IS MEDIA HELPING OR HINDERING THE LGBT COMMUNITY?

Katharine Coomer

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Media is the means of communication that reaches or influences people largely. Forms of media include radio, television, newspapers and magazines. The idea of homosexuality as a crime was first propagated in 1869 by the German government. And it was not until 1986 that homosexuality ceased to be recognized as a mental disorder by the American Psychological Association. For over a hundred years, homosexuality has been deemed a lewd act punishable by imprisonment and a disorder that could be cured through mental rehabilitation. Even though both of the ideas have been done away with, the stigma remains and that is why it is still difficult for the LGBT community to gain equal rights.

SIGNIFICANCE
Alfred Kinsey was a pioneer sex researcher and his work has proven key in advancing the acceptance of homosexuality and other sex related topics. Kinsey believed that penalties have been imposed on and against persons who have done nothing to the property or physical bodies of others, but who failed to adhere to the mandated customs (16) In the past, LGBT community members have been severely mistreated and discriminated against. Although a degree of that discrimination prevails today, it is a far more optimistic time for the LGBT community. Great strides have been made towards obtaining more rights for them and the various forms of media have played a significant role in that.

SIGNIFICANCE
The role of the media in the advancement of the LGBT community is significant because of its prevalence in current events. A majority of the exposure that the LGBT community receives in media portals such as the news is related to a controversy such as a gay teen suicide, same-sex marriage debates in a state, or when a member of the LGBT community is victimized. News reports on incidents such as these are common and they are current. Also, the role of media portals in the advancement of the LGBT community is significant because in the age of technology, media is the only way that the LGBT community will be able to advance.

GNOTHI SEAUTON (KNOW THYSELF)

The Internet is a place in which a vast amount of information is offered simply at ones fingertips. LGBT youth have utilized the Internet in forming their sexual identity. LGBT youth also use the Internet as a vessel to view information about the LGBT community as a whole. Social media is a growing sub culture of media. Social media are virtual communities and networks that allow for people to exchange and share information and ideas. LGBT youth were among the earliest users of first generation social media sites. Social media and the Internet is appealing to the LGBT youth because they feel marginalized from public spaces by friends and family members as well as general public discourse (Palmer 13). The Internet offers LGBT youth a place in which they can explore their sexuality without embarrassment. Social media offer LGBT youth the opportunity to gain the sense of community and create a network of those that offer support.

GNOTHI SEAUTON (KNOW THYSELF)

However, the Internet and social media may also expose the LGBT youth to negative influences on self-acceptance such as information on the wrongness of being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender and may also expose them to cyber bullying. Robert R. Dynes, professor at Hunter College and renowned historian and gay activist, also poses the argument that while some eagerly seek a sense of community, some individuals fight the expectation to be part of any such us because the expectations of others in the community is that since you are like us, you should behave in certain ways and the societal definitions used by opportunistic politicians either to advance minorities or to organize against them, help to crystallize identification with a group so that people defined categorically come to see themselves as having a common history and destiny distinct from others (260).

GNOTHI SEAUTON (KNOW THYSELF)

Dynes argument essentially states that the way that the LGBT community is perceived by the public at large can make it difficult for those developing their sexual identities to identify as part of that community because they dont feel that they behave a certain way or dress a certain way. What Dynes also proposes is that the society has manipulated the way that the LGBT community is perceived in order to both unite and tear down the community.

LGBT MEDIA
Television has been manipulating the way that the LGBT community is perceived by the public since the 60s. News portrayed homosexuals as perverts and sexual deviants who committed crimes. And it was not until the late seventies that broadcasting entertainment began portraying positive LGBT images.
Back then, the image of the LGBT community in the news was being manipulated in order to unite people against the community. Television shows attempted to portray the LGBT community positively to unite the community and to promote the support of the LGBT community.

LGBT MEDIA
Marc Stein is a professor of history and a professor of sexuality at York University in Toronto. Stein holds the major news networks accountable for the portrayal of the LGBT community as a minority. He says that the news organizations began framing the LGBT community as a minority seeking equality yet those organizations have yet to give concerns of the LGBT community the same status as the concerns of other minority groups (242).
News organizations will report on incidents involving the LGBT community simply because it is relevant, they do nothing to emphasize the importance of equal rights for the LGBT community or discuss the injustices done against the community.

LGBT MEDIA
Television shows such as Ellen and Will and Grace that are meant to portray a more broad view of the LGBT community present a very narrow view of the LGBT community as a whole. Those shows do not challenge the assumptions and stereotypes that heterosexuals have of the community. And some of the programs attempt to present a broader image of male sexuality but in doing so they fail to reflect the broad characteristics and concerns of the LGBT community as a whole (Stein 242).
Those involved in LGBT media are not attempting to provide information about the issues that the LGBT community face- they are simply catering to the desires of their audience. Homosexuality is entertaining because the difficulties that gays face are not taken seriously. The shows are not attempting to promote gay rights, they simply serve to entertain their heterosexual audience.

LGBT MEDIA
Larry Gross is a specialist in media portrayal of minorities and he helped to found the field for gay and lesbian studies. Gross argues that the current portrayal of the LGBT community is better than nothing at all. He says that our society is dominated by mass media and so if an event is not mentioned in the media then it didnt happen at all (21). He believes that even though the way the LGBT community is portrayed isnt ideal or even accurate at times, at least the community is getting some attention. At least the concerns and struggles of the LGBT community are made known and they arent invisible to the public.

REMAINING QUESTIONS
Through my research, I have noticed that for every stride the LGBT community makes, something sets them back again. I cant help but ask myself: How much more change needs to occur before the LGBT community can enjoy the same rights as heterosexuals? I also sometimes wonder if the LGBT community would be better off if homosexuality would have remained a mental disorder. Those with mental and mood disorders are diagnosed and they can either accept or reject treatment. Yes, it would be traumatic to undergo aversion therapy or behavior modification therapy, but eventually it would be written off as an incurable mental disorder. Those with psychological disorders do not have their individual rights usurped the way that homosexuals do. Their actions are not questioned or publicly scrutinized, they are simply accepted and justified by the disorder. Things may not necessarily be easier for the LGBT community if homosexuality was still considered a mental disorder, but I believe they would not be subject to as much scrutiny.

WORKS CITED
Gross, Larry. Up from Invisibility: Lesbians, Gay Men, and the Media in America. Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press, 2001. Print. Kinsey, Alfred, Wardell Pomeroy, Clyde Martin, and Gebhard Paul. Concepts of Normality and Abnormality in Sexual Behavior. New York: Grune and Stratton, 1949. Print. Palmer, Neal. LGBT Youth Online and in Person: Identity Development, Social Support, and Extracurricular and Civic Participation in a Positive Youth Development Framework. (2013): n. page. Web. 15 Oct. 2013. <etd.library.Vanderbilt.edu> Stein, Marc. Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History in America. New York, NY: Charles Scribners Sons/Thomson/Gale, 2004. Print.