The media has played major roles in the development of our society and it has been put on a pedestal for its informational benefits. Our media, and when I say media I include television, radio, Internet, print media, books and magazines, serves three roles; signaler role, carrier role, and watch dog role. The media is a culture from above since the information presented comes from the central power of government. The media reflects the actions of the people that we elected into office and their progress towards the injustices performed in society. The media is a powerful tool in order to influence people’s ideas and enhance their spectrums of life. Popular culture, as a big part of the media is the most influential since it targets not only the mass audience but mostly the young generation which is easily persuaded in the process. TV series are attacking Generation X and Y and focusing on the issues relevant to their time and age. In recent years popular culture has been giving more attention to LGBT activism and including homosexual relations as part of the main stream entertainment. By using prime time television, LGBT activists are able to push their agenda forward which would encourage younger activists to revolt against inequalities. The content of the gay movement used into Media news is directly correlated to topics addressed in pop culture.
Interestingly enough, the gay movement tracks back to the 1924 when there was only one gay right organization. It has taken us a long time to become acceptant to the idea of homosexuality. In the process of the LGBT movement over the last five decades public perceptions towards same-sex relationships in the U.S have been reshaped in every sphere of mainstream societyùpublic education, employment, politics, religion and even entertainment. It took numerous riots, peaceful protests, democratic President in office to achieve the mere amount of five states that same sex-marriage is performed and recognized (Massachusetts, Iowa, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Vermont) and a referendum allowing the same-sex partners of federal employees to receive benefits but not full health coverage which President Obama signed this past June. Changes like these were not achieved over night but with perseverance and ambition for equality. The more people saw homosexuality through pop culture the more they accepted and realized its significance. In regards to homosexuality and television media the Journal of Homosexuality stated the following: "Before 1970, almost no gay characters could be found on television, and their relative absence from the screen continued until the 1990s…” So it is no wonder we see more and more programs addressing the issues of same-sex marriage.
A survey conducted by General Social Survey (GSS) asked respondent if they thought sexual relations between members of the same-sex were wrong. “From 1973 through 1990 the number of respondents who answered the most liberal category, “not wrong at all” was small and stayed small. Started in 1990s, however, a liberalizing trend emerged. More and more people started answering that there was nothing wrong with same-sex relations on the GSS during the 1990s and 2000s. In the most recent round of GSS interviews nearly 40% of the respondents stated that there was nothing wrong at all. In fact, among those under age 30, this has become the majority response”
This paper will discuss the significance of homosexuality in popular culture and how it has made LGBT activism acceptable in prime time television in the 21st century portrayed in the cosmopolitan TV series “Sex and the City”.
“Sex and the City” Trivia is one that represents its generation by the timeless never ending struggle of women to find Love in a cosmopolitan city. The show first aired in 1998 and six years later had six successful seasons and millions of fans all around the Globe. The main characters are four single women in their thirties relating to one another about their sexual lives and fantasies, love disappointments and life dramas. The show lessened the taboos surrounding not only sex but issues such as, homosexuality, promiscuity, love and motherhood. These issues are presented in a comedic sitcom to mask their seriousness and present them in a non- threatening way. The television hit show follows the lives of Carrie, a sex columnist; Miranda, a lawyer struggling single motherhood; Samantha, a publicist who is extremely confident with her sexuality; and Charlotte, the good girl looking for Mr. Right who will sweep her off her feet. This show mainly focuses on the heterosexual relationships in a cosmopolitan city but it does include supportive characters to the protagonists who are homosexual, in the form of a friend or a partner.
The main homosexual on the show is Stanford Blatch (Willie Garson) who is Carrie's best friend also known as the “Fifth Lady”. “His character plays a gay talent agent from an aristocratic family with a sense of style paralleled only by Carrie's.” Stanford is the show's most constant gay point of view of sex. He has physical insecurities and inadequacies of someone who does not "have that gay look." The premier of the show’s fifth season featured a homosexual make-out scene in which Stanford is partnered with Broadway dancer Marcus Adente (Sean Palmer) in which they were caught “interacting” in a restroom.
Anthony Marentino (Mario Cantone) is a Sicilian-American wedding planner who becomes close friends with Charlotte. He comes off as arrogant and insensitive, which could be seen in his sassy advice to Charlotte; for example: Upon hearing that she hadn't had sex since her divorce, he exclaims: "If you don't put something 'in there' soon, it'll grow over!". Throughout the show Anthony and Stanford do not get along; a constant competition erupts and exchanging hurtful remarks is routine. However, in the film the two are seen kissing at a New Year's Eve party.
A sensual lesbian artist by the name of Maria Diega Reyes (Sonia Braga) appears in Season 4, Episode 51. Samantha meets her at a solo exhibit during which Maria immediately falls for her, but since Samantha doesn't believe in relationships they try to maintain a friendship. The chemistry proves to be too strong and Samantha is once again the one with stunning news. Maria teaches her about lesbian sex and how to make an emotional connection while making love. But it isn’t long before Samantha shows her true colors; she begins to grow uncomfortable when the relationship talk starts to replace the sexual activity and Maria is equally uncomfortable with Samantha's sexual history. The two separate, after they have sex with a strap-on dildo.
These are some of the more evident examples of homosexual characters in the TV series.
