Academic research and bibliography

Queering Super-Manhood: The Gay Superhero in Contemporary Mainstream Comic Books by Rob Lendrum

Austen, Chuck. The Uncanny X-Men 414-432. New York: Marvel Comics, 2002-3. Julien, Isaac, and Kobena Mercer. "De Margin and De Centre." Stuart Hall: Critical Dialogues in Cultural Studies. Eds. David Morley and Kuan-Hsing Chen. New York: Comedia, 1996. Lobdell, Scott. Alpha Flight 1.106. New York: Marvel Comics, 1992. McAllister, Matthew P. "Comic Books and AIDS." Journal of Popular Culture 26.2 (1992). Medhurst, Andy. "Batman, Deviance and Camp." The Many Lives of Batman: Critical Approaches to a Superhero and his Media. Eds. Roberta E. Pearson and William Uricchio. New York: Routledge, 1991. Morrison, Robbie. The Authority 2,1-7. La Jolla: Wildstorm Productions, 2003. Nyberg, Amy Kiste. Seal of Approval: The history of the Comics Code. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1998. Ross, Andrew. "Uses of Camp." No Respect: Intellectuals and Popular Culture. New York: Routledge, 1989. Wertham, Frederic. Seduction of the Innocent. Port Washington: Kennikat Press, 1972 (originally 1953).

'The comic book industry has attempted to develop a more culturally aware attitude
toward the representation of its super heroes in recent years. DC and Marvel have begun
producing comics with homosexuals as lead or supporting characters. Titles such as The
X-Men, The Authority, and the Rawhide Kid employ different strategies of incorporation
into the economically dominant superhero genre, including: tokenism, camp and radical
alternative. This paper traces the historical origin of superhero masculinity and
interrogates its reconstitution within a space that includes homosexuality'

'Apollo and Midnighter's relationship does not threaten the heteronormative tone of the book. However, the couple does succeed in opposing dominant understandings of masculinity, as well as offering an alternative to the stereotypes, such as Northstar. The gay superhero opens space for a plurality of masculinities and offers an alternative model to the dominant heterosexual superhero.'

Midnighter and Apollo are a gay married couple featured in the DC/Wildstorm title The Authority. Again, parental responsibility is central to their code of ethics as the two have an adopted daughter

The Psychology of Superheroes: An Unauthorized Exploration 

“Where No X-Man Has Gone Before!” Mutant Superheroes and the Cultural Politics of Popular Fantasy in Postwar AmericaAmerican Literature June 2011 83(2): 355-388;
Film and Comic books

 Gordon, I. (2007). Film and comic books. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. 


Rebecca A. Demarest (2010) Superheroes, Superpowers, and Sexuality

'Superheroes have a strong influence in our society, and as such we should look at the messages that they  represent. To this end, I have examined the sexuality and gender roles that superheroes suggest through their appearance, the way they are written about, they way that they talk, the distribution of superpowers, and their relationships. I surveyed 63 Willamette University and Skyview Junior High students about their favorite superheroes and their reasons for liking that particular hero to begin my analysis, and branched from there to texts written by the companies who own the superheroes and other anthropologists who have examined the role of heroes in our society.'

French, M. (2014). The surrounding storm: Constructing queerness through superhero fandom and socio-historical LGBT movements.

Mathew French, The Surrounding Storm: Constructing Queerness through Superhero Fandom and Socio-Historical LGBT Movements

LGBT Themes in Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror

Talks about the theories of LGBT in different contents as for example in mythology stories and how it has adapted and evolved with books and TV shows.

AN ANALYSIS OF EMBODIMENT AMONG SIX SUPERHEROES IN DC COMICS

This study analyzes the changes in physical presentation of several DC comic book superheroes, finding that the bodies of superheroes have become far more sexualized, exaggerated, and unrealistic in recent years. The comic reader’s “gaze” upon the bodies of the characters produces an intersection of spectacle and narrative that cannot be disconnected from both the physical body and the costume of the hero. Literature on the bodies of male and female bodybuilders reveals a connection to the hyper-embodiment of male and female superheroes, which represent the ego ideal of Western representations of “perfect” gendered bodies. The study concludes by asking if contemporary comic books must shift from the “Modern Age” to the “Postmodern Age” in order to break out of their practices of reaffirming gender binaries. The argument expands on work by Jean Baudrillard and Judith Butler.

The new mutants : superheroes and the radical imagination of American comics - Ramzi Fawaz - New York : New York University Press, 2015.

