Queer bodies in popular media have frequently become a topic of conversation among audiences and creators. In the recent years, the inclusion of queer people in fictional works has steadily increased . Ranging from Pride Parades to the movie Love, Simon, queer bodies have developed their own stake in politics. However, the growing visibility of queer bodies has created avenues to politicize queer bodies against their own community. However, before going any further with this idea, it is necessary to set parameters for the ‘political’ that will be discussed. For the sake of this argument, politics is defined as: the activity or process by which groups reach and enforce binding decisions . Rather than focusing solely on the activities committed …show more content…
Albeit the idea that a person’s sexuality, romantic, and gender identity should not be a tool to judge, the currently exercised norms established by politic have made it difficult to dismiss an individual’s nonconforming attitude. Considering Foucault’s analyze of disciplined bodies , queerness is an example of “bodily rhetoric”, but it is unlike the “honour” of a soldier. It is bodily rhetoric because queerness functions as a signal of opposition to the predominantly heterosexual and cisgender narrative. Queerness morphs from a person’s identity to a tool that can easily reduce a multifaceted human being to their genitals or sexual …show more content…
He claims docile bodies are entities that can be “subjected, used, transformed and improved” . The presence of queer bodies in media is a direct reflection of a larger overarching treatment in society. Being queer rejects the status quo of heterosexuality and/or cisgender. The repression and ridicule of nonconforming people leads to a structure that permeates a myriad of cultures. As Judith Butler mentions in her book regarding Julia Kristeva, “The ‘subject’ who emerges as a consequence of this repression becomes a bearer or proponent of this repressive law.” Seeing queer people as the ‘subject’ emerging from heterosexual and cisgender politics, it allows better consideration of their stance in society and its
Furthermore, a few of his plays are written about drag queens and others about being gay. Mr. Fierstein grew up in a time when being gay was a very hard lifestyle to be open about. Over the decades the support group lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community or better known as LGBT, has supported the mass movement worldwide. Mr. Fierstein set out to illustrate to the world that it is ok to be yourself and that the LGBT community will not accept any more bigotry. His plays focus on the hardships faced by the oppressed and the tyrants.
Kidd, Dustin. 2014. “Not that There’s Anything Wrong with That: Sexuality Perspectives.” Pp. 129-163 in Pop Culture Freaks: Identity, Mass Media, and Society. Boulder: Westview Press.
In relation to how sexual minorities like lesbians are marginalized by the power elite in society, Judith Butler explains the politicization of sexuality through the performance of sexual identity by constantly rearticulating and re-establishing heterosexuality as the norm. Ironically, the term “heterosexual” cannot claim authority as ...
The Oxford Dictionary gives five different definitions of the meaning of “politics.” One definition is: “activities within an organization that are aimed at improving someone’s status or position and are typically considered to be devious or divisive.” Another definition is: “a particular set of political beliefs or principles.” For a long time, politics has shaped the way that people write and think about life. Politics has been a major influence on literary works, such as Dante’s Inferno, Don Quixote, and Corinne, Or Italy, and in these works you get the chance to understand the political beliefs from the author’s point of view instead of from another character in the novel.
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”.
During this time the works on sexual power and dominance written by Michel Foucault informed the interpretation and analysis of historians on the subject of Two-Spirit sex roles. Foucault, esteemed for writing a comprehensive history of sexuality, informed many of the analysis on this subject following his work’s publication. In his volume the History of Sexuality published in 1972, Michel Foucault discusses the many aspects of sexuality and its use as a form of power. Specifically Foucault was imminent in interpreting the role of dominance and passivity in sex and in homosexual interactions. These discussions informed many of the works that followed, especially the work Long Before Stonewall (Rifkin, 2011).
The news article I studied is from March 12th 2014 and found in the Fashion and Style section of The New York Times. Its title is “In their Own Terms- the growing transgender presence in Pop culture.” This article outlines the culture surrounding transgender and transgender situations in the United States, whilst following the lives and transformations of some known citizens of pop culture.
...it is always or only symptomatic of a self-inflicted homophobia. Indeed, a Foucaultian perspective might argue that the affirmation of “homosexuality” is itself an extension of a homophobic discourse." (320/121) As we can see, Judith Butler believes that resistance to identity is a means of resisting power from the outside. Her revision of Foucault comes about as a means to do this as Foucault's notions of power leave no room for resistance from the outside.
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.
Modernist writings have always been hailed for its nuanced relationship with sexuality. This paper looks at the ways E.M. Forster, one of the modernist writers on the fringes, deals with the discourses of sexuality different in ways different from other high modernists against the backdrop of the socio-cultural milieu which was extremely intolerant to homosexuality through his novel Maurice, written in 1913-14 and published posthumously in 1971. To what extent Forster’s homosexuality and his novel on same sex love negotiate with other homosexual writers and activists of the period? The mere fact that Maurice was published posthumously shows the grim situation of homosexual men and women of the time. Now our job is to closely look at the novel and situate its transgressions and liberation in the larger context of same-sex writings of the early twentieth century.
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 Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model has significantly influenced the development of internet protocol we use today. Created in the 1980’s by the International Standards Organization (ISO), a multinational body dedicated to worldwide agreement on international standards, this reference model has defined the entire network communication process into seven structured layers. In ascending order these layers are the physical, data link, network, transport, session, presentation, and application layers. The purpose of this model was, and still is, to simplify and set a standard for the design of communication and networking products that can communicate with each other, regardless of system differences.
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.
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.
What is politics? Throughout history, people have participated in politics on many different levels. They may have participated through a direct democracy, in which they directly governed, or they may have participated through a representative democracy, in which they participated by electing representatives. As citizens’, people have participated in politics to attain the things they needed or wanted, the valued things. Participation in politics has been the way that people have a voice and change the things that directly affect their lives. Throughout the course of history, politics has been the competition of ideas; they decide who gets what, when, where and how.