Gays, lesbians, and the media: a selected bibliography.

The focus of this selected bibliography is on print, aural, and visual resources dealing with gay males, lesbians, and the mass media. Listings were selected on the basis of their perceived value to scholarly researchers and interested members of the more general public. Individual news stories, reviews of specific films or television programs, and coverage of gay males and lesbians in the theatre and arts are not included. While references to popular music were sought, only a few items were located and are included. There were two major obstacles confronted when compiling this bibliography. First, much of the media of the gay and lesbian communities in the United States is not indexed. Second, very few libraries subscribe to many of the more popular and important print resources (e.g., Advocate, Gay Community News) on the topics of focus. Even more inaccessible are regional publications and literature that focus on erotica but often include valuable items on the gay and lesbian communities as well.     

Clubbing masculinities: gender shifts in gay men's dance floor choreographies

This article adopts an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the intersections of gender, sexuality, and dance. It examines the expressions of sexuality among gay males through culturally popular forms of club dancing. Drawing on political and musical history, I outline an account of how gay men's gendered choreographies changed throughout the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. Through a notion of "technologies of the body," I situate these developments in relation to cultural levels of homophobia, exploring how masculine expressions are entangled with and regulated by musical structures. My driving hypothesis is that as perceptions of cultural homophobia decrease, popular choreographies of gay men's dance have become more feminine in expression. Exploring this idea in the context of the first decade of the new millennium, I present a case study of TigerHeat, one of the largest weekly gay dance club events in the United States.     

The case of "riding bareback": sexual practices and the paradoxes of identity in the era of AIDS

Barebacking, the deliberate practice of unprotected anal intercourse, is a new reality for many gay men. How does bareback sex create, maintain, and challenge personal and collective gay identities? Drawing from the works of Foucault, Weeks, Epstein, and popular gay literature, this essay explores these intersections and conflicts. Specifically, we examine the nature of identity and the conflicts and divisions in gay communities, analyze the barebacking phenomenon and its interconnection with the paradoxes of identity, and conclude by discussing the implications for HIV/AIDS education, suggestions for future research, and ways of engaging in community dialogue.     

Exploring the relationship between public opinion and personal attitudes and behavior toward lesbians and gay men: social conformity revisited

This study investigated the relationship between social conformity, gender-role egalitarianism, and personal levels of heterosexism, or prejudice based on same-sex orientation. Mock public opinion polls of a positive or negative nature regarding same-sex orientation were used to study attitudinal and behavioral change of participants and attitude-behavior consistency. The study sample included 194 undergraduate students from a Midwestern university. A correlation existed between participants' traditional gender role beliefs and heterosexism. Participants who viewed the positive public opinion poll demonstrated behavioral support for a lesbian and gay organization, as did participants with positive attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. Findings are analyzed within a social prejudice framework.     

Another Issue Comes Out: Gay Rights Policy Voting in Recent U.S. Presidential Elections

Drawing from the theory of policy voting, this study examines the impact of opinions about gay rights on voting for presidential candidates. Qualitative analysis of the major party platforms and candidate campaign rhetoric from the six presidential elections held between 1988 and 2008 indicates that Democratic and Republican presidential candidates began openly expressing opposing positions on gay rights issues in 1992. Quantitative analysis of public opinion shows that, starting in 1992 and continuing through 2008, gay rights issues became more salient to the public, and opinions about gay rights began to exert a significant effect on vote choice. The study concludes with a discussion of the partisan forces that shaped the electoral significance of gay rights issues during the period from 1988 to 2008 and speculation about the role of gay rights issues in shaping future partisan electoral strategy.     

