midterm

[[because]]... it just does!

representation matters because it's important for kids, teens, and even adults to see accurate and relatable [[portrayals]] of themselves in the media when there is positive representation in society, LGBTQ+ people feel less alone they feel like they [[belong]]

people they can look up to as role models, whether they be [[celebrities]] or the [[characters]] they play; fictional people or real ones

some examples of LGBTQ+ celebrities: Stephanie Beatriz, [[the Ellens]], Wentworth Miller, Neil Patrick Harris, Freddie Mercury, Laverne Cox

characters like Rosa Diaz and Captain Holt from //Brooklyn Nine-Nine//, Alex Danvers from //Supergirl// and Sara Lance from //Legends of Tomorrow//, Elena Alvarez from //One Day at a Time//, Mickey Milkovich and Ian Gallagher from //Shameless//... the list goes on! people can find representation of themselves through [[queer readings]] of characters in films or tv shows and books

(Page and DeGeneres)

social norms put a lot on people to [[behave a certain way]], and the LGBTQ+ community is expected to live up to those norms

"we live in a moment rife with contradictions" - hilton-morrow and battles, //sexual identities and the media// meaning members of the LGBTQ+ community are expected to [[act a certain way]], but are judged when they do

[[harmful stereotypes]] about LGBTQ+ people affect the way the community functions often, LGBTQ+ media has one or more elements of [[camp]] in it

"there can be no doubt that most stereotypes of gays in films are demeaning and offensive" - richard dyer, //stereotyping// dyer says that stereotypes are "widely agreed upon and believed to be right" and that many gay people believe them, reinforcing the stereotypes of themselves but stereotypes can be [[defied and broken]]

the term was coined by [[kimberle crenshaw]] in 1989 and should be applied to every piece of LGBTQ+ media the public consumes if the media you're creating isn't [[intersectional]], what are you doing? in //love, simon//, one of the main characters is black, gay, and jewish, and he is never viewed in a negative light because of those things it's just fact, but the fact that he is included in the story in such an important role is significant that's just a small example of what intersectionality means

intersectionality is "the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage" (pulled from google) in simpler terms, it's just inclusion inclusion of [[everyone]], regardless of any factors

"the mass media have become our common ground with countless other groups that make up the national and international community. the mass media thus bring together audiences that would previously have lived in seperate worlds." - gross, //up from invisibility// ch. 1: the mediated society the media connects us all it [[crosses borders]], which is just what intersectionality does

when you [[read something]] or watch something and you assume something in it is queer, that's a queer reading it can be implicitly stated in the material, or you can decide for yourself

in "out of the closet and into the art house," benshoff and griffin discuss hollywood movies and how they impacted the LGBTQ+ community "people marketing these films were happy to have them be [[perceived as queer]] but not be labeled as exclusively gay or lesbian" people can find their own representation, even sometimes where it doesn't really exist

not the kind of camp where you stay in cabins and swim in lakes with your friends and not conversion camps either (those should all be burned to the ground) camp is an [[aesthetic]]

"camp is both political and critical" - moe meyer, //reclaiming the discourse of camp// it's a cultural aspect of queer life and society it matters because it's an integral part of the LGBTQ+ community it's part of representation in the media and it all goes back to the same [[question]]

[[stereotyping]] is rampant in the LGBTQ+ community

but it isn't always so [[easy]]

[[the social construction of gender, sex, and sexuality]] sometimes makes it difficult for people to feel like they can fit in anywhere

fight the system, fuck the society, do whatever you want, BE whoever you want, any way you want to

if there are two female characters in a film that interact with each other in a positive way, some people might want assume they are lesbians based on [[the way they're portrayed]] in the film they might not be, but if you want them to be, go right ahead and say they are who's gonna tell you if you're right or wrong?

i just saw the movie [[love, simon]] and some of my friends have said that the two lead female characters, abby and leah, should have been in a relationship leah was jealous that abby was flirting with their friend nick because leah was in love with nick but it could be perceived that she was in love with abby, and that's why she was jealous

based on the book //Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda// by becky albertalli, just one book among many that includes positive gay representation the fact that it's now a movie means that it will reach a wider audience, and more kids will be able to see themselves portrayed in a positive light this is why [[representation]] matters!

//love, simon// and the book it's based off of include a little bit of [[intersectionality]] through one of the main characters

gay, lesbian, bi, pan, trans, queer, ace, intersex, poly black, white, asian, indian disabled, disadvantaged every walk of life and every color of the rainbow, everyone from every marginalized community, every minority

let's get one thing straight or maybe not so straight . . . LGBTQ+ representation matters! [[why?]]

[[why does representation matter?]]

and this is part of the question: [[why does representation matter?]] people of all body types, all skin colors, and all orientations need to see themselves represented

[[why does representation matter?]]