Please close this thread

"alanmichael1;c-17614372" wrote:
Given the fact the many lesbian women rightfully complain about being made invisible in mainstream culture (also compared with us gay men), we should perhaps simply be generous and happy that they are well represented in TS4 instead of counting every pea, as we say in German.

Lesbians are represented in entertainment FAR more than gay men are - and this is not always a positive thing for lesbians, as it is done so in a sexualising way made for the straight male's gaze very often. They know that a female/female couple is way more socially acceptable to the mainstream than a male/male couple, because of the aforementioned male gaze. And if there is backlash, they can simply make the character bisexual and hook them up with a man. Many TV shows and movies these days are featuring lesbian couples - who are nearly always both attractive white women (such as Supergirl).

Pixar has included a lesbian couple in Finding Dory, Toy Story 4 and Onward (and each of these couples has a child). Yet they have not included one gay couple, and Disney is notorious for not having any LGBT representation (which is fine because its targeted at kids). But this makes the Pixar couples stick out even more.

The Last of Us Part II, the sequel to most popular video game of recent times, lauded its own LGBT inclusion - which consisted of a lesbian couple and a trans boy. I would like to say that TLOU2 actually did very well with the character of Ellie - she is not a stereotype. I absolutely adore her as a character, and long for the day when a gay male character can be shown as a positive role model in the way that she is (being brave and raising a family, having a religious partner, etc). I could write an essay on her and this - I feel so attached to her as she is the only positive gay role model in recent times, and it's quite sad there isn't a male one too. But needless to say, there were no gay men in TLOU2. Life is Strange is another video game with a lesbian protagonist. Can you name one video game with a gay male protagonist or a gay male character who is a positive role model?

The representation of gay men in media is extremely common nowadays -but only one representation of gay men is shown. TV shows like Drag Race and Queer Eye represent all gay men as hyper-feminine, hyper-sexual, catty and fashion-forwards. The same can be said for the supporting gay best friends in many TV shows, movies and books. And the way female singers use effeminate gay men in their concerts and music videos is the same. Intellectual, strong, conservative (in regards to "woohoo" and the way they dress) and masculine gay men do not exist in any forms of entertainment. Further, just because gay men are shown all the time, gay relationships are hardly ever represented. The only ones I can think of are on TV shows like Will & Grace and Queer as Folk and soap operas, which also illustrate gay men as promiscuous and in a stereotypical fashion. Add into this that the word gay is being changed to the word queer everywhere you look, then gay representation has changed from showing two men in a relationship to showing an effeminate man who challenges the status quo. [Effeminate gay men are absolutely valid and I support their right to be whoever they are, but it would be nice to have some variation in the type of gay man being portrayed). I cannot think of any gay parents on TV except the ones in the Modern Family TV show who are simply used as the butt of jokes.

How you can possibly say that lesbians are invisible in media is beyond me when every film/TV show is shoehorning a lesbian couple in these days (for the wrong reason, as stated above) but even so they still have SOME variation in their portrayal (such as being parents, being positive role models, being portrayed as both masculine and feminine-presenting) whereas gay men are simply being used as props and male/male relationships are completely ignored.

I am happy that lesbians are having some positive representation but that does not mean that I will not make my voice heard asking for some of that positive representation for gay males. Why does it have to be either, or? Why can it not be both?