Sexual Identities and the Media

Book excerpt: Sexual Identities and the Media encourages students to examine media as a site of negotiation for how people make sense of their own and others’ sexual identities. Taking a critical/cultural approach, Wendy Hilton-Morrow and Kathleen Battles weave together theory, synthesis of existing research, and original analysis of contemporary media examples in order to explore key areas of debate, including: an historical context for contemporary GLBTQ representations; the advantages and limitations of media visibility, including a discussion of the strengths and limitations of stereotype research and the quest for "positive" representations; the role of consumer culture in constructing GLBTQ identities; strategies of mainstream media resistance by GLBTQ community members, including oppositional/queer reading strategies and the production of media products by and for the GLBTQ community; the complexities of comedy as a popular narrative device in GLBTQ portrayals; the closet as a structuring metaphor in both GLBTQ identities and engagement with media; media representations of GLBTQ bodies as sites of non-normative desires and gender identities. Featuring an enormous range of discussion questions and case studies—from celebrity coming-out narratives, transgender models, and slash fiction writers to Glee and Modern Family—this textbook offers a timely, informative, and demystifying introduction to this vital intersection in contemporary culture.