MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

With the Supreme Court’s ruling on June 26, 2015, the LGBTQA+ rights movement has been brought into the national spotlight in a generally positive light. Over the years, various strides have been made in representation of various minority groups in media. Specifically, representation of queer and trans characters has become increasingly commonplace in recent years. The question remains, however, whether or not the queer and trans representation is positive or negative. Surely shows like Orange is the New Black with a character like Sophia, a strong trans woman of color and the various queer relationships highlighted on the show present a positive new outlook for queer and trans individuals in media. Unfortunately, if one looks at the medium in which Orange is the New Black, and other shows with positive queer and trans representation, Sense8 and Transparent, they are only accessible through paid streaming websites Netflix and Amazon Instant, rather than on basic cable. There are reasons that these shows are not on basic cable, the least of which being the explicit sex scenes throughout. But can basic cable networks create shows with positive queer representation without a graphically sexual element to the plot? Ellen DeGeneres put her hat in the ring with One Big Happy, but where is the medium between insulting stereotypes and honest representation? Throughout this research, I will explore the ways in which the queering of the media is both progressive and doing its part in reinforcing harmful stereotypes.