This is about the bad and goods of superheroes and what they represent in society and the book describes them as a good worthy increase in society to sexuality and race.

Trans Representations and Superhero Comics: A Conversation with Mey Rude, J. Skyler, and Rachel Stevens
Suzanne Scott, Ellen Kirkpatrick

2014 was a landmark one for discussions surrounding the (in)visibility of trans characters in comics, from the first transgender panel at San Diego Comic-Con International to the celebrations and controversy surrounding the introduction of trans characters in mainstream superhero comics like Batgirl (DC Comics, 2011–). To address the state of trans representations in superhero comics, we convened a roundtable of noted bloggers on this topic to discuss the past, present, and future(s) of trans comics characters. Mey Rude is a trans lesbian Latina, the trans editor at Autostraddle, and author of the weekly column “Drawn to Comics.” J. Skyler is a black trans woman and the LGBT visibility columnist for Comicosity. Rachel Stevens is a staff writer for Women Write about Comics and a white transgender lesbian.

Tutorial 18/11/15

Analyse representations of my textual analysis of my extracts.
Compare to hetreosexual relationships
Conventrions - framing, angles, types of shots and Mise-en-scene

Textual Analysis

https://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/3899536.html
This would be an extract i am doing the textual analysis on, this is from the storm watch series with Midnighter and Apollo two LGBT superheroes. This is a part of a mission that Midnighter and Apollo are looking hoodlums and at the time of this they start flirting about Midnighter Spike chin. Its at that point you realise that Apollo is showing feelings for Midnighter as to flirting. the line ' You have such a cute face too' shows the affection he has for Midnighter. The pictures are shown as to looking like normal comic with these two superheroes looking for an object. Then we have the second strip which shows him touching th chin where it gives the signal that there is a homosexual attention happening and it gives the aducience the meaning that they are having a relationship happening. This is also shown from the l;ast strip of Apollo the white costume supherhero put his hadn on Midnighter this would be to show the love and the attention they have for eachother. From the psychographic i believe this is for reformers who see a different meaning of comic books and i believe that it will still hit the mainstreamers as to people who would follow the comic books. This goes with theory like uses and gratification as to personal relations as to relate to Midnighter of being homoseuxal and yet being strong and different.

Another meaning would be the fact that when Martian the man hunter shows up they go back to act like they are notthing going on with them. 'You still care that people know about us' This is to show the fact that they are hiding the fact they are in a homosexual relationship and they're facing the fact that its okay to be in one and i believe that it is okay for that. The comic strip shows the alternative versions of them as to the stereotype being alternative as to Midnighter dark black costume and Appolo look a big masculine character. This represents the alternative that LGBT superheroes can be shown different than the avarage stereotype and it is represented very well because of this. It keeps the audience going as to the reason of how the superheroes are still heroes. The story of there relationship is interesting as to them not wanting people to know yet or people knowing being okay. Another idea would be that for them they are represented as superheroes still as to the martian coming in the middle showing he doesnt care about whos attracted to eachother they have a mission and a obligation. The Martian represents it as no matter what gender, sexuality or race that they are still a hero. Detective Comics gives a grim and happy look into these superheroes as to starting off with a natural superhero dark story and then slowly showing the connection between these characters are good.



To me the key to a good run on the Authority is treating the characters with respect, which means treating Apollo and the Midnighter like actual people instead of meaningless background characters or violent stereotypes. It shows them explaining in one of the comic strips that Midnighter our main investigation is on has a heart and doesnt want his lover to die. This is to represent the version of them as to being these grim and powerful characters who cant be stopped have feelings for eachother and that they have this connection. From the background it is showing the feeings of the atmosphere as to the yellow back ground it is representing the fear and the love and that they are. The reason I picked to show this is because it gives us a insight when Midnighter was most vulnerable because he is losing the one person he loeves and doesnt want it to happen. This is suppose to be represented like Batman and Superman as to if they were LGBT characters. From this we can the the action and the eye contact they have for eachother are strong as to they are never going be serparated by anything.

