The Showtime series Queer as Folk

Cultural Representations of GLBTQ Peoples and Communities in the Mainstream Media

Attitudes and laws in American society concerning the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual and queer (GLBTQ) communities have changed in substantive ways in recent years, and many observers credit the cultural representations of these communities in the mainstream media as contributing to this progress. Notwithstanding the progress to date, though, some observers suggest that the status of the GLBTQ communities today is still comparable to the status of women and blacks a half century ago and there is clearly a need for greater understanding of these alternative lifestyles communities by the general American public. To this end, this paper provides a review of the literature concerning current GLBTQ issues in American culture followed by a discussion concerning the manner in which interpretation of mainstream media content such as films, television shows, books, plays or events can provide fresh insights into the relationship between American culture and GLBTQ communities. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings concerning the future of GLBTQ communities in America are provided in the conclusion.

GLBTQ Issues in American Culture

There is more information about the GLBTQ communities available today than ever before, and people who subscribe to alternative lifestyles such as members of these alternative lifestyle communities have access to an increasingly wide array of resources that focus on the main issues confronting them in American culture today. In some cases, these resources are generalist in nature while others are more specifically focused on different groups within the GLBTQ communities and the most important issues facing these groups. The editors of afterellen.com, for example, explore issues that are specifically related to lesbian/bi lifestyles, including sex, dating and "coming out" (About 3). Likewise, originally founded as afterelton.com, The Backlot (http://www.newnownext.com/franchise/the-backlot/) also explores gay themes in motion pictures, television, music, books, and news about celebrities.

These trends have been credited with reducing negative perceptions about these alternative lifestyle communities among the general American population in ways that have reduced so-called "gay-bashing" and the incidence of violence against the GLBTQ communities (Swartz). Nevertheless, there are still some compelling and complex issues confronting members of alternative lifestyle communities in American culture today, including most especially the following:

• GLBTQ individuals can still be fired, simply for being who they are;

• GLBTQ individuals are still denied basic public accommodations because of their sexuality or gender identity;

• Sexual orientation and gender identity remain unprotected under the hate crime statutes of more than 20 states;

• Some states still consider consensual sex illegal;

• Sexually active gay men are still banned from donating blood;

• Same-sex parents struggle for the custody rights that heterosexuals are automatically granted;

• GLBTQ individuals are excluded from some major religious denominations;

• GLBTQ individuals are not adequately protected by anti-bullying initiatives;

• Sexual health education often does not include gay and lesbian sex;

• GLBTQ individuals are frequently provided with inadequate health care due to stigma and discrimination; and, • Some GLBTQ are denied visitation with their sick or dying spouses in hospitals (adapted from Clifton 2-3).

As a result, there are growing calls among many educators for including accurate information about the GLBTQ communities in curricular offerings to further educate the American public concerning the issues facing these alternative lifestyle communities in the U.S. today. For instance, Swartz reports that, "Issues relating to [GLBTQ] people should be formally and permanently integrated into existing courses across the curriculum and homophobia and other diversity workshops should be implemented for the entire campus community to sensitize and educate staff, faculty, and administrators" (12). Given the growing impetus of these trends throughout American society, it is important to determine how the presentation of these alternative lifestyles in the mainstream media can be interpreted in order to reveal new insights into the relationship between American culture and GLBTQ communities and these issues are discussed below.

Interpretation of mainstream media to reveal new insights into the relationship between American culture and GLBTQ communities

The seminal research by Vito Russo contained in his text, The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies (1981) makes it clear that depiction of alternative lifestyles in the mainstream media is not a recent phenomenon. For instance, Piontek reports that, "When it comes to analyzing the representation of homosexuality in American films no book has been as been as influential as Vito Russo's The Celluloid Closet" (123). Indeed, Russo's book is contains an exhaustive listing of a century's worth of the manner in which homosexuality was treated in motion pictures, beginning with silent movies such as a short movie featuring Stan Laurel, "The Soilers" (1923), a parody of the 1914 Western, "The Spoilers," which was the first movie to even make a reference to male homosexuality (Piontek). Interestingly, some of the motion pictures analyzed by Russo such as Andy Warhol's "Lonesome Cowboys" (1969) and Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" (1974) have been American classics (Piontek).

