There is no doubt the media has a huge effect on the mindsets and beliefs of people exposed to it. From advertisements trying to persuade you of the superiority of their product to kids wanting to be like their favorite fictional characters, the media has an enormous influence on people of all ages. While the magnitude of this influence varies among countries, it is present nonetheless. This makes it a vital component in society’s perception of many controversial issues, including my civic issue focus.
In the United States, a recent major media event that affected homosexuals positively was in the presidential election. On May 9th president Obama announced that he supported gay marriage, bringing a lot of fuel for their fight. This positive coverage in the news media parallels the improving image of gays in fictional television. Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase in lesbian, gay, and bisexual characters in TV shows and they have been portrayed in better light than in past years—LGB characters had previously been extremely stereotyped, often less-liked secondary characters. But now, “The media’s characterization of homosexuals has changed from effeminate males and butch lesbians to self-loathing men and women to admirable and complicated individuals” (Michael Wang, Yout News Network). It has been shows like Modern Family, The L-Word, Will & Grace, even House and Friends that have begun making being gay more ordinary, or even cool. In addition, BBC was asked to put more LGB characters in children’s shows so they grow up with an open mentality. Because while there are many shows that portray homosexuals positively, there are still plenty of others like Family Guy and South Park that could give kids the wrong ideas.
The situation in the UK is similar to the US; however, surveys have shown that many people are still unhappy with the portrayal of LGB on TV. In 2010, 1 in 5 people believed the media was still showcasing the stereotypes of “lipstick lesbians” or “butches” (James Robinson, The Guardian). But, over all, UK shows are more realistically depicting LGB’s than in the past.
A contrasting example that I have witnessed firsthand is in Brazil. Brazilians are some of the friendliest people in the world—always happy, having fun, and being kind. However, the country is very Catholic, and so those sentiments stop when the topic of homosexuality arises. Brazilians are much less accepting of the LGBT community than other nationalities. But like most countries, there are large bubbles of acceptance in the cities. But since Brazil is mostly rural, there are really only safe havens for gays in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. This perception is reflected in the media. While present, they are still portrayed negatively. As a famous Brazilian gay DJ put it, “Every soap opera now has at least one gay character, and they are often in couples. But there is no kissing still. We’re there and visible, but portrayed as politically correct and boring” (Andre Fischer). This is because Brazilian television is still subject to some censorship. There are only male homosexuals, no lesbians, and they are never central characters or even stand out in any way.
However, television is not the only source of media. Over the Internet, everyone has the opportunity to write and so all viewpoints are expressed equally. A Brazilian friend of mine sent me a YouTube video they found hilarious; entitled “Tempos Modernos” (Modern times) it is a short skit of a boy raised by heterosexual parents to be gay reveals he is straight. The parents are aghast as he tears off his scarf and stereotypical gay outfit to reveal hickies and lipstick stains. While we laughed at the jokes and general situation, the message the video was trying to send was clear: Today, being gay is almost as normal as being straight. So not all Brazilians share the same opinion the private media has. This goes to show that although the media plays a huge role in shaping the public’s mind, it does not necessarily represent everyone’s views.
Sources:
The New York Times; “Did the News Media Drive the Gay Marriage Debate?”
Mail Online News; “BBC told to put more gay presenters on children’s TV to ‘familiarise’ youngsters with different sexualities”
Youth News Network; “Contemporary Depictions of Gays in the Media”
The Guardian; “Stonewall study attacks TV Portrayal of Gay People” and “One in Five Unhappy with Portrayal of Homosexuality on TV”
Sage Publications; “The Sexual Other in Brazilian Television”
Out and Around; “Supergay Andre Fischer: Queer Brazil’s Media King”
YouTube video: Tempos Modernos
The media obviously plays a huge role in every civic issue. What I find to be substantial are the issues that are so long lasting that they end up in the popular television shows and sitcoms. A civic issue can be really short lived, and only get into news media. The longer lasting issues can permeate all aspects of media and get into the leisure shows that we watch everyday. I have noticed that homosexual characters are becoming more and more common in television, but I did not really consider that homosexual displays of affection are not really that common. The one thought that comes to mind is the movie “Cloud Atlas.” Overall, the movie was pretty far out there, but it did contain a story of two gay men who were in love, but were fettered by society from ever truly being together. As when any cultural revolution, I think that more and more homosexuality will be displayed in mainstream media. It might take awhile, and some people might never accept it, but it still will gain more of a presence.
It is sad that an entire country would sensor any sort of homosexual behavior from showing on T.V. I don’t think acceptance of homosexuals is nearly as wide as you make it seem. Typically, younger people are much more accepting of homosexuals, as they tend to have a more liberal view on most political issues. But if you talk to an older segment of the population, you will come across a much higher percentage of people that are not accepting of gays. In the United States, Brazil, the UK, and every other place around the world, there are large segments, likely majorities, of the country that do not support gay marriage. Hopefully the media will help with this perception, but I don’t think that simply having gays on TV shows is going to change the minds of most people in the near future.