Media representations of Sexuality

What does tokenism mean?

Including LGBTQ+ characters to placate the community. The role may be shallow and one-dimensional.

What does symbolic annihilation mean?

Underrepresentation, lack of visibility and limited roles of LGBTQ+ people/characters in the media.

What does media signifier of gayness mean?

This refers to the stereotypical signs of characteristics that the media use to represent gay individuals.

What does the pink economy/pink pound mean?

This refers to the spending power of the LGBT community. The power of the pink economy has now been recognised by advertisers. This affects media representations as companies have actively courted gay and lesbian consumers through gay-positive advertising and marketing campaigns.

What does lipstick lesbianism mean? 

Lesbianism is often portrayed for the male gaze. (e.g porn or entertainment, not real relationships). This is called lipstick lesbianism. An example is music videos where women kiss other women for shock value or to attract male attention (e.g. Katy Perry’s ‘I Kissed a Girl’)- this is not an authentic exploration of sexuality.

What does encoding/decoding mean (Stuart Hall)?

Encoding- Media producers create messages using codes and conventions.These messages are shaped by the producer’s ideology, cultural background, and intended meaning.

Decoding is the process by which audiences interpret the message. Interpretation is influenced by the viewer’s own experiences, culture, and beliefs.

What does retroactive representation mean?

Creators explicitly claim that characters are LGBTQ+, although nothing in the story definitively confirms it. E.g Dumbledore in Harry Potter.

What does Decentring of heterosexuality mean?

Shifting the focus away from heterosexuality as the default, dominant, or ‘normal’ way of understanding relationships, sexuality and identity. 

What does user generated content mean?

Audiences can create their own content-turning it into positive representation.

What does sob stories mean?

A realistic depiction of the struggles that LGBTQ+ people face.

Feminism

The media reproduces patriarchy and controls female and non-normative sexualities. Women’s sexuality’s often objectified. Lesbianism is often portrayed for the male gaze- lipstick lesbianism. Media industries frequently use queer imagery to sell products or gain attention, not to support LGBTQ+ rights or narratives. E.g Music videos/ads that hint at lesbianism without any commitment to queer representation- this is tokenistic representation.

Evaluation of Feminism

The encoding/decoding model reminds us that audiences interpret media in different ways- some may resist or reinterpret media texts. Not all viewers will see “I Kissed a Girl” as exploitative- for some young queer women, it may have sparked questions or feelings they hadn't explored.

Dyer

Dyer is a cultural critic who studies how media represents different groups, especially around sexuality, race and gender. He states that the media constructs stereotypical ‘signs of gayness’ to make visible the invisible. If a character is gay and it is not specified in the programme and it is not obvious, perhaps writers may make the character look or act a certain way to fit the demographic of ‘gayness’ in the media. E.g Eric from Sex Education. 

Criticisms of Dyer 

Representations of different sexualities is positive for different groups in society to become more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community or to understand them through the media. So, representations are important despite stereotypical characters.

Pluralism

They argue that society is made up of many competing groups, and the media reflects this diversity rather than just serving one dominant ideology. Media content reflects public demand, not just top down control. As society becomes more accepting of LGBTQ+ identities, media evolves to reflect those changing values. For example, Heart stopper and Sex Education. 

• Pluralists believe that audience demand shapes media content. As LGBTQ+ communities demand more visibility, the media companies respond to profit motives and give them what they want.

Evaluation of Pluralism

• Overly simplistic- assumes equal access and ignores structural inequality.

• Ignores power-large corporations still control most media and may include LGBTQ+ characters in safe commercialised ways.

Postmodernism

LGBTQ+ cultural individuals can create or consume media that reflects their identities, such as: LGBTQ+ YouTubers (Bretman Rock) and podcasters; LGBTQ+ films, or online platforms like PinkNews.

• Postmodern media often celebrates sexual ambiguity, irony and the blurring of gender and sexual boundaries.

• Gauntlett sees the newer more inclusive representations sit alongside older, more stereotypical and negative ones. He acknowledges this means there are contradictory media representations of sexuality and not all representations are positive.

Postmodernists support the rise of diverse sexual identities in media (LGTBQ+, non-binary). They argue that media today decenters the heterosexual norm, this means that it removes heterosexuality as the norm (the decentring of heterosexuality).

Evaluation of Postmodernism

Sexuality had become commodified- sold as a product through media, advertising, and branding- in order to attract the pink pound. It has been co-opted by capitalism, offering the illusion of diversity without true equality or liberation.

Changes in media representations of sexuality

• Media representations of LGBTQ+ people have become more mainstream, e.g Drag Race.

• Representations in the New Media have become more positive as a result of user generated content. E.g websites offering advice and support; online campaigns e.g. to  legalise same sex marriage.