User:OsaRosa/12. LGBTQ Media Studies

Areas of LGBTQ+ Communication Studies
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LGBTQ+ Media Studies
This section includes LGBTQ+ Media Studies, and will thoroughly analyze communication studies and critical media studies through the artifacts of Film, TV and literature.

LGBTQ+ Critical Media Studies
Critical media studies is an area of study that is defined as studies that explore how to analyze and think critically about the power of the media and how its influence shapes race, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status, citizenship, and other social differences.

Concepts that are related to LGBTQ+ critical media studies include feminist theory, intersectionality, queer theory, media language, multiculturalism, and media criticism. Research practices can be explored in a matter of different ways, as critical media studies can include different methods of analyzing media in question. Practices can include things like reading scripts, watching movies and TV shows, and engaging in different forms of researching feedback like reading through social media reviews.

Academic courses in LGBTQ+ Critical Media Studies can be found in dozens of universities all over the world, under multiple different types of Majors and Minors.

LGBTQ+ Film and TV Representation
When it comes to film and media, though the art has a deep and rich history, Hollywood has not been as kind to LGBTQ+ community members. The 1970s is when we first started seeinf LGBTQ+ characters on the screen, with the film The Boys In The Band being the first time that homosexual characters had been seen on the big screen. Television fell much more behind the curve, with the first on screen lesbian kiss not happening until 1990. . Newer LGBT film representation has been accelerating at an exponential rate, with most scholars noticing a turning point around Love,Simon being released in 2018. Since then, LGBTQ+ movies have become much more rampant, including titles like Bros, Bottoms, The Miseducation of Cameron Post and Everything Everywhere All At Once. Many of these titles have won significant awards, as well as overall helping to normalize queer representation.

In the early 1980s, communication scholarship examined many how LGBTQ+ outreach organizations fought for representation rights. They found that special groups, like the Gay Activists organizations, worked together to persuade TV networks to provide more queer representation. Both the National Gay Task Force (NGTF) in New York City and a second location in Los Angles, which became known as the Gay Media Task Force (GMTF), worked to target their inclusion efforts towards nearby TV networks.

Representation in media has helped shape how society now sees LGBTQ+ communities. Representation in media can create experiences of inclusion or exclusion for marginalized or underrepresented audiences according to research. Media such as TV shows, movies, video games, books, and art play important roles in the lives of children, adolescents, and even adults. Media representation can also help eliminate stereotypes and discrimination of LGBTQ+ people. Media represents a significant advancement in LGBTQ+ representation by demonstrating how crucial it is to cultivate communication patterns.

LGBTQ+ Literature and Communication
LGBTQ+ Literature can be dated all the way back to the Ancient Roman and Greek civilizations. With notable same-sex relationships being represented in both The Illiyad and The Odessy, and notable lesbian poetry from Sappho. Historically, literature has been confined to bold representations of heterosexual relationships, however with the concept of subtext, authors have been placing homosexual relationships right in plain sight. Notable homosexual interpretations of books that have canonically heterosexual characters include The Great Gatsby, Lord of the Rings , Emma and countless others. Apart from this, newer LGBTQ+ literature has become much more mainstream with brand new publications involving queer characters, and LGBTQ+ Fiction, and being noticably sucessfull monetarily. Before the normalization of LGBTQ+ literature, there were still ways for members of the community to view themselves in writing, and that was through the work of Fan Fiction. Fan fiction has just as deep of a history as mainstream literature, with the earliest noted piece of modern fanfiction dating back to the 1960s, with characters from Star Trek making appearances in the stories published by fans through self-published magazines. Fanfiction was a way for queer representation to be made while getting around adultery laws. . The writers of modern fanfiction paved the way for modern authors to freely publish LGBTQ+ content without persecution.

When it comes to communication, LGBTQ+ literature has made leaps and bounds with the resurgance of BookTok. . Communcating standards of LGBTQ+ relationships is something that goes beyond the page. The communication expressed by authors not only shows what they believe the standard of relationships should be, but also lets us know how authors view LGBTQ+ people as a whole. Books like Will Grayson, Will Grayson and Leah on The Offbeat represent both author perception, and communicated standards of relationships.

LGBTQ+ Social Media and Communication
Communication within the LGBTQ+ communities has been significantly impacted by the use of social media platforms according to research. In communicating on social media platforms they play a role in shaping the experiences of young LGBTQ+ individuals. Some researchers discuss how LGBTQ+ communication on social media has potential for empowerment but also note challenges with the issues of privacy concerns, online harassment, spread of misinformation and identity disclosure. For empowerment researchers have shown that amongst LGBTQ+ youth participating in communication on social media might contribute to their overall well being, improves mental health, self esteem, social support, and identity affirmation. Interacting on social media provides spaces for self-expression, identity exploration, and connections with queer and trans communities. In communicating via social media, LGBTQ+ people finds supportive networks, access to affirming their identities, and connection with others in the community.

Research on communication and social media (specifically YouTube) found that social media has given youth the courage to come out as trans and challenge gender norms. This advocacy has also had downfalls since it tends to focus framing "successful" bodily transitions, such as the ability to 'pass', rather than communicating about daily life issues. Passing means a trans person is 'gender read by their ideal gender.' "Passing" can also imply that trans people are forced to confirm to either two genders - female or male, ignoring the existence of those who do not fit either and prefer non-binary terms.