The stereotype of them are alternative because they are superheroes no matter what, it gives the steroptype of lovers as to using the queer theory and how these to lovers do interest the audience because they are shown 'cool'. In addition this is also shwon to be a strong emotional moment for the audience as their beloved sueprhero may die in the comic. This scene in  the comic makes the audience feel like its just another love seen with a man and woman and it shouldnt matter what gender they are. From the lines 'You'll die' gives the reaction that Midnighter our strong, powerful and dark anti hero is not ready to lose the one he loves and that he willl fall apart from this. With the arrival of Midnighter it does show that LGBT has a era in the comic book series and that the theme will be large because his story is very unique and symbolic it would go with the psychographic group of the reformers who want to see something different and it would go with the mainstream comic book lovers. This is representing Midnighter at his lowest point and the real person he is because from the other images he is shown killing and that he has no emotion. Giving the audience emotion of this character shows that he is more than that and that his only weakness is his lover and because his lover is a superhuman and industritable it would mean that he wouldnt have a wekaness of losing his lover. Appolo is also shown as a masculine chracter at this point as to being homosexual still shows the alternative as well and a big persona of saving the world no matter what happens. At the end of the day it shows how a superhero comic would be but with a man and man loving eahcother and its the same feeling you want them to stay together.

Media lecture notes

 What has the internet done for me?

• 'Internet is very permissive'
• 'tool for free expression, not oppression'
• Use the net for: 

- Games
-Learning
-Friendship
-Information
-political action
-Caritas and Campaigning
 

 Downsides to the internet -Context Collapse
-The dark web
-Bullying

-Abuse

-Fraud
-Conspiracy theories.

• 'Digital info hard to control'
• 'Code is law'
• 'If you don't know the code of the internet, you have no power'
• 'Teen internet users demand privacy - older generations don't get that'.
• 'Dark Web - secure network - people can't track you.

  Media power and life after Leveson

• News of the world phone hacking
• Media power over: media content, audiences, journalists
• Power to: censor, mislead, set the agenda
• media and democracy
• 'Healthy media is the life blood of democracy- Gives audiences diversity and plurality of views'
• 'Hold the power to account'
• Journalist field - norms around objectivity
• explosion of platforms - free news, rolling news etc
• business model struggling to keep up
• Cut and Paste Journalism - news being copied - disrupts diversity
• 'click bait'
• Internet can give audiences power - freedom - public movement
• 'prosumers' people who create their own info/news
• dispersed/fragmented news media - changed the meaning of politics
• 'Hack Gate' (phone hack) - based on the corruption of power
• Phone hacking came from institution wanting to be competitive
• Chris Jeffries
• Who has the power? is it visible?
• 'We the audience have less power than we think'
• 'Press intimidate democratic practice' - hegemony
• Media defining deviance
• 'Was and is about media power'
• HSBC tax evasion went unreported
• Media de-democratises society
• 50% of national UK papers sold controlled by Jonathan Harmsworth and Rupert Murdoch
  
  Film Production:
  
  
• Producer - overall control of every aspect of the films production
• Sound design is important
• Best stories are the ones only you can tell
• Risk assessment
• Be conscious of the story
• Keep it short, don't overstay welcome
• make it art
• Collaborative effort
• 10 things to remember:-you need to eat

  -don't be afraid to ask
-do you research
-don't be afraid to leave
-it's a very small industry
-The competition is fierce
-congratulate others
- always a market for good stories well told

 Script writing

• book adaptations
• musical adaptations
• play adaptations 
• newspaper headlines
• what is stories
• personal stories
• random ideas
• research read before written
• worked in the background before hand
• met family and friends before happened 
• actress carefully chosen
• had cut stuff out
• closely focuses on the main character
• how much violence to show?
• writing comes out different when filmed
• lots of resources

  Owen Jones: The media, democracy and politics

• Society don't make sense 
• 'Our news media is failing badly'
• unfair society
• young people punished
• rent too high property left vacant by rich people
• home life can cause problems
• society still discriminates
• banks get bailed out by the public
• we had to fight for what we wanted
• press is run by small group of the rich
• get singled out by the press
• middle class journalists don't understand the lower class
• media full of people from privileged backgrounds
• "power conceives nothing without a demand, it never has and it never will"

Notes and quotes

Notes and Quotes

 ‘Midnighter is The Best Portrayal of a Gay Superhero in Mainstream Comics’

http://io9.com/midnighter-is-the-best-portrayal-of-a-gay-superhero-in-1715225013

‘Yes, it’s sad that one of the most prominent gay relationships in Wildstorm and DC’s comic history came to a close without us getting to witness it—but at the same time, it’s fascinating to see it.’

Talks about Midnighter relationship with Apollo and it was said to be a perfect relationship to see between gay couples. The difference was in the new 52 comic series they had to change it so they were not together and did not know each other sexuality.

If you’re looking for a great new superhero comic series to read, you should be picking up Midnighter—not just for the fact it’s actually a damn fun series, but because it gives us a fascinatingly humanized gay lead.

