Same-sex Couples in Television

Note: I wrote this for a media consumption journal for a media literacy class but wanted to blog about it as well so if it sounds a bit formal, that is why.

This past week I’ve noticed something in multiple forms of media I watch that has started to bother me. It’s not necessarily in the media itself, but rather the publicity of the media. The issue I’m struggling with deals with same-sex couples in the media. There have been instances in the media lately that show same-sex couples in an incredibly positive light and show how normal it is for the parents of the family to be gay. However, what I’ve started noticing, analyzing, and become frustrated about is the fact that the media has to take that inclusion of gay people and talk about it nonstop.

In the Disney channel show Good Luck Charlie the young daughter, Charlie, of the main family is going to have a play-date. When her friend Taylor’s parents arrive to drop her off for the play-date, Charlie’s parents discover Taylor’s parents are two women. Charlie’s parents don’t act too shocked and the producers make this inclusion seamless. However, after that episode aired, I logged into Facebook and saw post after post of the clip from the show. I think it’s great what Disney did with this and the way they handled it was very professional. The media, though, took the clip and talked about it’s significance over and over again.

This type of publicity creates a barrier between what is “normal” (a heterosexual couple as the parents of the family) and what is “strange” or “different” (a homosexual couple as parents). [As a side note, I think we can all agree that two Caucasian, heterosexual people is no longer the “norm” in America for parents anyway. But for this example we’ll call that the “norm”.] As soon as something in television is done controversially different, people in the media feel the need to talk about it again and again to point out the fact that something was done differently. This might be acceptable with certain issues, but because this is a very important political issue in our country right now, it can dramatically change the perspective people have on the issue.

If the media and people in our society just left the issue alone and acted as if nothing strange had happened, that same-sex couples were just expected as part of a show about families, there wouldn’t be such a divide between what is considered “normal” and what is “strange.” If we can break down that divide, nothing would be considered “stranger than” on a scale in comparison to something similar, yet more “normal.” We would instead have a society that valued the differences among people and families, rather than shaming them for their lifestyle and biology.

We’ve arrived at a point in media that requires we touch on multiple issues in every show in order to remain “politically correct.” While this is polite and may seem like the right thing to do, viewers can see right through what producers are attempting to do. For example, I enjoy watching the show The Fosters for the creative plot line and interesting characters. However, I get frustrated sometimes when the characters or story seems to be placed in the show just “because they had to” put them there. Shows are most entertaining when they break the PC rules; maybe not for everyone, but I guess to me I’m more entertained with parodies of real life versus a boring show trying hard to include all different types of people and make it seem as normal as possible. Certain personality traits should be included where it’s necessary but not every possible trait needs to be included in one episode of a television show.

The Problem with Social Media

After all the talk about an arrest this morning, I felt it was necessary to voice my opinion about the attention social media gives to unimportant topics. The problem is this: the more we tweet, post, blog, and simply talk about the topics we don't like seeing in the media, the more attention they get. If you don't think a 19-year old male pop star is important enough to receive attention, don't give him attention. At all.

I found it sad that on Sunday night a certain professional football player from the Pacific Northwest was "trending" higher on Facebook than a shooting at a university in Pennsylvania. "What shooting?!" You may be asking... Exactly. Our focus has narrowed in on issues not really all that dangerous or important to the country or world as a whole. Instead we focus on silly things like a former Disney star's insane VMA performance. Even if you're tweeting about how repulsed you are by her twerking, you are still giving her the attention she wants. The new goal for people in the limelight is to trend. That's all they want is to have their name everywhere and for people to constantly be talking about them.

The solution to this problem is simple: don't talk about them. Just don't. Every time you do, you're only advancing the problem. Instead, talk about serious issues in the world that need immediate attention and potentially put your fellow citizens at risk. I challenge you to stop yourself any time you begin talking about an issue that really isn't all that important in regards to the sake of our community and instead talk about issues in your community, state, country, and the world. If everyone begins doing this we can combat this problem one conversation at a time.

In case it wasn't obvious, I purposefully referred to people in this post by what they are known for and not their name. You, as a reader, probably still know who I'm talking about but I did not bring attention to them specifically by name. This is a good place to start solving this issue.