- Elementary
- Arrow
- The Walking Dead
- Once Upon a Time
- Person of Interest
- Sherlock
- Dollhouse
- Touch
- Last Man Standing
- Stargate Universe
- Heroes
- 24
- Firefly
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Good Luck Charlie (le sigh)
(What's most upsetting about the last one is that the show is targeted specifically to families, on a network for kids. Disney has gone to the Dark Side, and, unfortunately, can't be trusted with my children's entertainment anymore. They have also hastened the cancelling of our cable. I was waiting until the summer (after all our other shows end their seasons), but I think I'll just do it now.)
But back to the topic. Now, of those shows, here are the ones that have portrayed a gay or bisexual man, or same-sex male couple in a similarly serious/positive manner.
- *crickets chirping*
This is something I first noticed a long time ago. The rule I've come up with, which might be called the lesbian rule, concerning homosexuality in TV shows, movies, and other media can be stated as such: if the homosexual or bisexual is meant to be taken seriously, she will be a women. If it will be played for laughs, he will be a man.
Typically, the lesbian(s) will be attractive, upper-middle-class types who don't conform to any of the stereotypes about lesbian women, such as being "butch".
Typically, homosexual men will be portrayed as a metrosexual/overly stylish and generally conform to stereotypes about gay men.
I've wondered about this for a while now, and struggled to explain it. I've pondered over whether or not it might be related to pornography (for surely, "hot girl-on-girl action" is used far more frequently in spam than "hot guy-on-guy action"). I suspect it has something to do with objectification, since when they're included in this way, it's always in an attempt to further an agenda; the character and actress are being, in a way, objectified to fit the agenda. I suppose women are easier to visually objectify than men, which would be the connection to porn.
Either way, when TV writers wish to upset the "hetero-normative assumptions of the culture" and make the unpalatable palatable, they always choose to further their agenda by degrading women.
By the way, "hetero-normative" is one of those words that, if you use it, makes me immediately dismiss you as a loon. Sort of like "Zionist conspiracy" and "the spirit of Vatican II."
Iiiiiiiiinteresting.
ReplyDeleteThis applies to video games as well. Bioware champions themselves on their "progressiveness" on the issue, but it took them three Mass Effect games to include male same-sex relationship options, but lesbian romances existed from the first game.
ReplyDeleteLesbians appear to the only ones that matter for the scientific research too. The research showing no effect for same-sex relationships (at the least what's used by the APA) is mostly really bad, and largely because they draw from convenience sample of well-to-do, white, lesbians. It can't really be called science. The sociological (and medical) research is similar to the shows you mentioned, it has rarely made a strong attempt to reflect reality. When it does it typically shows the opposite of popular opinion. I can't say I know a lot of lesbians, so I won't pretend that I know what the trends are with respect to appearance. I do know that the lesbians I know do not reflect the popular image.
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you're interested in some of the research on this topic. It's very interesting.
As for the asymmetric treatment of gays and lesbians, I think the difference.is that TV is rarely interested in portraying reality, and especially so for women. The physical differences you see between gays and lesbians seem to exist in the general portrayal of men and women. When I think of typical married-family sitcoms for which I see advertisements, the men kind of reflect reality (balding, usually fatter) while the women are all thin and supermodel-like. The entertainment industry doesn't like to show real women.
As for the term "hetero-normative", there's a very interesting article in this month's issue of First Things title "Against Heterosexualtiy," written by a future Norbertine. The basic idea is that the term "heterosexuality" is a made up term from the 1850s, and the author argues for why we should abandon it. Not yet sure what I think of the entire article, but very thought provoking.
You mean this article? I thought it was brilliant. It does highlight the issue with defining people based on what they like to do with their genitals.
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