Midnighter normalizes all that for a gay character, in a way that is rarely shown in the pages of comic books. And it manages to do that while also balancing the personal drama with the superhero sci-fi antics you know and love from the character.

Midnighter go on dates and sleep with a number of different men. Our introduction to the character in Midnighter #1 is actually though a shot of his Grindr profile (a popular social app used by Gay and bisexual men to meet.

Comments:

One of the pleasures of reading Midnighter (when he’s good, so this comic in particular) is that he’s crazy and embraces his particular flavor of crazy. Sexuality too, but the two go in hand in terms of consistency in his character. He wouldn’t be comfortable if he weren’t a little nuts, and when he’s trying on not-crazy for any given reason, he’s especially vulnerable. It’s nice reading, and his one-liners are spot-on.

I still wish he wasn't referred to dismissively "the gay Batman."

Kinda unavoidable considering the circumstances of his creation. But I’m glad he’s getting a good book. It makes room for a gay hero who isn’t an obvious pastiche/commentary.

LGBT news

Two LGBT murders within 24 hours leave community in 'state of emergency

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/11/lgbt-murders-within-24-hours-philadelphia-detroit

‘In Detroit, on the morning of 5 October, an African American gay man known simply as Melvin, 30, was found shot dead on a street in the Palmer Park area. At the time of his death, Melvin was wearing women’s clothing.’

Transgender Woman in Philadelphia shot

Gay man shot in Detroit

“For many LGBT people, participation in street economies is often critical to survival,” civil rights group Lambda Legal said in a statement in August, when supporting Amnesty International’s resolution to decriminalize sex work.

LGBT youth and transgender women of color face all-too-common family rejection and vastly disproportionate rates of violence, homelessness and discrimination in employment, housing, and education,” the statement continued.

many in the Detroit LGBT community hang out – specifically people who are low-income or experiencing homelessness. She feels such people are “targeted”.

Local officials told the Guardian no arrests had been made in either case and it was too early to confirm if hate was a factor. In Philadelphia, police confirmed they were investigating whether Jenkins’ gender identity played a role in her murder.

Celebrity views

Andrew Garfield Is Still Campaigning For A "Pansexual" SPIDER-MAN On The Big Screen

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JoshWildingNewsAndReviews/news/?a=124885

 "I'm excited to get to the point where we don't have to have this conversation, where we can have a pansexual Spider-Man."

"The richness of the world we're in, the diversity of the world we're in; you look at the animal kingdom and you see it reflected. You look all over," he continued. "What are we so scared of? Why are we so, 'No, it has to be this way, a man and a woman.' Why is that even a conversation? We're scared of things that aren't us. Love is love. Skin is skin. Flesh is flesh. We're all wrapped in the same thing. I have no preference. The beauty about Spider-Man, for me, is that he's covered head to toe. That's why everyone thinks it could be them in that suit. You don't see skin color. You don't see sexual orientation. You don't see how old the person is, gender, the whole thing. I celebrate that. Anyone can be a hero in their own lives."

Comment:

100% agreed. I'm not on board with race changes for ANY character (i.e. someone like Bruce Wayne probably NEEDS to be a white male), but it has to make sense. And with Spider-Man, it probably makes the most sense actually. A recurring theme (if not THE recurring theme) of the character is that he represents the every-man. None of this "prophecy" or "destiny" bullshit (looking at you, TASM 1 and 2!). Literally anyone could be under that suit. Why not reflect that through Peter Parker himself? What about being white is somehow inherent or a core characteristic of the character?

Does Marvel have a problem with LGBT superheroes?

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/08/03/do-marvel-have-a-problem-with-lgbt-superheroes/

The company has made attempts to be inclusive of a number of character’s gender and sexuality in the past – for example, it was recently revealed that long time X-Man Iceman is gay.

However, their attempts to promote diversity and include LGBT characters have often been slammed by fans and critics alike, who claim the company is simply trying to increase sales.

fans were quick to highlight that Hercules bisexuality was a very natural progression for the character, especially considering he is inspired by Greek Mythology – in which the demigod Hercules was also bisexual.

Fans were hoping that the hero’s sexuality would be further explored in the recently announced Hercules series

DC Comics Gives Us A Crash Course In LGBT Superheroes

http://www.newnownext.com/dc-comics-gives-us-a-crash-course-in-lgbt-superheroes/06/2015/

One of the first gay characters the company produced was hardly worth celebrating: The magician Extraño was flamboyant comic relief whose sole arch villain was an AIDS “vampire” named the Hemo-Goblin.

