Wednesday 6 June 2012

My Thoughts on Sexuality and the Media

Preface: I may be doing a few of these from time to time; it's just nice to express my opinions on matters from time to time.

So: sexuality in the media.

Now, I can't speak for anybody but myself, but I feel that sexuality is represented in the media in a generally positive light; but it could always bee shown in a more delicate, and less obvious light.

From what I understand, over the years homosexuals have appeared more and more in the media: whether as a cautionary tale about how we are demonising children, to being the butt of a joke, to the cliché of the (and note that I use this word with a severe sense of hate) fag and his hag, to homosexuality today. We're a lot closer to acceptance today when compared to fifty years ago, but there's still work to be done.

Now I am not a media geek, and I don't know everything about every book, television show, or video game, but it appears that most, I'll admit not all, times that there's a gay character in a given piece of media text; their sexuality is waved about like a giant flag. Take something like Waterloo Road, or Eastenders: both of these shows have gay characters portrayed really well, yes, but they get labelled as "that gay one."

Modern media is so close to achieving total acceptance of gay people, and as such they're so close to opening the doors to a more tolerant public, specifically youth. Take race, for example (yes I realise race and sexuality are two completely separate subjects, but hear me out): nowadays, we can sit down and watch a film, and there could be a black person in it as the lead role. Decades ago, this would have never happened. Nowadays it's a non-issue. Why? Because society has learned that where a person is from doesn't affect their intellectual or physical abilities. Why can't we get the same for sexuality?

Imagine this: you're sat down in a cinema with a bunch of your friends. You've decided to see the latest action film that's come out. The protagonist is your standard action hero: physically fit, cocky attitude, et cetera. Half way though the film he's deep in the building that the terrorists are set to detonate in just under forty minutes. He locates the hostages, and one of them just happens to be his boyfriend. They kiss, our hero frees everybody. The film continues.

Now, I don't know of any film like that (if you do, feel free to let me know) but wouldn't it be great to see a film like that, or play that story as a video game, where homosexuality is treated as such a non-issue?

Perhaps it's me looking too close again, and wondering how the grass could be greener. I do think that the media depicts gay people in a positive light, I just wish we had more leading roles.

If you have any thoughts on the matter, please post a comment.

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