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Nothing queer about queer television: Mediated construction of gay male identities
Unformatted Document Text:  Mediated Construction 1 Nothing Queer About Queer Television: Mediated Construction of Gay Male Identities Will Truman is a successful Manhattan lawyer in his mid-thirties. He is attractive, educated, and for the last six years he has been one of the main characters in a popular prime- time television sitcom. However, the American public has never seen Will Truman go to bed with or even kiss a date. For most of these six years, Will Truman has been sitting by himself in America’s prime-time network television gay bar. However, things are starting to change. The 2003-2004 television season witnessed the appearance of more audacious gay male characters, including a sitcom featuring a middle-aged gay couple with a daughter (It’s all relative, ABC), a dating reality-show (Boy meets boy, Bravo) and a make-over show (Queer eye for the straight guy, Bravo). Even Will has started dating more often. In general, according to the media-watch organization GLAAD (Gay & lesbian alliance against defamation) the 2003-2004 network prime-time lineup included eight leading gay characters, compared to five the three previous seasons (2004). The leap in cable television was even bigger. Gay characters, in particular gay males, now populate television dramas, situation comedies, and reality shows. The presence of homosexual characters in American television carries the widespread assumption that it contributes to a liberal agenda of tolerance and inclusion of alternative lifestyles and sexual orientations. However, the perceived progressiveness of gays’ sudden appearance on American television could be undermined if it responds to traditional norms of social relations. In her analysis of the television program Ellen, Dow (2001) argues that increased visibility of gays and lesbians in the media does not always translate into social tolerance or recognition, particularly because the fictional media narratives tend to emphasize the interpersonal issues of homosexuality and avoid the political ones. Shugart (2003) analyzes the

Authors: Avila-Saavedra, Guillermo.
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Mediated Construction 1
Nothing Queer About Queer Television:
Mediated Construction of Gay Male Identities
Will Truman is a successful Manhattan lawyer in his mid-thirties. He is attractive,
educated, and for the last six years he has been one of the main characters in a popular prime-
time television sitcom. However, the American public has never seen Will Truman go to bed
with or even kiss a date. For most of these six years, Will Truman has been sitting by himself in
America’s prime-time network television gay bar. However, things are starting to change. The
2003-2004 television season witnessed the appearance of more audacious gay male characters,
including a sitcom featuring a middle-aged gay couple with a daughter (It’s all relative, ABC), a
dating reality-show (Boy meets boy, Bravo) and a make-over show (Queer eye for the straight
guy, Bravo). Even Will has started dating more often. In general, according to the media-watch
organization GLAAD (Gay & lesbian alliance against defamation) the 2003-2004 network
prime-time lineup included eight leading gay characters, compared to five the three previous
seasons (2004). The leap in cable television was even bigger. Gay characters, in particular gay
males, now populate television dramas, situation comedies, and reality shows.
The presence of homosexual characters in American television carries the widespread
assumption that it contributes to a liberal agenda of tolerance and inclusion of alternative
lifestyles and sexual orientations. However, the perceived progressiveness of gays’ sudden
appearance on American television could be undermined if it responds to traditional norms of
social relations. In her analysis of the television program Ellen, Dow (2001) argues that
increased visibility of gays and lesbians in the media does not always translate into social
tolerance or recognition, particularly because the fictional media narratives tend to emphasize the
interpersonal issues of homosexuality and avoid the political ones. Shugart (2003) analyzes the


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