is performative. Rose has chosen to perform both, which has many people up in arms.
Television has changed to include the LBGT community, but seldom do you see the Gay community with HIV shown on television. This chapter covers a study about Gay undergraduate males and the way it makes sense of HIV and its storyline on television. The study draws from the fictional television series Queer as Folk, one of the highest rated programs on cable television.
Media has always been highly influential in our society; it’s carefully constructed in order to show certain values, beliefs and messages. When viewers are exposed to topics they have little experience or knowledge in, media can especially play a large role in shaping their own opinions. It has been shown that people who know a LGBT+ person in their lives are much more likely to be supportive of same-sex marriage and the community in general. In place of that, viewing characters in film or television can adequately supplement the empathy gained from personal experience. This is exemplified by Wilson Cruz, the actor of Rickie Vasquez, a gay character on the 1994 television series My So-Called Life: “...Vasquez was the first gay person that they knew and because of the light he shed on the issue...I think people took up the cause of LGBT rights...I know for many people the only LGBT people that they know are people that they meet on their television screens or at the movie theater.” Since then, the amount of programming featuring openly gay characters has steadily increased, and with it, people are gaining a better understanding of the issues they face. As the years progress, Canada is being exposed to greater diversity: both on the television screen and within its community.
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).
According to the text, gender is “Psychological sex-type” (Ronald Adler, 2015). I associate with being a female. I consider myself to be feminine. I am one of five grandchildren, and I am the only girl. Growing up, I was the princess, my cousins called me sis, or sissy, short for sister. When my cousins would play ninja’s I would be a ninja princess. I always played what they played, but a female version. I believe women can rule the world, and in girl power. I think part of my belief that girls can do anything comes from my mom being a teacher at the one and only girl school in Dayton, Charity Early Adams Academy for Girls. I grew up in Brownies, and Girl Scouts, both organizations promote female issues. When I was younger, I also belonged also to the American Girl Doll club, where girls would meet and bring their American Girl Dolls for reading, activities, and conversations. My mom always had me in pink with
“Gender” is a social construct that is developed solely by our society and the early developmental stages of an adolescent’s life. By introducing youths to the roles, behaviors, expectations and activities that correspond with males or females we give a clear guideline of what is accepted from a young male or female. An individual however can identify his or her gender based on their own system of beliefs without corresponding to their natural biological sex. Our lives are shaped by our true biological identities but the influence of the world and society is enough to define what a male and what a female truly is to an individual.
The quality of American television has become a national disgrace. Young women in America who are displeased with their appearance more likely then not can trace those feelings directly back to images from the mass media on television. The unrealistic representations of women that the mass media bombards young women with indicates that the television has become a source for a distorted understanding of gender roles among adolescent women. These images warp young women’s views of their own gender identity. The mass media on television should in an attempt to provide more positive gender identities for adolescent women depict women on television in more realistic ways, should stop
For queer theorists, identity has been constructed through performativity, which is based on the opinion of Judith Butler. Butler (1990, p.25) believed that “ there is no gender identity behind the expression of gender; that identity is performatively constituted by the very ‘expressions’ that are said to be its results.” In other words, there is not any factor to produce the identity, but identity creates itself through performativity. One should imitate and repeat the gender expression again and again according to norms, then the identity will be constituted, which also shows that identity is fluid and constructed. Moreover, Jenkins (2000,2004) stated that a dynamic social process generates identity, so identity is not static but fluid and dynamic.
Television doesn’t just affect children, it also affects teenagers and young adults, but more so their self-identity and self-esteem than physical development. Television sends messages to these immature self-identities and shapes them according to popular cultures beliefs and values, modifying healthy and realistic self-identities to unrealistic standards of beauty and popularity. This effect is found more with females than with men; but men are more likely to have their standards modified through music videos than television (Ward 2002).