But more diverse and three-dimensional characters were quickly added to the fold, from the bisexual Constantine and a lesbian Batwoman to a gay green lantern and Batgirl’s transgender roommate, Alysia Yeoh.

‘Arrow’ Star Echo Kellum on How His Character Becomes DC Superhero Mr. Terrific

 https://www.thewrap.com/arrow-echo-kellum-curtis-holt-dc-superhero-mr-terrific/

http://rollingout.com/2015/08/04/arrow-casts-first-black-gay-superhero/

This version of Mr. Terrific is also an LGBT character. How does that shape who he is?

I think it shapes who he is only in that that’s who he chooses to love. He’s married, he has a husband, but it’s not the most defining quality about him. It’s important, but he is a living, breathing character who happens to be gay … Rarely do people live their lives through their sexuality.

The “Arrow”/”Flash” producers are always great about including LGBT characters in their shows, which is awesome, but this is the first major LGBT superhero character in the world of these shows.

There’s been a wave of LGBT characters and storylines on television over the past few years as the LGBT movement in the real world continues to progress. And now it appears that progress in fiction has extended to the world of superheroes, as it’s been announced that “Arrow” has cast “Ben and Kate” actor Echo Kellum to play the series’ first-ever Black gay superhero.

“We’re often asked when we’re going to add another LGBT character to the show and our version of Mr Terrific happens to be gay for anyone that cares about that kind of stuff,” Guggenheim revealed in a statement.

Mr. Terrific also won’t be the only character on the show repping the LGBT community. The show already features openly bisexual Sara Lance/Canary (Caity Lotz) and the two are now reportedly TV’s only LGBT superheroes.

Mr. Terrific also follows a line of Black LGBT superheroes in the comic world like X-Men’s Storm, who was previously strongly implied to be bisexual, and Young Avengers’ Prodigy, who is also written as bisexual.

These LGBT Character Charts Are the Perfect Guide to Out and Proud Superheroes

http://moviepilot.com/posts/3409017?lt_source=external,manual

As the world becomes increasingly accepting of LGBT communities and individuals, so too have comic book universes expanded their representation of previously overlooked identities. With different writers taking control of even some of the most iconic superheroes, you may be surprised at just which characters have recently come out of the closet.


Flame Off: Will Gay Superheroes Ever Make the Leap to Movies and TV?

http://screencrush.com/gay-superheroes-movies-tv/

Q&A. A kid, maybe in his late teens, makes his way up to the mic and addresses a question to Garfield himself. Identifying himself as a gay Asian American, he wanted to know if the actor felt any pressure in making his stance on LGBT equality known, referring to previous comments made by the actor.

Earlier that year, a set visit report on ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ was published in Entertainment Weekly, which quoted Garfield as saying, "Why can’t we discover that Peter is exploring his sexuality?," even pointing out the "charismatic and talented" Michael B. Jordan could join in for some "interracial bisexuality."

To the applause of many at Comic-Con, Garfield addressed the question by saying, “Spider-Man stands for everybody: black, white, Asian, gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual.” This has been the appeal of superheroes since the early generation of geeks dropped dimes for the latest issue of Action comics, but when it comes to the movie iterations, many minorities are left out. Garfield, while valid in his statements, even backtracked a bit, saying, “It wouldn’t make sense if, in the next movie, I was suddenly with a black guy.”

It's now a year after this panel took place, on our way to another Comic-Con, and the question of why there aren't more LGBT superheroes -- or even characters -- in these comic book movies and TV shows are continuously met with the same excuses.

While major strides are being made in the 'Arrow' universe -- the hit CW series featured a lesbian character through Katrina Law's Nyssa Al Ghul, while 'The Flash' spinoff series will feature two gay characters in the first season alone, on top of openly gay actor Wentworth Miller portraying DC villain Captain Cold -- there is still no identifiable LGBT character taking the reins for a major role, or even a major recurring or supporting role. When the opportunity for this came with NBC's 'Constantine,' producers of the series stated at a recent Television Critics Association panel that they had "no immediate plans" to address the Hellblazer's bisexuality, despite John Constantine's depiction as such in the original comics. Executive producer Daniel Cerone even acknowledged the character's background, though seemingly suggested his sexual orientation didn't matter in regards to Constantine as an individual.

In those comic books, John Constantine aged in real time. Within this tome of three decades [of comics] there might have been one or two issues where he’s seen getting out of bed with a man.

