1.2 Research Focus and Rationale
This research will examine gender and sexual fluidity, analysing its portal in the Irish media. LGBTQ identity has become a topical subject due to the growing social change over the last two decades, and looking at how sexuality is frequently discussed in the media, it can be seen that people in Ireland now have the ability to talk more about sexuality and sexual identity.
Hall argued that the media message does not end with the text but that it follows a process in which audiences interpret what the media is telling them (Hall, 1997). Therefore the media has a significant role in representing non-normative identities. This research is focused on minority identities within the LGBT community, which for the
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There is a need to recognise and explore the role the media plays in informing the general public. In recent times non-normative sexual identities have become more widely represented in the media. Sexual fluidity and gender fluidity are the idea that gender and sexuality are not fixed, binary terms but they can exist on a continuum. Diamond defined sexual fluidity as “situation dependent flexibility in sexual responsiveness”. (Diamond, 2009, 1) Through research found that the last extensive and well-known study on sexual fluidity was the Kinsey Report (Kinsey et al. 1948, 1953; see also Igo 2007). Kinsey looked at sexual fluidity in both men and women and came up with a scale to explain the fluidity of sexuality. When researching a topic such as human sexuality the data can be unreliable. Reports such as Kinsey’s, which use interviews, are not always reliable or accurate representations of the population being studied (Schaefer, 2010, 43). Gender fluidity will be examined based on Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity (Butler, 1990). While this research will focus on media discourse analysis of a particular group, therefore using a qualitative research approach focusing on existing
Kidd expands on society’s sexual perspectives in mass media and illuminates the stress pushed towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender population. He outlines sexuality as one of many influences on the ways we interpret the culture we consume. He supposes that popular culture has five major social roles: generating basic social norms, producing social boundaries, producing rituals that generate social solidarity, generating modernization, and generating social progress. He pays particular attention to Emilie Durkeim and connects his sociological
Draper’s (2010) research regarding gayness to establish differences between models of straight masculinity in the magazine industry was extensive. He began his research by analyzing Details’ issues from September 1990 to September 2008 that had to do with gay men references. He then created a timeline that determined the gay moments that occurred and also analyzed the way editors at Details talked to and about their audience. These were his methods of data collection and he used Butler’s theory, “that gender is performative, socially regulated, and discursively constructed,” and “Carrigan, Connell, and Lee’s assertion that multiple masculinities exist that get contained and reframed by hegemonic masculinity.” (Draper, 2010, p. 360) Along with these methods, he also analyzed editors’ letters in each issue relating to sexual identity and gender and examined interviews the editors gave to the press and newspapers.
Judith Butler’s concept of gender being performative focuses on how it creates a sequence of effect or impression. Human have a consistent way of talking about their gender as if it were something that is simply a fact. People go about their lives following patterns that are interconnected with their male or female appearance. They get very settled in the expected behaviors and common attributes of male or female, without recognizing that gender is a social construction. It is difficult to wrap your head around the idea that gender is always changing and being reproduced because it is conversation that often goes unnoticed. Butler realizes that it will be a struggle to get people to grasp the idea that nobody actually is their gender and that
Masters and Johnson were a pioneering team in the field of human sexuality, both in the domains of research and therapy. William Howell Masters, a gynecologist, was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1915. Virginia Eshelman Johnson, a psychologist, was born in Springfield, Montana in 1925. To fully appreciate their contribution, it is necessary to see their work in historic context. In 1948, Alfred C. Kinsey and his co-workers, responding to a request by female students at Indiana University for more information on human sexual behavior, published the book Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. They followed this five years later with Sexual Behavior in the Human Female. These books began a revolution in social awareness of and public attention given to human sexuality. At the time, public morality severely restricted open discussion of sexuality as a human characteristic, and specific sexual practices, especially sexual behaviors that did not lead to procreation. Kinsey's books, which among other things reported findings on the frequency of various sexual practices including homosexuality, caused a furor. Some people felt that the study of sexual behavior would undermine the family structure and damage American society. It was in this climate - one of incipient efforts to break through the denial of human sexuality and considerable resistance to these efforts - that Masters and Johnson began their work. Their primary contribution has been to help define sexuality as a healthy human trait and the experience of great pleasure and deep intimacy during sex as socially acceptable goals. As a physician interested in the nature of sexuality and the sexual experience, William Masters wanted to conduct research that would lead to an objective understanding of these topics. In 1957, he hired Virgina Johnson as a research assistant to begin this research issue. Together they developed polygraph-like instruments that were designed to measure human sexual response. Using these tools, Masters and Johnson initiated a project that ultimately included direct laboratory observation and measurement of 700 men and women while they were having intercourse or masturbating. Based on the data collected in this study, they co-authored the book Human Sexual Response in 1966. In this book, they identify and describe four phases in the human sexual response cycle : excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution. By this point in time, the generally repressive attitude toward sexuality was beginning to lift and the book found a ready audience.
