Essay Just A little Gay - 1629 Words

Over the past years, mainstream advertising campaigns have shifted 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 communities 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 stereotypical and not entirely representative of these communities at large, creating acceptance at the expense of understanding. Thus, by consuming these media images, mainstream†¦show more content†¦Just as with standard representation of heterosexual identities in mainstream advertising is one forever focused on youthfulness, glamour, fitness, and always perfect skin, the representation of non-heterosexual individual s is caught up in a similar rhetoric that spouts a white, well-muscled, handsome, well-educated, and white-collar professional identity: Gay marketing not only promotes a minoritized view of gayness but also, with other media practices, further differentiates privileged, sexually discreet, gender-normative gays from everyone else. This limited view of the ideal gay consumer is in part a product of the norms of marketing in which†¦ older people, poor and working-class people, and a host of other less privileged sectors of society are unrepresented or invisible. The life worth emulating in mainstream marketing is the affluent life, irrespective of sexuality (Sender, 2013, p.237). Thus, it is only those non-heterosexual that fit within this mass media sanctioned mold that are acknowledged within advertising campaigns. This trend is corroborated in a 2008 study by Saucier and Caron (2008), which showcases the continuance of non-heterosexual advertising rhetoric focusing on appearance perfection and above-average wealth, standards that are not the norm in the widespread non-heterosexual community: [In mainstream advertising], men’s bodies are objectified and made into a superficial image. Much of what being a gay man is relates to travelling and whatShow MoreRelatedcultural experience1547 Words   |  7 Pagesthis assignment I chose to go to a gay bar. The reason I chose to do this was because I have been raised as a Christian, I grew up in a very conservative town and while I support gay rights being around gay people is still something that is foreign and a little bit uncomfortable for me. My roommate also chose to use going to the gay bar for an assignment for her human sexuality class, so while knowing that I would have my roommate going with me made me a little bit more comfortable I still knew thatRead MoreBeing Gay : A Matter Of Love Vs. Love1242 Words   |  5 Pagesgetting into any history of Gay America, a person must simply understand that in the beginning of a Revolution there is always opposition. One person believes one thing and another something else, but what happens when the opposition is to love? For a revolution like this, it was a matter of love vs. love; one side for it, and the other against it. However, in the end it was just a matter of who had better reasoning, or rather who had a valid reason at all. In 1969, being gay was viewed as having aRead MorePro Gay Marriage Essay807 Words   |  4 Pageshowever discrimination against gay and lesbian couples is still a frequent issue with only 13 countries that fully legalise and recognise gay marriage with full equality. The most common argument for people being against gay marriage is that it’s â€Å"not natural† for two people of the same sex to have a marriage. Opponents of gay marriage make out that the natural world that we live in created marriage however this is wrong as us the humans did. How can you argue that gay marriage is not natural whenRead MoreSame Love And How It Changed The Hearts Of Society Essay1529 Words   |  7 PagesLewis and the songs that they create. Their songs have a way of diving into important matters that the rest of society try to avoid. I am not gay, but I had a friend that was and this song closely resembles what he went through. The song also tells the story of a gay couple and the struggles they had and not just the problems around the subject of being gay. â€Å"No one disputes that biological difference, exists between men and women. However, what we make of those differences does not inevitably ariseRead MoreGay Marriage Should Be Legal1437 W ords   |  6 PagesHomosexuals are disrespected and treated unfairly, such as a look from a person who isn’t gay or called names such as â€Å"faggot,† simply because their sexual orientation, why? If homosexuals pay their taxes, help build roads and pay public schools just like heterosexual couples then gay couple should have the same rights as opposite sex couples do. In the case of Baker v. Vermont, in the year 2000, â€Å"Vermont’s groundbreaking law establishing civil unions took effect, providing families of samesex couplesRead MoreHomosexuality and Human Rights Essay1383 Words   |  6 PagesHave you ever been treated so unfairly, but knew there was very little you could do to change it? If so, then you know exactly how many of the homosexuals in the world feel about the right to marry. Many homosexuals feel that this right has been kept just out of reach for them, due to others who despise them. These individuals believe that being gay is wrong, immoral and disgusting; but this is definitely not the case. Gay marriage should be allowed in the United States because this decisionRead MoreEssay on Should Homosexual Couples Be Allowed to Adopt Children?702 Words   |  3 Pagestoday is whether gay or lesbian couples should be allowed to adopt children. People have different opinions on this kind of issue because some may think, for instance, that child who is raised by gay parents will turn out gay, and so on. However, people forget about childrens happiness although they believe that children will be happier with straight and normal people. Who said so? Why do people decide for a kid? Also, how are straight couples are normal and gay couples are notRead MoreShould Gay Be A Racist?1320 Words   |  6 PagesIf you think that by merely not agreeing with the gay lifestyle it s bigotry comparable to racism think again. You do realize that s a slap in the face of all those cultures you re referencing calling all they fought for frivolous right? There is definitely a smear agenda going on. As soon as the whole gays-getting-equal-rights thing came into the spotlight all of a sudden christians are being called bigots because we don t support being gay. the funny thing is, homosexuality is not genetic inRead More`` Some Thoughts On Mercy ``1607 Words   |  7 Pagesdifference is the groups represented in each party. Police, skepticism, and fear are all still prevalent factors in today’s society, just the people being oppressed are not colonists, but minorities living fairly in this country. I personally feel disgusted by the fact that individuals have to live their lives consistently looking behind their backs, but I’m not the only one. Ross Gay, an African-American professor at Indiana University and author of â€Å"Some Thoughts on Mercy†, knows firsthand this feeling ofRead MoreTony Kushner s Angels Of Americ A Gay Fantasia On National Themes Essay816 Words   |  4 PagesTony Kushner’s Angels in America Set in the late 1980s, a period of regression and tragedy for the homosexual community, Tony Kushner’s play, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, explores the lives of four gay men living in New York. Kushner’s two part drama expounds some of the many difficulties encountered by gays during this time period. While two of his characters, Joe Pitt and Roy Cohn, both struggle significantly with their sexual orientation and identity, their troubles