LGBT characters out of this superhero cinematic arena seemed admirable in its progressive nature, it's now a broken record the community has heard one too many times. Dare I say it, but maybe a character's sexuality should matter more.

exual identity serves is to further demean and reduce him to a stereotypical shell of a person. His presence only serves as comedic relief, a role gay characters frequently serve, while his "outing" is the final nail in the coffin, as if to say, "He got what he deserved by succumbing to 'prison bitch' life."

Apparently, when it comes to having more positive gay representations on the superhero-dominated big screen they won’t allow it to be shown

When might, say, 'Constantine' finally start addressing the character's sexual identity? In executive producer Daniel Cerone's own words, "In those comic books, John Constantine aged in real time. Within this tome of three decades there might have been one or two issues where he’s seen getting out of bed with a man. So [maybe] 20 years from now?" But on the opposite spectrum, one of the most prominent offenders, Marvel, is already beginning to mend its ways. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige recently told our own Mike Ryan, "We’re going to keep bringing the movies out the way we envision it and the way we believe in it — and that includes diversity in all of the active films." While he's most likely referring to 'Captain Marvel' and 'Black Panther' films, it's certainly a start.

Media magazine

Media magazine 31
True blood is a show about vampires and other mythical creatures, they are reopresented as monstoers and they do show the stereotype of what vampires do. The difference with the show is that it is a age 18 rated series with alot of sex and nudity. It is also filled with different sexuality of vampires and people.

'In the world of True Blood, vampires
have had to fight for recognition and citizenship
in much the same way as gay males and lesbians
have. The reaction of some humans to the rights
afforded to vampires in True Blood could be
seen to mirror the responses of some sections
of society to the rights recently afforded to gay
men and women.'

'Not only does True Blood
present a number of homosexual and sexually
ambiguous characters without drawing attention
to their sexual identities or giving them ‘token’
status, it offers a great many sexually explicit
scenes. Yet perhaps none of this would have been
possible without the pioneering Buffy.'

Media magazine 32
'The films of Cohen seem to have a slightly
more positive representation of homosexuality.'

In the movie bruno it is about Sacha Baron Cohen playing a gay Austriann looking for fame in America. Sacha Baron has does many gay positive scenes in his movies like Borat and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby where he plays a gay character and kisses Will Ferrel character at the end.

'The wrestling match where
Bruno and his assistant end up passionately
kissing in front of a jeering, psychotic, angry
crowd shows the awfulness of some American
attitudes to homosexuality.'

The stereotype can be sometimes too much as for the celebrity want to show positive gay people he exaggerates the stereotype to much in the movie.

'Bruno, on the other hand, is not a very nice
character. He is a highly-exaggerated stereotype
of a fashion-obsessed homosexual. His sex life is
portrayed as an exhibition of twisted creativity
and shocking acts of depravity; an exercise bike
with a dildo attached, a chair that catapults his
midget partner into him'


Media magazine 53
'TV drama features multiple lesbians, or looks beyond explicit sexual behaviour. Indeed, studies show that in the 20 most popular TV shows watched by young people, only 4.5% of the total programme time includes LGBT characters. For this reason, when shows feature multiple lesbian characters they are seen as a TV ‘event’, and this may immediately estrange audiences.'

This represents the views on television  as to the type of characters they have used, the characters in the shows that are LGBT are very not common in Tv series but it is going to be pushed as to old TV shows like Ellen and Buffy the vampire slayer had Lesbians. Also the sitcom Happy endings had a gay character which lead for 3 seasons. This is to represent the percentage of a programme and it shows that it is not a big percentage but it will increase over time.

Media magazine 38
'Neil Patrick Harris, who, in direct
contrast to his fictional persona, is openly gay
and an active campaigner for gay rights.'

This is to show the LGBT actors who can play straight characters, This is to show that straight actors can play LGBT like Jared Leto and that LGBT actors can play any character they want as to being different. This links to the LGBT part of my investigation as to that these alternative way to see a character.

Media magazine 44
Talks about Transgender being on channel 4

'For some time now TV, and C4 in particular,
has got big audiences for ‘freak show’
programs – transsexuals,'

homosexual incest between the surrogate
brothers. Bond’s reply mocks his own image
‘What makes you think it’s my first time?’ he
responds to his tormentor.

Gives a range in the entertainment department as to giving more depth and including the LGBT range for viewers. This is good because only 4.5% are LGBT in Tv shows and shows that there can be a increase because of this.