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| "Rage Gay Crusader" Photograph: Julie Trinder 2010 |
In this article, Marshall examines the way in which non-heterosexual or queer characters are represented in film and TV and how this has changed over the past two decades. Marshall (2010) identifies and discusses what he describes as the after-queer moment. This title he states highlights a change from the queer moment of the 90’s described by Halberstam and Munoz (2005 in Marshall, 2010), which was characterised by an increase in gay and lesbian characters on TV and an increase in political and educational focus on queer issues. The queer moment lead to an increase in formal queer and queer friendly groups in schools and the community, with an aim to combat homophobia, high teen suicide rates and fears of unsafe sexual practices.
Marshall (2010) describes the after-queer moment as a direct product of this increase in representation of non-heterosexual norms in TV and film, as well as, the development of an identifiable queer youth audience. The after-queer moment is characterised by an environment where youth are able to see a wide range of queer representations in the mainstream media and at the same time discuss these representations with their peers. In particular, the internet has played an important role in allowing young people to come together and critically discuss popular culture. In this research, Marshall examines the way in which youth are interacting and discussing texts in the after-queer moment and how this effects identity development
The last decade has seen an increase in the numbers and visibility of queer characters in the mainstream media of TV and film. In 1997, comedian Ellen DeGeneres’ character came out on the sitcom Ellen causing a ratings high followed by a media backlash which ultimately lead to the shows demise the following year (Chambers, 2009, p. 85). Today, she receives widespread popularity for her talk show, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” which has been running since 2003. Other popular TV shows, such as Glee, True Blood, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Six Feet Under, Weeds, Neighbours, Modern Family, Home and Away, and The Librarians’, are but a few of the many shows which have all had regular queer characters. In addition to this popular films, such as But I’m Cheerleader, Boys Don’t Cry, Brokeback Mountain, All Over Me, Transamerica, and The Runaways have brought a range of queer characters to the big screen.
In addition to these, there have a been two prominent and controversial TV Series’, Queer as Folk ( with both UK and US versions) and The L word, which were unique in that they portrayed communities in which the queer characters were central and the rest of the world revolved about them. Queer as Folk, which reached a fifth series in the US before finishing in 2005, focused on the relationships of the five lead characters as they bar-hopped and bed-hopped their way around town. Although the show dealt with the ‘victim’ trope in some storylines, this was balanced by everyday portrayals of how the characters lived and enjoyed life everyday.
The L word, which I would describe, as a kind of lesbian take on the Queer as Folk series, was criticised for its narrow portrayals of the life of Lesbians. Firstly, the show was highly criticised for developing characters that conformed to all the traditional norms of femininity (Akass and McCabe, 2006, p.4). As Chambers (2009, p. 86) states, “The L Word is a heteronormative show about homosexuals”. Secondly, the show appeared to cash in on explicit, sexual images of lesbians designed to appeal to a male heterosexual audience. As Akass and Mccabe (2006, p.6) state, this is not coincidental, for if the show was to succeed it was going to need to appeal to more than just very feminine, white, rich, career driven lesbians it portrayed. Both Queer as Folk and The L Word were criticised by some as over the top, too sexualised and not representative, but I believe that the mere presence of these two shows has allowed for open debate within the community about what it means to be queer.
We are now seeing a wide range of representations of being non-heterosexual or queer. The combination of this increase in queer characters and the formation of a recognisable queer youth audience has provided youth with both the motivation and the space to critically discuss queer representations in the media. The development of online forums and fansites also adds another element as it allows youth a way to discuss these characters in a critical way with more people and across larger geographic spaces then was possible before. The ability to have these discussions with their peers is assisting youth in constructing identities that, rather than reinforce traditional gay and lesbian stereotypes, highlight the diversity of the cultures, races etc. that they identify with (Driver, 2007, p.3).
Marshall (2010) highlights a number of pedagogical implications that are a result of the after-queer moment. Importantly his research into queer youth cultures has identified the queer youth audience not as passive, but as critical readers of popular texts who are actively discussing and challenging non-heterosexual representations with other queer youth and as result forming a new sense of identity
The research also found that youth are moving away from an essentialist view of sexual identity and developing a more fluid understanding of sexual experiences. Rather than there being one representation of what a gay or lesbian should be, youth are faced with a range of representations, and as a result of this they are able to see how these fit into the world they live in. This also means that their understanding of what it means to be non-heterosexual is becoming much broader.
By Julie
Additional References
Akass, K. and McCabe, J. (Eds.) (2006). Reading the L Word: Outing Contemporary Television. London: I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd
Chambers, S. (2009). The Queer Politics of Television. London: I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd
Driver, S. (2007). Queer girls and popular culture: Reading, Resisting and Creating Media. New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing Inc.
Marshall, D. (2010). Popular culture, the 'victim' trope and queer youth analytics. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 23(1), pp. 65-85. Retrieved September 29th, 2010, from http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1080/09518390903447176
Julie I think this is a really interesting article. There is a change in the number of non heterosexual representations within TV, which serves to place the topic into the mainstream for discussion or debate which is good. Placing such representations in prime time programmes such as Neighbours or Home and Away also provides young people with characters they can relate to. One ideal notion about a soap is that everyone has an opinion and as they are widely watched they sometimes provide a starting point for topics that many teachers would fear discussing in an outright manner. I think teachers who have a good working rapport with their students might tackle issues such as this when they arise in the classroom, but I also think there would be as many teachers who would feel they were not competent or wouldn’t know how to deal with such topics if they arose. I guess this is where modelling and mentoring come into the fore even if we think the young people that we teach aren’t interested in what we think or say I do think they want to be treated as young adults, with respect and in a consistently manner. TV can be a great way to connect, even if it is difficult watching the soaps.
ReplyDeleteRegards Patti
This was a really interesting entry Julie. I must admit that I am a Doctor Who fan, and a big fan of Russell T. Davies work on that show. Russell T. Davies was also the man behind the original Queer as Folk series in the UK.
ReplyDeleteOne particular thing that I always admired about Russell T. Davies in his writing is that he knows how to write characters that an audience will be instantly attracted to. One of those is Captain Jack Harkness. Davies is not one to shy away from presenting gay characters, particularly being a gay man himself, even in mainstream and family productions like Doctor Who. However, he does not go out of the way to push a “gay agenda” as some Doctor Who fans believe. I think he makes his queer characters just ‘be’, without making a point of them. This is what I also think makes them so easily accepted in the mainstream. His character of Captain Jack Harkness http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4_0EILqmm4 , almost even transcends sexuality is and is ”enlightened 51st century guy”. The running joke in the show is that he is attracted to anything. In fact, he is even referred to as “omnisexual” because of that. As David Gauntlett wrote in his book Gender and Identity: An Introduction “...He (Captain Jack) regards the notions of sexual identity as quaint” (2008 p. 90). Gauntlett does go onto comment that “Captain Jack’s attraction to men to men was quite challenging for a BBC ‘family programme’, but the character was popular, even becoming the star of a spin –off series Torchwood” (ibid p. 91).
Davies has also presented incidental characters in Doctor Who who are also gay. For teenagers, who watch a program like Doctor Who, they can see a representation of a strong and popular character where his sexuality is not viewed as unusual. This in relevant for teenagers in identity formation, where they don’t need to feel odd or unusual for their preferred sexual orientation.
REFERENCES:
Gauntlett, D. (2008) Media, Gender and Identity: An Introduction (2nd edition). Routledge Press: United Kingdom.