Television's portrayal and its role in perpetuating homophobia

¶ … gay and lesbians are represented on TV, and how homophobia is instilled by the Media (television).

Perception instilled by the TV on Gay and lesbians

Gays and lesbians have over the years viewed negatively by the general public, and some of these perceptions are fueled by the type of media coverage given to this group. Since public awareness of the existence of gay and lesbian community is still low, most of them are subjected to discriminatory practices and are viewed as outcasts. Gays and lesbians are experiencing discriminatory practices from all spheres of life.

Where the real problem lies

Gays and lesbians are a human being just like any other person, and this is not to say that they are different. We grew up with them, played with them but when it comes to relationships, they are now seen as not part of the society. They are projected to have a negative impact on the morals of the younger generation David P. Pierson ( 699)

. Aren't gay and lesbians our sons and daughters, aren't they productive members of the society, and more so, aren't they Gods creation? These are some of the questions the society should be contemplating about before judging some of their members.

TVs are very efficient forms of communication and due to their wide coverage they have a great influence on the masses. The societies nowadays are technology oriented, and they tend to acquire most of their information through such mediums. Humans are better at creating perception. They like associating everything they come across with their way of life; this is to say that, humans are good at using their character as a template for other living creatures' characters. Like in the animal kingdom, sex differentiation has been given a priority in life, through gender identification; roles are assigned according to their various genders. Powers and social positions are also determined and, therefore, from these earlier perceptions, that, there is the gender difference and from it originate the roles and societal values of the different genders Kendall ( 62)

. Then it becomes difficult to explain that different/same genders can be assigned same roles.

Gays and lesbians were once babies in the care of their loving mothers. Just like any other mother, they were taken care of, molded to become responsible citizens but the amazing fact is, no one taught them to become gays or lesbians, it just came about as a developmental change, and so it is hardly their wish that they are gay or lesbians. Since the social structure came to being, man is known to be the second from God. Though the current hierarchical social structure is inclined towards the socioeconomic stratification, nature also has its own way of organizing the society. Man is known to struggle for dominance which will assist him to acquire social, economic and sexual success David P. Pierson ( 708)

. Due to this eroding dominance trait among men in this current society, people are becoming homophobic since they perceive that it might be the reason for erosion of the male dominance state. There are changing patterns in the way a male child perceives relationships. This is seen in situations whereby, when a child fails to get attention from the opposite sex even as the heads to teenage-hood, he starts having the thought that he might be gay since his friends and companion would be only men.

Are all these change in sexuality as a result of evolution or Charles Dawin's theory of adaptation and struggle for the fittest? Humans are being subjected by the pressures originating from all spheres of life. When a child grows, he/she is given a lot of expectation some of which are hardly met. The society looks upon the child so that he/she grows up to become a morally upright person in the society but the moment he fails to achieve the standards set for him/her, then he/she opts for the next best alternative where he/she will be accepted and relieved all the pressures life has to offer David P. Pierson ( 235)

. Without their wish but do to the pressures driven by the society, some of them end up becoming gays and lesbians. Instead of the society realizing its mistakes, it ends up culturing homophobic tendencies among people through messages passed on TV. Because nature is termed as a sacred realm filled with great moral and spiritual power, the society views gaiety and lesbianism as imbalance of nature and, therefore, they are trying to restore the imbalance through instilling of homophobic tendencies among its younger generation.

On average, a human being is likely to spend nine years watching television, this translate to six hours and forty seven minutes per day of TV watching. The TV was created to speak familiar languages, and show exciting images aired by highly paid pundits, talk show hosts, corporate advertisers and gossip fueled entertainment network. The TV through these people, channel ideas into the knowledgeable minds, of those who refuse to read. Propaganda and controversies are aired to the public who end up becoming confused on what is appropriate and what is not appropriate. "The culture of illusion thrives by robbing us of the intellectual and linguistic tools to separate illusion from the truth. It reduces us to the level and dependency of children" Hedges ( 45)

The human mind, therefore, becomes weak at making judgments and those knowledgeable enough to make informed choices fails to, thus making individuals to become new grounds for seeding of ideas. Therefore, the negative perception that gaiety and lesbianism is bad has taken its root into people's mind, to the extent that they have become homophobic. Chris Hedge, (47) show how the TV has influenced the people by adding; "those captive by the cult of celebrity do not examine voting records or compare verbal claims with written and published facts and reports. The reality of their world is whatever the latest cable news show, political leader, advertiser, or loan officer says is reality."

Television also has a great impact to how we live and conduct our day-to-day activities. Most of the events aired in TV portrays to individuals that the only way they can get ahead, is to identify with the rich and the powerful and to live vicariously through them. People are being tempted to live the lifestyle of the people they see on TV. The perception of social class is really having its roots in the people's lives. The society are thirsty of living the lives of the wealthy and the powerful which are being shown on TV, for instance, Paris Hilton, the wealth heir to Hilton Hotel, has made millions of dollars trying to give the fans/viewers both middle and working class a taste of her glamorous life, through the various products she markets such as Swarovski crystal jewelry and Paris Hilton Wall Calendars among many more other products Kendall ( 240)

. This shows how much influence the TV can have on the people, irrespective of whether the idea being driven into the viewer's mind is real, right, wrong or immoral.

