Analysis
A prime example of the popularity of lesbianism, most likely pseudo but perhaps real, in mainstream popular culture involves the campaign for Coors Light starring the Coors Light twins. As Jenkins describes, "one way that mainstream producers dilute their lesbian portrayals is by heterosexualizing these scenes in order to promote the conventional straight Male's lesbian fantasy" (492). As in 'scenes' the author refers to the presence of lesbianism in teen movies. The same idea applies to the Coors Light commercial where the twins are objectified purely for the purposes of the male gaze. By creating an affiliation between twins, beer, and football the company addresses heterosexual masculine desire. In this case, lesbianism is a spectacle created solely for males and their male gaze. The repercussions of this is an inaccurate idea of lesbianism that gives less value to homosexuality for women and ultimately gives men the upper hand when it comes to ideas about female sexuality.
In regards to sexual otherness, the character on Nip tuck Sophia Lopez presents a stereotypical presentation of a transsexual person as a victim rather than just a person. Indeed transsexuals and other non 'normative' sexualities are being presented in media, the presentation is usually the same and alludes to the idea of 'fixing' the problem or 'dealing' with the problem. Insinuating that they're not happy with themselves or their sexualities which may or may not be the case with real people within these groups.
An example of sexual "otherness" as portrayed in the media has to do with the new phenomenon of a heterosexual woman and a homosexual man as the leading characters in film or television shows. As Shugart identifies in the popular television show Will and Grace, or characters in film such as Julia Robert's other best friend in My best Friend's Wedding, this new idea of the gay man brings in all sorts of assertions about what it means to be gay and accepted as male in our society. To touch on just one of the points that Shugart makes in the article, this idea of the sexual access of the gay male. In the trailer for Love and other Disasters, the two leading characters, the straight woman and the gay man are seen cuddling while watching a movie, as well as in the film where they are shown going about their business in the bathroom while each other are present. The female is often shown nude, or partially nude. This idea of the gay male's sexual access shows how the gay male's masculinity is defined through their access to women, even though they are in fact gay and don't have any sexual desire toward the woman. This further enforces the patriarchy within our society that tells us that men have the upper hand, and that when this may appear to be compromised, (if a male is not seen as 'fully masculine' as in the case of homosexuality) that they still have the power and access to a woman's body.
In this romantic scene from the teenage drama 90210 , the heteronormative assumption of the media comes into view. When the character Ethan states he just wants to have a 'normal high school date' this assumes that the norm is heterosexual between a male and female. Also, the way the show portrays an ideal way of looking at high school romance, the beautiful new girl and the star athlete assumes the heterosexual idea of what romance is and should be for people in our society. The Kim et al., article, did a study which deals with these messages in the media about heteronormative behavior, "there is one integrated script comprised of (a) one "part" for how girls/women think, feel, and behave in romantic and sexual encounters and (b) another "part" for how men think, feel, and behave in romantic and sexual encounters" (146). As demonstrated in the show 90210, the media embeds these messages that we're so used to seeing, about how men and women should act in romantic and sexual relationships as well as the nature of the relationship, heterosexual rather than homosexual or other.
I chose a clip of Teletubbies to discuss the Dennis article about same-sex relationships in cartoons. As Dennis explains, "When more details are provided, space, time, and relationships all become heterosexualized" (180). In relationship with this clip, we can see how the lack of details of gender, or even age of the teletubbies who participate in holding hands create an acceptable environment for them to show affection towards one another.
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