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Laugh it Off: gay men in contemporary sitcoms. Madison Messer. Elevator Pitch!. Topic: The portrayal of gay men on television Focus: Sitcoms and their effects on stereotypes Target: Sitcom viewers and the gay community Method: Content analysis and survey
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Laugh it Off: gay men in contemporary sitcoms Madison Messer
Elevator Pitch! • Topic: The portrayal of gay men on television • Focus: Sitcoms and their effects on stereotypes • Target: Sitcom viewers and the gay community • Method: Content analysis and survey • Goal: to determine whether gay characters in sitcoms perpetuate or diminish stereotypes
Lit. Review • History of the gay community on television • Television & gay men • Homosexual theories • Influence of gay characters (sitcoms) on viewers -straight & homosexual
Lit. Review Quotes • “Even when gay characters are portrayed on television, they are often shown in an asexual content” (Fisher et al 2007, 170). • “Since sexual minorities are considered to be on the fringes of society and often ‘objectionable,’ it is best for these types of characters to be left out of the programming, and if they are included, they need to be assimilated in a way that does not bring them unwarranted attention” (Evans 2007, 14).
Modern Family & Will and Grace • Modern Family- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvjgqhvSKmY • Will and Grace- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9J23AqxV2s
Content Analysis • Season 1 of Modern Family, Will and Grace, and Queer as Folk • Yes/No categories • Ex: Gay character uses term “gay”– gay character shown in career – gay character shown with significant other– reference to gay character through femininity by another character
Survey • Survey participants remain anonymous • 20 questions (4 answer choices) • Questions genres in relation to stereotypes • Looks at different types of gay characters and participants opinion on which is most entertaining/ least entertaining