These media representations have played an important role in reshaping views about the alternative lifestyle communities among the American public. Until fairly recently, and to some extent today, though, many members of the GLBTQ communities were widely regarded as not only being "different," they were regarded as potential threats. For instance, according to Whitt (2014), "The [GLBTQ] community is in the formative process of constructing a media identity -- one that breaks away from being either a tragic oddity or a predator. This identity will shape future media depictions of the [GLBTQ] community, eventually ensuring visibility and authenticity" (860).

Significant support for this assertion was provided when the Showtime television series, "Queer as Folk" premiered in 2000. According to Kilday, the producers of this hit series were committed to authenticity in the depiction of gay lifestyles and did not shy away from the intimate details. Although targeted at the gay community in general, it is reasonable to suggest that this and other alternative lifestyle programming has been instrumental in sensitizing the American public to the realities of these burgeoning alternative lifestyle communities and the corresponding need to reevaluate longstanding prejudices. The executive vice president of Showtime, Mark Zakarin, pointed out early on that, "We think 'Queer as Folk' can connect to gay audiences the way no other show on TV does" (cited in Kilday at 62). One of the ways that the producers of "Queer as Folk" accomplished this goal was through the use of graphic sexual scenes. The goal of this was to "sign up a lot of new gay subscribers and reinforce the loyalty of viewers previously won over by the gay content of Showtime original productions such as 'More Tales of the City' (1988), 'Common Ground' (2000), and the ongoing series 'Beggars and Choosers'" (cited in Kilday at 62).

The graphic sexual content of "Queer as Folk" and other like paid television programming aside, it is clear that these productions have helped reduce the negative perceptions of alternative lifestyle communities that prevailed throughout much of the 20th century, and the mainstream media is increasingly including GLBTQ content today. For example, in an interview with the cast of "Queer as Folk," the point was made by one actor that this program helped pave the way for the current growing acceptance of alternative lifestyle communities among the American general public. "When Queer as Folk premiered on Showtime in December 2000, we'd never seen anything like it in the United States. Over the past 10 years, however, something changed" (The Queer as Folk Cast Explains Why the Sex Mattered to a Movement 2). Indeed, the fundamental change cited by this cast member relates to the growing acceptance of the GLBTQ communities in American culture and a corresponding decline in strictly prurient fascination among the general American public: "Every TV show seemed to have a gay character, men and teenage boys kissed on network television, and people seemed more interested in engagements and wedding ceremonies than they did about the things that happened in the bedroom. Sure, it was progress, but didn't this pioneering relationship drama make it all possible?" (The Queer as Folk Cast Explains Why the Sex Mattered to a Movement 3).

In response to the "Queer as Folk" and other programming by Showtime, HBO introduced "Looking" in January 2014 which also focuses more on other aspects of gay lifestyles other than strictly sex. For instance, Owen reports that "Lookout" presents a "more realistic, less graphic peek into the lives of three gay friends in San Francisco. 'Queer as Folk' presented a fantasy version of the gay community in Pittsburgh. 'Looking' is more rooted in everyday life not the extraordinary, explosive storylines that were hallmarks of the soapy 'Queer as Folk'" (2). The ability of television programs such as "Looking" to attract and sustain a loyal following among the American general public does suggest, though, that "Queer as Folk" help pave the way for this change in attitudes. As Owen concludes, "Looking' doesn't have to try as hard to satisfy viewers. 'Queer as Folk' was a big leap, a TV series that carried the hopes and expectations of an entire community of viewers who had never seen their lives -- their sexual lives, especially -- depicted believably on TV" (10).