HOMOSEXUALITY IN AMERICA

Homosexuality in America

Homosexuality in America

Introduction In today's society, the news, advertising and entertainment media has the power to produce and manipulate stories, views and ideas towards an audience via television, newspaper and politics. Homosexuality in recent times is close to unavoidable as it appears more openly and noticeably in our social community. Homosexuals are a minority and as a result, are subjected to being stereotyped and discriminated against. Gay men and women struggle to gain rights such as marriage, children and equality leading to difficulty in gaining social recognition. (White & Perrone 2005, p.57) Different sources of media obtain a power of influence which aid viewer's perceptions of homosexuals and their lifestyles either positively or negatively. This has a social impact on the homosexual communities as the lack of acceptance, knowledge and understanding causes discrimination and violent acts to occur. The media uses tools such as comical or reality television shows to capture the viewer's attention and then has the ability to sway its audience to believe what they see to be gay men and women and how they act. Politicians draw great media attention towards the gay community; however, this attention can veer towards personal gain and not necessarily help out the issue of accepting homosexuality in any way and may depict gays as unethical and not worthy of social rights. The news generally portrays homosexuals as different, in a negative manner or as insignificant victims of the law and society(Adamczyk and Felson, 2006).

Homosexuals Portrayed Through Television

Television shows today have a major influence in the way people perceive and acknowledge homosexuality. Homosexuals in comedic shows are often portrayed in flamboyant, generalised stereotypical manner, however in reality television shows, they are often left to reveal themselves however they feel comfortable. In such television shows as “The Real World” and “Big Brother” where a selection of random people are forced to live together viewers are given the opportunity to really grasp and understand the depth of people's lives. Homosexual men were cast in “The Real World” and similarly, “Big Brother” which portrayed their lifestyle in a realistic manner. The proved positive to the homosexual community as the stereotype of gay men had not been met. As the issue of homosexuality was once considered taboo and is now being televised shows that there is an increasing sense of acceptance and understanding from the public. (Roush, C and Simpson, T 2004), These reality television shows try to provide the audience with an unbiased view of gays as they are placed in a typical environment and are unscripted leaving the gay men and women to act accordingly to their everyday lives. According to research studies conducted by the Department of Psychology, Kansas State University, media that projects homosexuality in a positive light is more likely to “positively influence the social attitudes of its consumer, at least temporarily” (Stephani Edington, 2003)(Adamczyk and Felson, 2008).

Conversely, television shows such as “Will and Grace” and “Little Britain” tend to portray their homosexual characters as more ...