“Sex and the City” is a very influential sitcom which is the product of society’s desires and attitudes. As mentioned in the Barker book, “It is entertainment and a subtle reflection on American cultural life” (205). The audience needs to relate to the characters in order to feel a connection and preserve their interest. A gay movement and as some call it a ‘Homo Revolution’ would not have been possible without Hollywood’s assistance. TV series and media are the reason society warmed up to this controversial issue. We finally have reached the point when we can have a civilized discussion on same-sex marriage. A case study conducted by Horton and Wohl (1956) set forward a theory of para-social interaction: "One of the most striking characteristics of the new mass media— radio, television, and the movies—is that they give the illusion of face-to-face relationship with the performer" (p. 215). Through research with ethnic and minority groups it has been established that intergroup contact can reduce prejudice in the majority group under certain conditions: “Participants must feel of equal status, share common goals, have sustained and nonsuperficial contact, and not be opposed by a salient authority” (Allport, 1954; Williams, 1964). Allport (1954) considers prejudice a result of a hasty generalization made about another group based on incomplete or mistaken information, thus the basic rationale for the Contact Hypothesis is that prejudice can be reduced as one learns more about a particular category of people. If a majority group member learns that the people defined by a particular category are different from them in ways they believe are unpleasant, detrimental, or otherwise negative, then the attitudes they will hold toward such a group constitute prejudice. Positive personal contact that is sustained and non superficial can provide enough information about the minority group that a majority group member may change his or her beliefs, a phenomenon that is typically explained by reference to dissonance theory (Festinger, 1957). Parasocial interaction functions in a manner analogous to interpersonal attraction. The attitudes towards other people “develop an affinity with the persona they watch on television” (Conway & Rubin, 1991, p. 449) the result of such parasocial relationships is that “the more attracted one is to the persona, the more likely a viewer will seek to watch the persona” (Conway & Rubin, 1991, p. 449). In order for parasocial interaction to promote a change in attitude television exposure would have to be repeated or sustained over time, present diverse representatives of a minority group, and viewers must form positive opinions toward televised minority group members. Thus, the Parasocial Contact Hypothesis (PCH) suggests that exposure to positive portrayals of minority group members that produce parasocial interaction will be associated with a decrease in prejudicial attitudes. According to Gross (1994), television is a major influence on the assumptions people have about members of minority groups such as gays, lesbians, and bisexuals because many viewers may have little personal experience with such individuals.
“Sex and the City” was not only a controversial show because of its sex scenes but the address of homosexuality as well. “Sex and the City” was one of the first shows taking a chance and raising such issues. “Will & Grace” surfaced along the same time, but it has homosexual characters having leading roles. The show deals with a homosexual couple going through life in an absolutely normal way.
Both shows have humor in common. Humor is a defense mechanism as Evan Cooper presents in his “Sociological Perspectives” as he calls it “an essential weapon for an outsider groups in dealing with discrimination and prejudice.” Despite the overwhelming heterosexuality of mainstream media representations, portrayals of gay and lesbian individuals on television have become somewhat more common since 1997 when Ellen became the first television show to have a gay leading character. This increase can be seen in the introduction of gay characters on many shows such as Spin City, ER, Dawson's Creek, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Although the presence of gay and lesbian characters may have increased recently on both commercial broadcast and cable networks, it does not address the sexual issues and concerns of homosexuality. When gay and lesbian characters have been included in programs, they have often been portrayed in asexual contexts. “The slight increase in nonheterosexual sexual content from the 2001-2002 season (14.5%) to the 2002-2003 season (17.4%) was significant. This difference was small, however, and the increases in the percentages of shows with same-sex sexual behavior (7.0% in year 1 vs. 7.8% in year 2) and with talk about nonheterosexual sexual issues (11.4% in year 1 and 12.9% in year 2) were not significant when considered separately”.
Genres of pop culture that tended to show homosexual content are comedy and feature film, made-for-TV movies and programs classified as “other” also had relatively high proportions with nonheterosexual sexual content. Among episodes that contained either same-sex sexual behavior or talk about sex related to homosexual, about two-thirds were classified in three genres: Situation comedy, drama, and feature film.
Prime-time shows had significantly higher proportions of shows with sexual behavior and sexual talk related to homosexual. One reason is that there was a greater proportion of reality shows in the afternoon/early evening time Many of these afternoon/early evening reality shows such as Blind Date, Ex-Treme Dating, and Road Rules contained homosexual content. A second reason is that the situation comedy Will and Grace, was broadcast only during prime-time, but it appeared as a syndicated afternoon/early evening show as well as a prime-time series as well.
In terms of the sexual socialization of LGBT youth, an important factor is the overall context—serious versus humorous. In “Sex and the City” gay characters are portrayed as promiscuous, reinforcing stereotypes. Analyses indicates that a substantial portion of the sexual content related to gays, lesbian, and bisexuals occurs in various forms of comedies, which are likely to present such material in a humorous manner and may include stereotypical and negative portrayals, with little serious discussion. “Sex and the City” uses gay characters and comments about gay sexual orientation primarily for comic effect. Stanford’s and Anthony’s characters were used as a comedic relief and not as a main serious subject in an episode but Samantha’s relationship was addressed in three episodes. A double standard of man and man vs. girl and girl. Samantha was portrayed as in being in a serious relationship which is very rare for her character, showing that homosexuality has a positive effect on her on terms established by our society and acceptable norms in society. Interestingly the shocking part of the episode is that she is in a relationship not the fact that he is a lesbian. She is presented in a positive light.
Popular culture has enhanced the gay movement by showing it to a mass audience and creating positive images of homosexuality. “Sex and the City” is a mainstream, prime-time show that is still airing re-runs and by reflecting on controversial issues it has strengthened the sexual minority. Central theme of the show is love, it doesn’t matter if the characters are heterosexual or homosexual, by using love and presenting these characters with different life stories they become real and we can all relate to the feeling of love. It is important that popular culture addresses the issue of homosexuality because it makes us realize that homosexuality is not a lie or a myth but it is real with real people that need their civil liberties and should not be punished for being different.
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