References to Kurt Freund’s studies to “assess sexual arousal in men and women” and Alfred Kinsey’s “sexual orientation” scale are made to further explain how sexuality and asexuality are not solid concepts with strict definitions of their own but rather more multifarious. For
It was not until Kinsey et al. (1953) developed the Kinsey Scale to measure sexual orientation that the notion of sexual fluidity began to be considered in Western cultures. It consisted of a seven-category continuum based on two indicators: sexual fantasy and sexual experience. Both fantasy and experimental measures were found to have similar result, and many agreed this form of measurement was better than one consisting of only a few discrete variables (Ellis, Burke, & Ames, 1987).
The media is a large part of our everyday lives; everywhere we go we can find a source of media. It influences our thoughts, feelings and behaviours every day as it is a huge influence in today’s society. Society heavily relies on the media to show them what is in the norm and what is going on in the world. The media also serves as another way to display the normative of the society. Sexuality is a big part in the media and what is appropriate sexuality. The media negatively affects the people who do not fit society’s ideal normative. This includes people with a sexuality that is not the normative of heterosexuality. In the media, these people of other sexualities are excluded and made to feel they do not fit into society. My pyramid shows how society classifies people by their sexuality in the media. This involves highlighting the normative sexuality and excluded any other sexuality from the mainstream media.
The 1990s saw surge of gay characters in both television and movies. From Ellen Degeneres and her character Ellen Morgan coming out under much scrutiny on the TV show ‘Ellen,’ to Julia Roberts and Rupert Everett comedically playing off each other in the motion picture ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding.’ Sure, gays and lesbians have been around forever, especially in Hollywood. But never has there been a time to be more out. With the popularity of shows like Will and Grace, which feature leading gay characters, as well as Dawson’s Creek and it’s supporting character of teenager Jack McPhee, we are slowly seeing gay and lesbian characters creeping into the mainstream media.
Sexuality is a fundamental part of our self-discovery, involving much more than just being genetically or anatomically male and female and it is not defined solely by one 's sexual acts (Ministry of Education 1989, p.79 cited in Gourlay, P 1995). The notion that sexuality is fixed and innate disregards the social aspects that impact ones’ sexualities. Gagnon and Simon (1973) further commented that sexuality is a feature of social
From the youngest age I can remember, everything I had seen in the media, altered my perception on gender - what it was, what it meant, and what society saw as fit. Gender has often been confused with having to do with biology, when in fact, gender is a social construct. In today’s society, gender has mixed up the construction of masculinity and femininity. This plays an important role in many individuals lives because they define themselves through gender over other identities such as sexual, ethnic, or social class. Identity is shaped by everyday communications, such as what we see through the media, therefore as society continues to evolve, so does the way we perceive identities and select our own.
An article by Christina N Baker, Images of Women’s Sexuality in Advertisements: A content Analysis of Black And White Oriented Women’s and Men’s Magazine emphasizes on how women’s are portrayed in media such as advertisements and Magazine. The author analyzes how media has a huge impact in our society today; as a result, it has an influence on race and gender role between men and women.
In order to discuss the biology of gender identity and sexual orientation, it is necessary to first examine the differences between multiple definitions that are often mistakenly interchanged: sex, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Sexual orientation is defined by LeVay (2011) as “the trait that predisposes us to experience sexual attraction to people of the same sex as ourselves, to persons of the other sex, or to both sexes” (p. 1). The typical categories of sexual orientation are homosexual, heterosexual and bisexual. Vrangalova and Savin-Williams (2012) found that most people identify as heterosexual, but there are also groups of people that identify as mostly heterosexual and mostly gay within the three traditional categories (p. 89). This is to say that there are not three concrete groups, but sexual orientation is a continuum and one can even fluctuate on it over time. LeVay (2011) also defines gender as “the ...
Gender and sexuality can be comprehended through social science. Social science is “the study of human society and of individual relationships in and to society” (free dictionary, 2009). The study of social science deals with different aspects of society such as politics, economics, and the social aspects of society. Gender identity is closely interlinked with social science as it is based on an identity of an individual in the society. Sexuality is “the condition of being characterized and distinguished by sex” (free dictionary, 2009). There are different gender identities such as male, female, gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual that exists all around the world. There is inequality in gender identities and dominance of a male regardless of which sexuality they fall under. The males are superior over the females and gays superior over the lesbians, however it different depending on the place and circumstances. This paper will look at the gender roles and stereotypes, social policy, and homosexuality from a modern and a traditional society perspective. The three different areas will be compared by the two different societies to understand how much changes has occurred and whether or not anything has really changed. In general a traditional society is more conservative where as a modern society is fundamentally liberal. This is to say that a traditional society lists certain roles depending on the gender and there are stereotypes that are connected with the genders. One must obey the one that is dominant and make decisions. On the other hand, a modern society is lenient, It accepts the individual’s identity and sexuality. There is no inequality and everyone in the society is to be seen as individuals not a part of a family unit...
Fahs, Breanne. "Compulsory Bisexuality?: The Challenges Of Modern Sexual Fluidity." Journal Of Bisexuality 9.3/4 (2009): 431-449. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
middle of paper ... ... Works Cited Adam Sharpiro, Megan Schultz, Christina Roush, Cassandra Schofar, Emily Shilling, Tawnia Simpson, Natalie Sampiller. Portrayal of Homosexuality in Media. 26 March 2014 http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/tcom103fall2004/gp16.pdf>. Huegel, Kelly.