Historically and present day, homosexuals are not given the
same rights as heterosexuals by the U.S. government, especially concerning
their right to marriage. Marriage laws are currently on a state level, with
only five states having same-sex marriage legalized. Many opponents of same-sex marriage say that
marriage is for the purpose of raising children, and that two parents of the
same sex are not adequately equipped to raise children.
The topic of same-sex marriage has become a very heated
topic the past ten years, especially once celebrities began getting involved. Activists
and academics say that depictions of gay characters on television play a big
role in making viewers more comfortable with their gay, lesbian and transgender
neighbors.
“TV
and movie representation matters,” said Edward Schiappa, a professor of
communication studies at the University of Minnesota. In five separate studies,
Mr. Schiappa and his colleagues have found that the presence of gay characters
on television programs decreases prejudices among viewers of the programs.
“These attitude changes are not huge — they don’t change bigots into saints.
But they can snowball,” Mr. Schiappa said. (Read the remaining article here )
The
first gay character to ever have been showed on TV was in 1981, in the show Hill Street Blues where the gay male prostitute
appeared in a couple of episodes before dying of AIDS. Guest appearances of gay
characters in one or two episodes occured on a yearly basis, but the characters
were often severely stereotyped and depicted as miserable, dysfunctional or tragic. ABC’s show Thirty
Something was the first primetime television program to show two men in bed
together in 1989, but ABC lost $1.5 million as a result of five of the show’s
ten sponsors dropping out in outrage.
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| Ellen (TV Series) |
Ellen
Morgan (played by Ellen DeGeneres) was the first starring gay character on
television in the sitcom Ellen which aired from 1994 to 1998. The
lesbian character was created following Ellen DeGeneres's public coming out,
which caused a huge uproar from conservative anti-gay groups. These groups
eventually caused the network airing Ellen to pull the show off the
network.
It is important to note that Ellen Degeneris was one of the first actresses to openly come out. She recieved a harsh response from the public, but over the years she has changed the way many people percieve lesbians.
 |
| Will and Grace |
The
first popular sitcom which starred two gay men was Will and Grace, which
ran from 1998 to 2006. The show depicted a group of friends and the everyday
life of gays. It caused a huge uproar among the anti-gay community during the
entirety of the show. Several conservative groups claimed that it and shows
like it would make homosexuality seem desirable. The show began talking about
the "same-sex family" with the help of secondary characters as well
as the season finale starring Will in a happy healthy family.
Joe
Biden commented that “Will & Grace, probably did more to educate the
American public [on the gay life] than almost anything anybody’s ever done so
far.”
Ten years later, gay relationships and families are portrayed as normal, unremarkable - like any other family.
"The general trajectory has [hollywood] transitioning
from minstrel acts and punch lines to relatable everyday characters," says
David Hauslaib, founder of Queerty, a media-watching blog "by and for the
queer community." He adds, "It's a new era where (being a gay family)
is no longer a significant part of the story." (Read more Here)
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| Modern Family |
The most
recent and most popular show following a gay family is Modern Family. Modern
Family began airing in 2009 and depicts three different families. One of the
families is a gay couple who have an adopted child. Eric Stonestreet and Jesse
Tyler Fergueson play the characters, Cameron and Mitchell, and have been
thrilled with the positive reaction from viewers. In an interview with TV Line "Jesse and I get comments and compliments all
the time from gay moms and gay dads who watch the show, and kids from same-sex
relationships who say, 'Thanks for being a couple that I can point kids who
pick on me at school to and say, 'Hey, Cam and Mitchell are kind of like my
family'. Things like that transcend our job."
There is still a lot of progress to be made for the rights and acceptance of homosexuals and their families, but it is through continuing education of the population that equality will be achieved. The best medium to do so is through television, where people fall in love with all types of characters.
