QUEER REPRESENTATION IN MEDIA

A post by: Danae Ali for Caribbean Feminist

Queer Representation in media, be it television shows, books, movies, or even in the music industry, has significantly increased in recent years due to the progressive normalisation and acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals, but still has a very long way to go.

Still, in 2018, Queer Erasure in the media is an issue. You would think that with the recent headway made by the LGBTQ+Community, this would become less of a problem. However, there are numerous issues pertaining to the representation of Queer individuals in the media which are still very prominent and frequent such as Queer Erasure as well as Stereotyping. In this article, I will be talking on the issue of Queer Erasure.

Firstly, we must understand why accurate, positive representation is necessary.

Everybody is different, we all know that of course, as one of the earliest lessons we learn as a developing child. However, there are certain characteristics, such as race, religion, sexuality, gender and physical/mental ability, to name a few, which segregate us even further. In today’s world, ideals of intolerance, discrimination and hatred are so interwoven in the fabric of our society that due to these differences, such marginalised groups are discriminated against and denied opportunities and basic human rights. This is largely attributed to human history and many people being determined to carry over these antiquated mannerisms into modern society.

Due to this, we the LGBTQ+ Community, have been struggling to have our voices heard over those that divide us. A vital role in this, is representation. Representation can positively impact the viewers in many ways. It can present LGBTQ+ individuals as they are, as people, in order to spread awareness in the hope that people may change their minds.

Casually showing LGBTQ+ people just existing, living a normal life just as anyone else around them, can help acquaint people with the idea of them existing and being prevalent in their day-to-day lives. This is important because, while most of the population accept the existence of the Community, they still view it as something that should be censored, as if it’s something to be embarrassed about. I’m sure you’ve heard at least one person say, “I’m fine with gay people, as long as they don’t publicly show it.” Don’t you see how wrong that is? To treat someone being themselves as if it’s disgusting, or inappropriate? That presents their sexuality/gender identity to them, and the world, as something that should be hidden, as if it’s shameful.

This is incredibly damaging because to a young, queer person, it teaches them that something is ‘wrong with them’ and that it’s something to be embarrassed about. It also perpetuates the idea that that same something is ‘unnatural’ or ‘inappropriate’ for the public eye. It promotes the further alienation of Queer people from the rest of society. Therefore, representation, although it may not seem to be, is one of the most important tools which can be utilised to help destroy the segregation and negative image of Community constantly perpetuated by those in power.

Media consumption in our society is the highest it has ever been due to Globalisation and the Internet as well as the fact that devices such as laptops, tablets and phones are now commonplace within the average household. This widespread channel of potential distribution must be utilised to its full potential. On-screen representation is one of the best ways to obtain information about the world, therefore it is crucial that this information is not used to the detriment of marginalised groups.

Moving on to Queer Erasure. In today’s progressive society, there is much more representation that we could have ever hoped to get 20 years ago. Nevertheless, there is much room for improvement.

For one thing, representation doesn’t mean the token white gay that the show’s executives including for the sake of having a gay character. Who, majority of the time, plays into a stereotype such as the ‘gay best friend’. Now, there is obviously nothing wrong with having a best friend who is gay, but your only reason for becoming their friend shouldn’t be because they’re gay. In that case, it’s usually fetishizing which stems from the presentation of gay men in this way by mainstream media, as a gross generalisation, rather than a diverse group of people each with his own personality.

It also doesn’t mean the lesbian couple included for the pleasure of men. In that case, it’s once again fetishization, because to present lesbians, or queer women in general, as a source of pleasure for men rather than as their own person, is extremely toxic and dehumanising. It spreads the message that they exist for the pleasure of men, not as their own person. And that, furthermore, they must be of some use to men to be accepted, due largely in part to misogynistic ideals which survived to today. It also makes men feel entitled to their attention, which dehumanises them further.

True representation means having queer women who don’t all exist for men’s pleasure, masculine/feminine gay men, queer POC, bisexuals, pansexuals, polysexuals. Include gender non-conforming individuals. Have trans, genderfluid, and non-binary representation. Normalise everybody within the Community, represent everybody within the Community. Give young queer individuals people to look up to. Let them know that there’s nothing wrong with them.

A fairly recent example of Queer Erasure is the Bohemian Rhapsody movie, in which, Freddie Mercury will not be portrayed as bisexual. You can’t crop out a piece of his identity because you don’t like it. That’s extremely disrespectful and, as I have mentioned too many times before, presents his bisexuality as a negative aspect of his life. If you are going to do a movie about his life, include all of his life because if he had no issue with his sexuality, why should you now choose to exclude this part of his life.

As a result of constant Bisexual Erasure, many of today’s world doesn’t acknowledge the existence of Bisexual people and consistently invalidate them. However, at least there is some representation, for many other identities. For people who identify as pansexual, asexual, polysexual and non-binary, to name a few, there is almost no representation at all. Whenever I come out as pansexual, I almost always have to explain it. To this day, there are only two instances of pansexual representation I have come across.

Another instance of Queer Erasure is in the Marvel films. Do you know that in the comics, Loki is explicitly queer, and Valkyrie is bisexual? Odds are, you didn’t, because these facts were omitted from the movies. And for what purpose? Because it was too ‘explicit’? Someone’s sexuality should never be treated as explicit.

There is also the issue of negative representation. One very prominent example being the TV show ‘Friends’. In the show, jokes are frequently made at the expense of Susan and Carol’s relationship. Implying that there is something odd about them being lesbians, and often saying how Ben must be confused being raised by them.

Another instance is of Chandler’s ‘father’. Now I say ‘father’ because she is a trans woman whom the group constantly refers to as ‘he/him’, or laugh about her gender identity, which is blatantly transphobic and downright rude. This can lead to the audience believing that it’s okay to do the same to a transgender individual they know because it’s what they’ve seen and viewed as normal and acceptable.

However, there are sometimes where there are amazing examples of queer such as in Orange is the New Black, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Fosters and How to Get Away with Murder.

I see no reason for the erasure of Queer individuals from mainstream media as I , as a member of the LGBTQ+ Community, see nothing wrong with my identity and am the farthest thing possible from embarrassed about it, so I sincerely hope that there will not be as many instances occurring from here going forward as we move towards an even better tomorrow in which we can thrive.