Sexuality & Disability
Sociology: AQA A Level, topic 9.2.4
Sexuality
Homosexuals have typically been represented in the media via negative stereotypes. However, things are changing and more gay male and lesbian characters’ feature in dramas, films and soaps.
Sexuality
- Heterosexuality:
- Involves a sexual orientation towards people of the opposite sex.
- Homosexuality:
- Involves a sexual orientation towards people of the same sex.
Homosexuality
- Homosexuality was illegal until 1967 in Britain.
- Homosexuals are subjected to periodic moral panics regarding their supposedly ‘unnatural’ practices.
Gay men
- Gay men are often represented in the media as:
- Effeminate and camp.
- Deviant.
- Flamboyant.
- Funny.
Gay women
- Gay women are often represented in the media as:
- Butch .
- Aggressive.
- OR lesbians for male satisfaction.
Dyer
- Dyer argues that “a major fact about being gay is that it doesn’t show”, meaning that in order for TV and film to represent homosexuality on screen they tend to over exaggerate stereotypical features.
- This leads to negative labelling in society.
Wider representation
- These negative stereotypes mean that homosexuals are suffering from symbolic annihilation as only one aspect of their identity is being portrayed.
- However, things are changing; more gay male and lesbian characters feature in dramas, films and soaps, such as Brokeback Mountain and Glee.
Disability
Barnes outlines dominant representations of disability in the media.
Models of disability
- Medical model:
- This model views disability as a product of impairment.
- Social model:
- This model views disability as the outcome of social barriers.
- The main focus in this model is the obstacles and discrimination that people with disabilities face.
Representations of disability
- Barnes outlines dominant representations of disability in the media.
- An object of ridicule:
- Disabled people are often laughed at in comedies.
- As a burden:
- Television documentaries and news features often focus on carers rather than the disabled.
Barnes
- As sexually abnormal:
- It is assumed by media representations that the disabled do not have sexual feelings.
- As ordinary or normal:
- Barnes argues that the media rarely portray disabled people as normal people who happen to have an impairment.
Barnes cont.
- As pitiable and pathetic:
- Barnes claims that this stereotype has grown in popularity in recent years because of television appeals e.g. Children in Need.
- As sinister and evil:
- Disabled people are often portrayed as criminals or monsters.
Barnes 3
- As super cripples:
- Barnes notes that the disabled are portrayed as having special powers.
- E.g. the blind may be seen as visionaries with a sixth sense.
Shakespeare
- Shakespeare argues that such stereotypes are crude and one dimensional.
- In his opinion negative stereotypes such as those outlined by Barnes perpetuate the ignorance that exists in society with regards to disability.
Test yourself on Sexuality & Disability
When was homosexuality illegal until in Britain?