Erick Marquez Eng 113B Debra Mercado April 30, 2014 Out, Open, and Weird?

One of the biggest issues in todays society is equal rights. Although we conquered equal rights within race, there are still many communities that according to U.S laws dont have the rights they deserve. The LGBTQ (Lesbian Gay Bi Transgender Queer) community is still seen as a second class citizen. This is mostly because many people dont agree with their life style due to being religious, close minded, or pretty much afraid. The people that are against LGBTQ rights are usually against it because they havent been properly educated on the situation. Although we have been aware of the situation, we just started taking action. Television is the biggest form of media in the USA and it is a perfect way to show that the LGBTQ community deserve their rights. Even though Television is trying to incorporate more homosexual characters, they arent doing it the way they should. Many say that ignorance is bliss, but it is just as much ignorant. Many people turn down the LGBTQ community because of how they were raised. If it wasnt religion, it was ignorance that makes them argue against gay rights. When our parents were children, there was very little talk of the homosexual community. When people grow up unaware of other religions, lifestyles, or sexualities, they become afraid of them because they see them as not normal. This kind of ignorance is killing the equality every human deserves.

Although the religions that follow the bible argue that in Leviticus 20:13, it states And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. When they use this argument they forget that it is only an interpretation. An interpretation that goes against with what many of these religions teach, the value of equality. Another argument is when people are uneducated about the situation and say Homosexuality doesnt need to be addressed because it can be fixed. This is an in-effective argument because there has been no proof that homosexuality is genetic or psychological. Along with those, there are some people that dont believe in homosexuality because they believe that this issue barely started. This is false because there is only more awareness and support for because who identify as LGBTQ because in the past people were too afraid to come out. Although it might seem that there is just as much hate towards the LGBTQ community as there was in the past, there is a lot more awareness. Television is one of the biggest media mediums. Since it is so big, many shows now include a person who defines as LGBTQ. Debora Fisher PhD (and others) wrote Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Content on Television: A Quantitative Analysis Across Two Seasons telling us that In recent years, the number of shows with leading or recurring gay characters has varied from 16 in the 1997-1998 season to 29 in the 2000-2001 season (Fisher et al. 169). With this data we begin to see an attempt to make the LGBTQ community known. We see an attempt for awareness and normalcy, intentional or not. Although it helps with people becoming familiar with the community, it doesnt always help. Two steps forward, one step back. As television began to portray non-heterosexual characters, they decided to portray them very differently. Gregory Fouts, PhD and Rebecca Inch,

writers of Homosexuality in TV Situation Comedies: Characters and Verbal Comments tell us that when television depicts a homosexual character, they focus more on his or her sexuality more than they average, normal lives. This creates the feeling that homosexuality is an issue and that it should be fixed (Fouts and Inch 38). This creates a sense of abnormality when what we need is normalcy. This makes it very difficult for children who are questioning their sexuality. When people are becoming aware of themselves and they find out that people think they arent normal, they get scared. If they didnt portray homosexuals the way they are doing now, these questioning children have a model to look up to. The role model will be able to show them, that they are normal. I can only imagine how difficult it is for a young adult to be confused on their sexuality with many people saying that they shouldnt be like that. Many homosexual adolescents do not have homosexual role models in their immediate environment with whom to identify and help them to develop a healthy sexual identity (Fouts and Inch 37). With no help, these teens begin to feel that they arent normal and that they need to be fixed. Having a role model, someone they can identify with, can be all that one person needs to be able to feel normal and sane. Also, so far, television also began to stereotype the LGBTQ community as well. Many of the homosexual characters have been portrayed as flamboyant, feminine, and promiscuous. With all the attempts to make the public aware of the LGBTQ community, not everyone can agree with them. In March 2014 a company called Honey Maid Graham crackers released a commercial titled This Is Wholesome. In the commercial they depict many wholesome families. There was a single father and his son, a punk family, an inter-racial family and the most controversial, a homosexual couple with 2 children. I believe that Honey Maid is helping the cause. When a homosexual person is depicted on a show, the character always seems to revolve

on their sexuality, not on them as a person. Honey Maid made no comment on the homosexual couple. They just showed them, along with other wholesome and healthy families. They are beginning to normalize homosexuality. They are trying to show that there is nothing wrong with them by not making their sexuality a big deal. I believe that is the only reasonable solution to help this problem. People, advocates or not, are unaware of what the LGBTQ community have to go through so they can feel safe and at home again. They are being treated as freaks when there is nothing wrong with them. Depicting any LGBTQ character on television should be done as you would normally depict a heterosexual character, as a normal human being. When creating this normalcy the sense that a homosexual character is weird begins to die down creating a safe and un-stereotypical depiction of the LGBTQ community. I see this problem differently because I have met so many people in my life that are LGBTQ and many are my best friends. The fact that many of them dont get to be happy because they cant get married saddens me because they are being denied a human right. At the end of the day the LGBTQ community is like any other human beings. So why not give them the same rights we have?

Works Cited Fisher, Deborah A., et al. "Gay, Lesbian, And Bisexual Content On Television: A Quantitative Analysis Across Two Seasons." Journal Of Homosexuality 52.3/4 (2007): 167-188. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. Fouts, Gregory, and Rebecca Inch. "Homosexuality In TV Situation Comedies: Characters And Verbal Comments." Journal Of Homosexuality 49.1 (2005): 35-45. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. Joyrich, Lynne. "Queer Television Studies: Currents, Flows, And (Main)Streams." Cinema Journal 53.2 (2014): 133-139. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. Honey Maid: This is wholesome Youtube. Youtube, 10 Mar. 2014, web. 19 April. 2014 Honey Maid Documentary: Dad & Poppa Youtube. Youtube, 10 Mar. 2014, web. 30 April. 2014