Societies outlook as Traiditonal SEXUALITY

The media (1)

• the mass media constantly subject people to heterosexual images through films etc

• This reinforced the identity of hegemonic masculinity which says that ‘real men’ are not homosexuals

• Homosexuality or any other sexuality is often opposite to the social norms and values

• The media often present sexuality through a HETERNORMATIVE LENSE

The media (2) statistics

Underrepresentation may have real effects

• in a Uk survey of LGBT+ respondents 82% said that media representation of the LGBT+ community affected how they were perceived in at least one area of their life

• 53% believed that the effect was negative

The media (3) sociologist

Macintosh 1996

• argues that in western cultures the identity of homosexual male involves certain expectations or cultural characteristics

The workplace (1)

In the book ‘the glass closet’

• Browne documents the challenges he faces in coming out in the workplace and advises businesses to be much more open and includeive in order to get the best out of all their employees.

• However 34% of LGBT+ people in the uk choose to not show their sexuality at work according to research by the institute of engineering and technology

• Suggesting their fear of homophobia and exclusion and being overlooked for promotion

Traditional views in the Uk (1)

The uk has a declining position on ILGA- Europes annual ‘rainbow map’ which ranks European countries on LGBT+ rights

• the decline ranking is attributed to factors like legal and political development affecting transgender rights rather than a decrease in public support for LGBTQ+ community