With the nowadays ever increasing reality show such 'want to be a Hilton (2005)', 'Joe Millionaire (2003-2004)' 'The Anna Nicole Smith Show' and 'Big Brother (2000-present)', the society is being made to believe that in order for the targeted working class to fit into the upper class world then the working class guy or woman out to have a personal makeover. A survey done on the effect of too much of TV watching on the working class is that, the more they watch the more their desire to shop increases hence making them to live with big debt as they try to live the lives that are not theirs Kendall ( 47)

. All these evidences show the various impacts the TV has on society and thus there is reason to believe that the society is despising, discriminating upon the gays and feeling homophobic just because the TV says so and not going with facts about the matter.

Evidence of TV's influence on the society's homophobic tendencies

Studies done on the content aired on TV shows there have been a gradual change on the characters of most of the programs being aired. Initially before the 1970, there were no gay characters featuring on TV and their absence was still there till the early years of 1990s Wyatt DA ( 82)

after which gay characters started becoming common. In the recent years, the number of shows having recurring or leading gay characters has risen from 16 in the 1997-1998 season to 29 in the 2000-2001 season (Gay and Lesbian Alliance against Defamation, n.d.). The gays featuring these programs have played many varied roles depending on the theme of the program but still, the roles they play have a negative impact on the society's perception to them.

The social cognitive theory Bandura a ( 266)

recognizes that TV are meant to provide viewers with vicarious experiences, which will help, them to model attitudes, beliefs and behavior especially when there are no real life experiences from which to learn from. But in instances where the TV does not provide good moral and role models for the teenagers then it is just to say that the TV programs are the major contributing factor towards homophobic tendencies among the society members. The lack of positive role modeling is also being viewed on the side of lesbians, gays and bisexual youth Kielwasser AP and Wolf MA ( 378)

. Most gays and lesbians in the society are brought up in a straight community with few gays and lesbians role models; thus they are specifically vulnerable to the portrayals of gay people in the mass media (Ryan & Futterman, 124).

The mainstream media has treated the sexual minorities as if they are not part of the human race, as if they do not exist. In addition, it was observed that the gay people of whichever age are rarely portrayed, and mostly the little portrayal they are given is normally negative. Gays and lesbians feel more vulnerable when they are growing up, at almost adolescence they are usually confused about their sexuality because there is no one to help them get through, and they can only rely on the few characters they get to view on TV Battles K. And Morrow-Hilton W ( 92)

. This little or no information about their sexuality that results to them isolating from the rest of the society because the society has only majored on heterosexuals leaving behind the non-heterosexuals hence instilling phobia on the majority (heterosexuals) who are not used to such sexual orientation.

Many programs hardly incorporate any aspect of gaiety in their script, and when they are shown, they are normally brought out in an asexual content. An example is the Matt Fielding in the series Melrose Place, where his sexual orientation was only prominently shown in promotions right before the actual show's premiere and thereafter, hardly featured in the program Wyatt DA ( 102)

. But recently, there are two actors with gay personality were openly features on NBC's popular prime-time series; Will and Jack, will and grace. In this series, there has been strong argument that they are reinforcing stereotypes about homosexuals traits, which include flamboyant, gays being feminine, and promiscuous Battles K. And Morrow-Hilton W ( 95)

Counterargument that television is just entertainment

The degree to which gays are being negatively publicized has nothing to do with entertainment. Even though entertainment is part and parcel of our daily lives, they still bare some great influence on the masses, since people derive some of their attitudes, morals and behavior from such programs because they do not have the opportunity to experience them in real life. Therefore, it is not right to joke about another person's sexuality on the expense of having fun.

Gays and lesbians are human being a just like anybody else, and so they deserve to be treated right. Most of them are even more scared about their sexuality, and they need role models and guidance from an individual who have a positive attitude than those who think of it as entertaining. To gays and lesbians, they gain a lot from watching characters on TV who exhibit the same sexual orientation as them and they do not view them as entertainers, but they view them as role models because those are the only persons they can relate to Ryan C. And Futterman D ( 111)

Television cannot be for entertainment if the gays and lesbians are being given secluded programs dedicated to them and not being factored-in in the regular mainstream airing. For instance, the mainstream broadcaster Channel 4, dedicate the evening to the lesbians through airing of the programs under the name "Dyke TV." Even though this is a good gesture to this sexual minority group, they are still not entertained because this has made them feel as if they have been totally removed from the mainstream society since they are termed different Wyatt DA ( 132)

Repercussions of the negative media exposure of gays and lesbians

The issue of negative publicity of the gay and lesbian societies on TV has created a huge barrier between the majority heterosexuals and the minority homosexuals. With continued negligence of the fact that, gay and lesbians are part of the society, there are high chances of there being a separated society. With this continued negative exposure, this group is likely to be eroded away, and most of them will have to hide in secrecy all their lives Hedges ( 743)

Those young people, especially in the adolescence who are beginning to discover their sexuality may end up becoming disillusioned and suicidal since they will not be able to get a role model who may help them understand their sexual orientation. Since the world has given heterosexuality a priority more than any other sexual orientation, the gays and the lesbians will be faced with pressures from the community who are against their sexuality, thus driving them to drug abuse and other immoral behavior since there is no one to accept and guide them.

Conclusion

Gays and lesbians are human being just like us and they also need to be given their freedom to interact freely as required by the law of nature. Just like a normal person, they need guidance, acceptance and love, which cannot be given to them if there will still be negative publicity of the gay and lesbian communities. The media should start playing a vital role in giving them their lives back. Through positive coverage and involvement of the gays with the heterosexuals, this may foster more understanding and acceptance among them. Therefore change should start with the media since it has a major influence of its viewers.