What is queer theory? Queer theory is an idea that is thought to be strange or unique. The word queer came to be used derogatorily against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Although the 21st century seems to be becoming more accepting and understanding of homosexuality certain things involved with it, is still considered taboo. Things such as a same sex couple kissing on a children’s show, let alone a Disney Channel television show. Disney channel was founded in 1983, and from there on they have been known to uphold the stigma that a household consists of a mother, father and a child/children. Disney channel is very known for its conventional family portrayals. Not many if any Disney Channel television shows have at minimum a single parent …show more content…
Imagine all of the Disney Channel viewers and parents surprise on January 26, 2014. When its very popular show Good Luck Charlie displayed its first homosexual couple. In the episode Amy and Bob arrange a play-date with one of Charlie's friends and find out she is the daughter of a lesbian couple. “The Disney Channel has featured a lesbian couple on kid's TV program "Good Luck Charlie," sparking controversy at what is the first same-sex couple to be featured on the family-focused network. Some have criticized the network for the move, saying it was inappropriate to bring such a political and divisive subject onto a children's TV program.” Although homosexuality is a very common part of life many still believe it is inappropriate to be discussed or displayed. The Family focused network received a lot of backlash from their choice, but why. The family displayed nothing but loving and caring behavior but because it was out of the “normal” basis of a family it is considered inappropriate. If that was not enough Disney Channel took it a step forward but in a more subtle
Childless Couples on Television Throughout the evolution of television, there have always been TV shows of childless television couples, such as The Honeymooners or King of Queens. As television has changed throughout the decades, so have television’s childless couples. In the beginning of television series with childless couples, the wife was the one that stayed at home, cleaned, cooked, and did the laundry. The husband was the one that made the money by going to work. Television series always portray women as the weaker characters.
“What’s ruining television today are those big productions – It’s the fairies who are going to ruin show business.” For some, this quote from The Jack Paar Show may seem unsettling. In the midst of a Supreme Court that has recently extended even more rights to a community so harshly oppressed, it is shocking to think that just fifty years ago, thoughts like this represented the majority opinion. The evolution of homosexuality in television has seen tremendous leaps and countless obstacles; yet what has emerged in the wake of it all is a form of media that has drastically impacted discourse surrounding gay men. This analysis aims to discuss the show Glee, as well as the key aspects of homosexuality that are portrayed. It will examine the characters
The Fosters on ABC Family, is a family based—teen drama that has had four successful seasons, and counting. But, it is not just another teen drama, there are quite a few things about this show that are unique and that stand out. One of those things, is the fact that the two main characters of the show Stef and Lena, are a lesbian couple, who are married and raising their children. Stef was married to a man, Mike, had a son with him, and divorced him once she met Lena and fell in love with her. That is one example of a topic that other shows may not necessarily focus on, and in this show especially, the role of gay pride is very prominent.
The definition of what consitutes a “family“ has definatly changed over time. Usually, what constitutes making up a family is relative to a specific culture, but as always, there are exceptions to the rule. Ever since the golden age of television had sprung upon American culture, it has tried to mimic the "ideal" American family through it's programming. Even as early as the 1950's, television producers made
In the latest Disney film, a live action rendition of Beauty and the Beast, there will be a character who is gay. I personally am excited for this, I think that starting to include a diverse range of characters to show to younger children and create new ways of teaching open-mindedness to children when they are young is very important. However, I am just curious and wondering if, given Disney’s track-record, a statement like this is actually true:
In an effort to legitimize all subcategories of sexuality considered deviant of heterosexual normatively, queer theory acknowledges nontraditional sexual identities by rejecting the rigid notion of stabilized sexuality. It shares the ideals of gender theory, applying to sexuality the idea that gender is a performative adherence to capitalist structures that inform society of what it means to be male, female, gay, and straight. An individual’s conformity to sexual or gendered expectations indicates both perpetration and victimization of the systemic oppression laid down by patriarchal foundations in the interest of maintaining power within a small group of people. Seeking to deconstruct the absolute nature of binary opposition, queer theory highlights and celebrates literary examples of gray areas specifically regarding sexual orientation, and questions those which solidify heterosexuality as the “norm”, and anything outside of it as the “other”.
