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Media Representations of Sexuality - Coggle Diagram
Media Representations of Sexuality
Batchelor
Some aspects of sexuality are presented positively in the media e.g. discussion of consent and importance of "being ready" for sex, not being pressured
Limitations include:
Contraception being represented as only a female responsibility.
Men often seen as pursuers of sex while women are simply pursued- objects of desire, without desires.
Lack of positive LGBTQ representation
Negative LGBTQ Representation
Gerbner
: media participates in the
symbolic annihilation
of LGBTQ individuals by negatively stereotyping them and rarely portraying them realistically, or not portraying them at all. Lesbianism especially was largely ignored.
Feminists
: Media is controlled by m/c, white, heterosexual males= the view of homosexuality is formed through a heterosexual male gaze. The few times that lesbians are portrayed, it is in a overly sexual manner, to fulfil the media owners sexual fantasies of being with two women.
Batchelor et al (2004):
heterosexuality is the dominant sexuality in UK media, homosexuality has not been integrated.
When it IS represented in the media, it is seen as a source of embarrassment, anxiety and conflict e.g. sexuality kept hidden as a shameful secret, threat of being "outed".
Stonewall (2013)
: LGBTQ individuals are "unseen on screen". In 126 hours of TV only 46 minutes showed homosexuality realistically/ positively, the rest was stereotypical, presenting them as distressed or unhappy about their sexuality, victims of bullying and rejection by their family.
Gill
: homosexuality is represented in a "sanitised way", rarely includes kissing, touching, or sex in order to play it safe with viewers= unequal representation.
Evaluation: Pluralists
There is less representation of LGBTQ individuals in the media because there is not as much demand for it from the audience. The population is largely heterosexual thus the media reflects this by producing content that will appeal to them.
Media aims to generate audiences and maximise profit= reluctant to alienate viewers by producing homosexual content, may lose audiences or support of advertisers, thus losing profit e.g. BBC received 145 complaints after screening a gay kiss on EastEnders before the 9pm watershed. Simply their economic interest to limit this content, not to spread dominant ideology or heterosexuality.
Moral Panics on Sexuality
1980s: Moral panic of HIV
homosexual people demonised in the media, portrayed as sexually promiscuous and spreading disease.
newspapers e.g. Daily Mirror presented them as a threat to Britain with as HIV as "Gay Plague"
1990s: Moral panic of teenage pregnancy
panic that girls were becoming more sexually promiscuous resulting in a rise in teen pregnancy and thus higher reliance on benefits
newspapers vilified teen girls and blamed them for moral decay and high dependency
Shows such as Little Britain satirised the situation and mocked teen mums
Positive LGBTQ Representation
Wilke
: recent programmes such as Queer as Folk, films such as Birdcage have resulted in a shift towards less stereotypical representations of homosexuality. While gay men have been represented in a desexualised, sanitised way in the media, QAF has turned this around by presenting them as more sexual and unashamed.
Gauntlett
: representations are slowly
changing for the better:
more representation recently e.g. Alan Carr and Gok Wan
tolerance of sexual diversity is growing in society and images of diverse sexualities assist with normalising alternative lifestyles
more lesbian/ gay characters in TV dramas/ soaps e.g. Orange is the New Black, Sex Education
Rise in LGBT representation because of the Pink Pound:
This is the spending power of the LGBTQ community. Many are professionals and dependent-free= have more disposable income. They are attracted to advertisers who have gay-positive advertising or shows with gay characters so there will be more creation of these to suit demand.