Wednesday, September 9, 2009
homosexuality in the media
One of my college friends made a comment that ABC was attempting to up their ratings by incorporating homosexuality. Just this past season (2008-2009) Grey's Anatomy altered the sexual orientation of a main character. Originally, she was married to one of the male interns. However, after her divorce, she began to have a homosexual relationship with another female surgeon. The show Desperate Housewives featured a single episode where the women on wisteria lane shared their encounters with homosexual fantasies or interactions with homosexual co-workers. What was the purpose of these choices by the directors? Was it really to "up ratings" like my college friend claims, or is it a true reflection of the cultural acceptance of homosexual orientation. The media attempts to keep up with our changing society. Is this their interpretation of our culture? Is it because homosexuality is a hot topic to boost ratings or simply a display of more accepted lifestyles? I will leave that for you to decide.
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I'd love to see some of your speculations! ("I'll leave that for you to decide, inDEED!")
ReplyDeleteI'll venture a theory or two. One of the social forces driving change in television representation of marginalized people groups is money. Some might argue that one of the main reasons we're seeing more homosexual characters on television is that advertisers have realized that homosexuals represent a significant consumer group! I saw a stat somewhere that showed that, on average, homosexual households have more disposable income than the average heterosexual household. And if it's true that as many of 10% of Americans are homosexual, there's a lot of money there. Advertisers notice that kind of thing.
As homophobia gradually relaxes in this country (except among the most rabidly homophobic groups, who seem to be intensifying in their anti-gay rhetoric and behavior), advertisers and TV companies are realizing that they'll lose very few viewers by adding homosexual characters to prime time, and the viewers they gain (presumably gay viewers and those sympathetic with the homosexual population) may well spend money on the advertisers' products and services, as an expression of their appreciation for the improved/expanded representation.
As something of a leftist critic, it's hard for me to admit that sometimes the free market really can facilitate progressive change. It's not that simple, but the complexities will have to wait for another occasion.