For this engagement essay the article Mean Ladies: Transgenders Villains in Disney Films by Amanda Putnam and the chapter “Someday My Prince Will Come”: Disney, the Heterosexual Imaginary and Animated Films by Carrie L. Cokely will summarized, analyzed, and engaged with using the Queer analytical framework.
Skill, T., Robinson, J., (1994) Four Decades of families on television: A demographic profile 1950-1989, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Vol. 38, Issue 4
Today television shows are widely praised for their portrayal of different characters sexuality. On Modern Family a same-sex couple’s life is shown through their relations with their family and raising a child. There’s also shows aimed at young adults that are receiving attention for their depiction of gay or lesbian characters such as Glee and Pretty Little Liars. Even the Disney Channel has shown a same-sex couple on the show Good Luck Charlie (with some backlash claiming that since Disney is intended for children that they should seek merely to entertain and not to push an agenda). On the contrary to this argument is the idea, that same-sex couples are becoming more and more normal thus they should make it recognizable to children.
When television first appeared back in the 1940's, times were very different. What we would consider completely normal today would have seemed quite taboo just a few decades ago. For example, in 1953, Lucille Ball was not allowed to say the word "pregnant" while she was expecting baby Ricky and it wasn't until the 1960's show Bewitched, that we saw a married couple actually sharing the same bed. Considering how conservative the television networks were back then, it is not hard to deduce that something as controversial as homosexuality would be far from discussed or portrayed at any level. It was only in 1973 that television premiered its first homosexual character. Over the next three decades the emergence of gay and lesbian characters in television has increased and decreased as the times have changed. Due to the resurgence of conservatism that came back in the early 1980's, homosexual topics were again reduced to a minimum. Since that time though, as many people can see, there has been a rise of gay and lesbian characters on television. One might think after a first glance at the previous sentence that there has been progress among gay and lesbian communities to have a fair representation in the media. However, if one looks hard at the circumstances surrounding their portrayal, many people may start to believe that if there has been any progress then it has been quite minimal.
For the purpose of this study, I will critically examine the representation of homosexuality in Hollywood cinema. I will specifically analyse films from the early 90’s to mid 2000’s from ‘Philadelphia’ to ‘Brokeback Mountain’. This dissertation will argue that over the space of 12 years homosexuality has become an acceptable part of cinema. I will look at early Hollywood’s representation of homosexuality depicting how aesthetically so much has changed. The current paper will predominantly focus on the two films ‘Philadelphia’ and ‘Brokeback Mountain’, by critically analysing the aesthetic differences between each film as well as their overall importance to gay culture.
This report is critically analyzing the sexual content in the television shows and how it is affecting teenagers. Statistically the average teenager spends three hours of watching television a day. The typical modern television program contains an enormous quantity of sexual content from harmless kissing to scenes of intercourse. Usually sex is presented as a normal activity without any serious consequences. According to many studies it is a known fact that the stories which the immature teenagers are watching on the television can influence their lives. The media portrayals involving sexuality are contributing to the sexual socialization of young people.
This dissertation explores those questions through the analysis of two mainstream pop culture productions that feature lesbian parents: the television series The Fosters and the major motion production The Kids Are All Right. While consideration of The Kids Are All Right is given to the film in its entirety, analysis of The Fosters is limited to the initial pilot episode. This is to keep the analysis within scope, but also because television pilots are data rich sources from which a series develops (Paisner 2016). They are indicators of where television has been and where it is going and suggestive of the capabilities of creative and production teams (Paisner 2016). I examine how dominant scripts of gender and sexuality, motherhood and family, blood and citizenship shape representations of butch maternal
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.
In sociology, the LGBT community is viewed as a subculture to the dominant world culture. The community is generally accepted by the dominant culture and although the group has some of its own beliefs and rituals/traditions, it still adheres to the fundamental beliefs and cultural expectations of the dominant culture. Before being considered a subculture, homosexual relationships and variations of sexual orientation were classified as devian behaviort. Even before that, someone who experienced homosexual thoughts or tendencies was labeled as mentally ill. The idea of homosexuality being a mental illness appeared in the DSM until 1987. There are still remnants of homophobia today but the consensus (at