Today's discussion of "Straight" by Hanne Blank got me thinking about the term "Heteronormativity" and how it applies to us outside of just the class room. As Blank explained, Heteronormativity is a set of lifestyle norms that believe that people fall into distinct and complementary genders with specific roles in life. It explains that heterosexuality is the normal sexual orientation and involves the alignment of biological sex, sexuality, gender identity and gender roles. Because gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered men and women do not fit the mold of our heteronormative society, people create negative stigmas about them creating fear of something foreign and other. These individuals are rarely represented in the media which is a big problem, and sometimes when they are represented, it reinforces stereotypes about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals. I found an article "Gay Characters on TV Double GLADD" (link below) that describes media and representing these people.
"None of the 126 regular characters on CBS shows are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, GLAAD said, and only one recurring character _ Brad on "Rules of Engagement _ is gay."
However..."ABC will have seven characters that are either gay men or bisexual women this fall, NBC will have three and the CW will have one, according to GLAAD."
"The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation said it was a positive sign of networks making their shows more representative, although more work needed to be done. These characters accounted for 2.6 percent of all the regular characters in TV series, up from 1.1 percent last year and 1.3 percent in 2006, according to the study, released Monday"
It is important that the media continue to increase the number of characters represented on television shows/ movies that are not only heterosexual. We need to remove the stigma that has been created due to heteronormativity and I believe the media is a good start.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/23/gay-characters-on-tv-doub_n_128526.html
You site some statistics that a very informative and thought provoking. However, can you post the percentages of gay and lesbians within the general population and whether their numbers on television are representative of this number? If not what do you think would be an acceptable percentage of gay and lesbians on television to reflect the general population?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tara that the media is definitely making progress. I think this all comes back to what Professor Hallberstam talked about in class - to change the system you have to play by the rules first. So though they're changes may seem slow, they are happening.
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