The position of gays and lesbians in society has always been an issue of much controversy. Depending on culture, religion, traditions and laws, media coverage on gays and lesbians was limited and negative, especially in adverts and films in years prior to the 1990s. However, this scenario is slowly changing currently, with more and more gay, lesbian and bisexual people being covered by the media including positively featuring in movies, music and adverts. This paper seeks to explore why the current situation was not the case before 1990(Raeburn 27).
As compared to 1990’s, today’s society is more tolerable and accommodative to gays and lesbians. As a result, more gay people are now publicly declaring their sexual orientation which was not the scenario before the 1990s. As Moscowitz asserts, gay relationships gained much recognition, acceptance and media coverage during the 1990s. Therefore, television channels were comfortable covering gays and lesbians because their viewers were now more open to gay and lesbian relations than the viewers in the 1990s.
Prior to 1990, there was less advocacy and awareness creation on gay and lesbian issues compared to the period after the ‘ 90s. This translated to less recognition of gays and lesbians in all spheres of life, including an appearance in the media. From the 1990s to present times, there has been a great campaign for the recognition and acceptance of lesbians and gay men. The consequence of this was the inclusion of gay issues in all vital spheres of life, including legal recognition of gay relationships and positive media coverage (Moscowitz 56).
The other factor that has promoted positive images of gay men and lesbian is recent advancements in technology. With increased access to the internet, gay and lesbian individuals and organizations have alternative avenues of reaching out to the masses. Online channels for example Youtube are used to share documentaries, features and confessions of gay and lesbian individuals. As Raeburn argues, this was not possible before the 1990’s because technological growth was still very slow, and there were very few avenues of sharing images of gays and lesbians across the world (Raeburn 27).
In summary, present times are characterized by steadily increasing positive representation of gay and lesbian people, a trend that started in the 1990’s. Prior to this period, gay and lesbian relationships were still not recognized and accepted. Society shunned gays and lesbians, and therefore the media had to follow suit. People’s opinions on this controversial issue have since changed over time. Gay men and lesbians now get more positive coverage through popular films and commercials, a shift from the limited and negative coverage they got before the 1990’s.
Works Cited
Minichiello, Victor, and John Scott. Male Sex Work and Society. , 2014. Print.
Moscowitz, Leigh. The Battle Over Marriage: Gay Rights Activism Through the Media. , 2013. Print.
Raeburn, Nicole C. Changing Corporate America from Inside Out: Lesbian and Gay Workplace Rights. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2004. Print.
