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Bisexuality in Popular Television


By Sydney Secuskie
Popular culture plays a strong role in the way teens develop and respond to their sexuality. It helps young adults develop a way to interact with their counterparts and helps them get a sense of sexuality and sexual experiences that they may experience in their young lives. However, what happens to this development when the sexuality an individual identifies with is rarely portrayed in popular films and television series? Heterosexuality is normalized within numerous popular television series, making young teens of the LGBTQ+ community struggle to find a character to resonate with.

Callie Torres, a bisexual character in the TV hit show Grey’s Anatomy, exemplifies the struggles that many individuals in the LGBTQ+ community face when trying to identify their sexuality. Callie begins the first season as a straight, married female; however, she eventually falls in love with a female doctor after her divorce with her husband. Callie constantly denied her bisexual identity due to her parents very strict Catholic background. Eventually, Callie accepts her own identity and sets an example for what it is like to be a strong, confident bisexual woman in the series.

Bisexual characters in popular television series are on the rise; however, these portrayals of individuals are not where they should be and do not represent these individuals without the stereotypes that come with their sexuality. When characters come out as bisexual, many of the characters are seen as sexually confused or promiscuous due to their love affairs or attractions within the television series.

You may think these individuals are getting more screen time, thus allowing audiences to become more aware of this sexuality; however, this is not the case. As stereotypes and mislabeling by the producers continue to occur, young individuals who are not yet fully sure of their identity may become confused and stressed with how they are to react and respond to their identity. These stereotypes and themes that emerge represent those that identify as bisexual in a negative way.

One major impact on these misrepresentations is in the way young adults view them. Heterosexuality is still a main norm in all of popular culture. This becomes an issue when looking at the young adults of the nation. As stereotypes in popular television series continue to occur with their identity, teens beginning to identify and explore their sexuality may feel “isolation and alienation” (Bond, 116). These stereotypical bisexual portrayals cause confusion for some individuals attempting “to better understand how their sexual feelings fit into their social worlds” (Bond, 116). If society on popular television series are constantly reinforcing these misrepresentations, these teens may begin to feel lost within their own sexuality.

As popular television series begin to create more main bisexual characters, it is imperative for screenwriters to stray away from the stereotypes that society has labeled with that identity. There is no one way to represent a group or identity. Individuals come with many backgrounds and preferences, even when they identify with a particular group. Popular television series must make a strong effort to push back on bisexual characters with stereotypical lives. These television industries must make individual, original, and dynamic bisexual characters that represent more than just the stereotypes because, let’s be real, everyone is their own person, no matter what our identity is to society.



References
Bond, B. J. (2014). Sex and Sexuality in Entertainment Media Popular With Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adolescents. Mass Communication & Society, 17(1), 98–120. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2013.816739

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Comments

  1. KHNovember 2, 2018 at 11:25 AM

    Sydney,

    This is quite good. You've identified an appropriate topic and offered an example of popular culture that addresses some of our core concerns regarding popular culture and identity. Equally important, much of your writing is clear and concise.

    However, some issues with formatting (i.e., your byline is NORMAL size font but the essay is SMALL) and errors in your use of APA in-text citation (Author, year, page) and reference (upper and lower case) undermine your efforts.

    As do some awkward sentence constructions. For instance, you write, "As stereotypes in popular television series continue to occur with their identity ... ." This could be stated with greater clarity.

    Likewise, you say: "Popular television series must make a strong effort to push back on bisexual characters with stereotypical lives." I get it, but again, this can and should be worded with greater clarity.

    So, apart from formatting issues and a few awkward sentences, this is a solid post. Moving forward, be sure to proof read your work carefully and adhere to formatting instructions.

    26 pts.

    ReplyDelete

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