We're here, we're a queer, and we're plot devices!

 When were talking about Ellen and being gay on television last week I couldn't help but think about how being gay in the media hasn't changed as much as we think. Although, visibility of the LGBT community has become more assessable as a whole there is still a lot more progress to be made. A lot of this has to do with being acceptably gay, or who can be represented in the main stream media.

As we talked about in class there is a "code" to being gay in the media. You have to be gay, but not too gay. If the character, or a public figure who has come out, and you have significant other affection is still seen as uncomfortable, or a spectacle. Not only can someone be "too gay," but their sexual is often used as a plot device, which honestly never happens to heterosexuals.

I think the last cog in the gay code machine is who gets exposure in the LGBT community. There's no way to sugarcoat the fact that most queer characters are generally white males. There are a few gay PoC represented on television, like Lafayette Reynolds in True Blood. However, it's a fact that the number of white gay male characters is still higher. Lesbian characters are seen in media and there are a more WoC, but these characters are often more sexualized. Transgender and transsexual characters are also visible, but unfortunately the seemingly long list of trans characters on wikipedia can be misleading seeing as a lot of the examples are from shows like CSI and Law and Order. I think the worst examples are seen in comedy shows where the characters are used for comedic purposes. Bisexual characters often appear and either fall into the traps set up by their genders, or used as shock value.

Even though there is more progress to be made I am still thankful for the growing exposure of LGBT characters in media. I think that there will be progress to be made regardless of the time. However, the fact that there has been a small change is still great news and I hope that this progress continues!