Sexuality, Identity And Media Audiences Essay - 1567 Words

MDIA 208 Media Audiences Faith Holloway 300314105 Sexuality, Identity and Media Audiences Drawing upon qualitative audience studies, this essay aims to discuss the extent to which sexuality plays a role in media audience’s identity construction. Furthermore, this essay argues that sexuality is significantly influenced by hegemonic discourse surrounding masculinity and heteronormativity. Foucault eludes to this idea nothing that both â€Å"†¦ the formation of identities and practices are related to, or are a function of, historically specific discourses† (qtd in Pinkus). I aim to expand upon this concept by examining participant’s responses, particularly their acceptance or rejection of hegemonic sexual discourse, to determine its role in sexual identity construction. Additionally, by drawing upon definitions and theories of media scholars, I will examine how sexual identity is formed within a social and cultural sphere of ‘performance’ (Butler 1990). This essay will explore studies by Van Damme and Biltereys, Meyer and Wood and Haslop. Each of these three studies uses qualitative research, such as focus groups or interviews, to determine how sexuality and its hegemonic discourse plays a role in identity construction for media audiences. Discourse has previously been defined as a â€Å"†¦form of power that circulates in the social field and can attach to strategies of domination as well as those of resistance† (Diamond and Quinby 185). I aim to substantiate this claim by illustratingShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Media On Gay Male Body Image1209 Words   |  5 PagesEffects of Media on Gay Male Body Image. Clinical Social Work Journal, 44(1), 105-113. The existing studies have indicated the gay male adults are more likely to develop body image dissatisfaction than other male populations due to variety of social and culture elements—particularly in media. Lanzieri and Hildebrand argued that gay media sources had produced the ideal male physique that negatively impact on its audiences. They had conducted a research to study the impact between media imageries andRead MoreThe Business Structure Of Commercial Television901 Words   |  4 Pagestelevision distributors are desperate to gain the attention of audiences. In order to get advertising revenue televisions shows tap into some of our basic desires to gain our attention and loyalty. Depending on the viewer, these tactics could be having a negative impact on the viewer beyond the original intent of the content. The business structure of commercial television in America leads to the use of sexual content to increase audiences. Relationships between the television advertisers and distributorsRead MoreThe Documentaries Killing Us Softly 4 Essay1252 Words   |  6 Pagesin mind, media, particularly the music video and advertisement industry, are essential parts of contemporary socialization, especially involving the perpetuation of gender roles in our culture. At a very young age, children learn, without difficulty, the differences between boys and girls, and what standards they are held to. Women are often objectified, systematically demoralized, and dehumanized in the music video industry and mainstream advertisement. External forces, such as the media, not onlyRead MoreThis essay discusses the role television soap operas have in generating discussion about the issues700 Words   |  3 Pagesof gendered identity and sexuality. It is based on the study conducted by Chris Baker and Julie Andre, who argue that because soap operas draw huge audiences and centre on the sphere of interpersonal relationships and sexual identity, the talk generated from them will reflect such aspects (Andre and Barker 21). The discussions generated from the study show examples of working through, gender differences, and add evidence to the ‘active audience’ concept discussed in early media audience studies andRead MoreIs Raymond Williams A Modern Culture?1621 Words   |  7 Pages‘the works and practices of intellectual and especially artistic activity’. This leads to the definition of popular culture which is the entirety of arts that is within the mainstream of the 20th and 21st century and is heavily influenced by mass media. Most people refer to the second and third of Williams’ definitions of ‘culture’ when linking it to ‘popular culture’. In the past the term was linked to those of the lower classes, high classes would enjoy poetry, opera, literary novels and ‘arthouse’Read MoreAnalysis Of The Film Crossing The Borderlands Of Sexuality And Gender 1067 Words   |  5 PagesJenny Morales 2/07/15 Crossing the Borderlands of Sexuality and Gender. The film that I decided to watch was a documentary by Gabriel Baur named Venus Boyz. This documentary film serves as a critique of gender and sex and how it is perceived in New York, London, and Zurich, but ultimately the world. In this documentary the world of Drag Kings is presented to its viewers. Drag Kings are mostly women performers who dress in male clothing in order to personify gender stereotypes. NormallyRead MoreRepresentation of Sexuality in Tv - Skins1493 Words   |  6 Pagesreference to relevant cultural theories analyse the representation of sexuality in a film/television text of your choice. I have chosen to look at and analyse a television text. It is a TV drama aimed at a teenage audience called Skins. I chose this particular text as it focuses upon many different characters and scenarios in regards to sexuality and this forms a basis for analysis and evaluation. Skins also focuses upon Teenage sexuality, specifically, which I believe is a broad and interesting subjectRead MoreThe Removalists Essay - Stereotypes1407 Words   |  6 Pagesissues, but instead deepens the audiences understanding and awareness. Through familiar roles, such as the ‘Oker’ identity, Williamson heightens the play, and allows a production to focus on the themes being explored. By using stereotyped characters in contrast with realistic characters and style, Williamson effectively comment on the faults of society without the distraction of character complexity. The Oker character is used by Williamson as a tool to allow the audience to relate immediately to theRead MoreThe Reality Of The Lgbtq Community1404 Words   |  6 Pagesreflections of the current social-political setting in North America. Constituting and diminishing social boundaries, pop culture has wide-reaching influence to generate new sets of values and ideals in audiences (Fedorak 2009). Originating in mainstream pop culture, discourses of gender and sexuality The Kids Are All Right and The Fosters support homonormative politics, which privileges some lesbian mothers as intelligible over others. At differing levels, the gender and motherhood ideals they containRead MoreEssay Just A little Gay1629 Words   |  7 Pagesshifted their rhetoric to include a focus on non-heterosexual identities, working toward normalizing these within the mass consumer audience. Yet these campaigns propagate representations that are not entirely consistent with how members of non-heterosexual com munities identify and define themselves. In this paper, I will argue that mainstream advertising campaigns work to shift the mass consumer audiences perception of non-heterosexual identities from one that is stigmatized to one that is inherently