Exploring the Relationship Between Public Opinion and Personal Attitudes and Behavior Toward Lesbians and Gay Men: Social Conformity Revisited

This study investigated the relationship between social conformity, gender-role egalitarianism, and personal levels of heterosexism, or prejudice based on same-sex orientation. Mock public opinion polls of a positive or negative nature regarding same-sex orientation were used to study attitudinal and behavioral change of participants and attitude-behavior consistency. The study sample included 194 undergraduate students from a Midwestern university. A correlation existed between participants' traditional gender role beliefs and heterosexism. Participants who viewed the positive public opinion poll demonstrated behavioral support for a lesbian and gay organization, as did participants with positive attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. Findings are analyzed within a social prejudice framework.     

“Wealthy Gay Couples Buying Babies Produced in India by Poor Womb-Women: Audience Interpretations of Transnational Surrogacy in TV News

ABSTRACT

Surrogacy is beginning to generate public debate, and the way the media approach it may have negative effects on social attitudes toward gay parenting. The news media play a key role in informing society, especially about topics such as surrogacy, of which most audiences have no direct experience. The aim of our research is to explore opinion formation of surrogacy and gay parenting by analyzing the audience interpretation of a TV news story in Spain. To do this we conducted four focus groups that were analyzed using a qualitative content analysis based on the discourse produced by the participants. The results show that the framing strategies used in the news story contribute to advocating an attitude of repudiation toward surrogacy, with an adverse sentiment also extending to homosexual couples who wish to become parents. This leads us to discuss the role of media in shaping public opinion and the resulting potential consequences in the case of surrogacy and gay parenting.     

Issue-Relevant Values and Opinions About Gay Rights: Beyond Equality and Morality

Although many studies have examined the role of values in shaping public opinion, the number of values that inform this research is limited. This article employs the concept of issue-relevant values as a means to explore the broader range of values associated with policy issues. After discussing the concept in general terms, the article explores issue-relevant values pertinent to public opinion about gay rights. Using the policy examples of employment nondiscrimination and same-sex couple adoption, the present study identifies, measures, and assesses several values that add to the very short list previously used to explain public opinion about gay rights issues. Content from interest-group Web sites and news media coverage of the two issues aided in identifying the values. Data from an original Internet survey yield valid measures of the values. Multivariate analyses indicate that the values behave in predictable ways: they are strongly influenced by partisanship, and they strongly affect opinions about the two issues. The performance of the values is consistent with findings from previous research on the partisan basis of values and the value-based nature of opinions. The article concludes with suggestions for further empirical and theoretical work that could apply and extend the concept of issue-relevant values.     

Word play, ritual insult, and volleyball in Peru

Many gay men in the popular sectors of Lima, Peru participate in vóley callejero, or street volleyball. The ethnographic data presented in this article describes verbal and corporal mechanisms through which gay identity emerges within the particular context of the street volleyball game, ultimately highlighting the contextual nature of identity. The volleyball players are not just hitting a ball back and forth, they are engaging in a meaningful activity that illuminates intersections of language, sexuality, and identity. Through the manipulation of the street into a volleyball court, the volleyball players create a space conducive to the articulation of particular verbal and embodied practices that index gay identity. The challenge to the regulations of "proper" volleyball through the practice of ritual insulting and the cultivation of gay volleyball technique are playful reconfigurations of gendered practices prominent in the sites where fieldwork was carried out.     

What Aspects of Society Matter for the Quality of Life of a Minority? Global Evidence from the New Gay Happiness Index

There is great variation in views on and treatment of minorities such as gay men across the world. We are the first to pinpoint what features of societies are beneficial to gay men’s quality of life by using a unique new cross-country dataset covering 110 countries, the Gay Happiness Index. It covers how gays perceive public opinion about them, how they experience behavior towards them and how satisfied they are with their lives. Our study is based on the premise that it is important to look at minority-specific effects of policies and institutions and not solely at the effects for the average citizen, as well as the transmission mechanisms through which policies and institutions affect life satisfaction. We find that factors such as equal legal rights for gay people, GDP per capita, democracy and globalization relate positively to the quality of life of gay men, primarily by shaping public opinion and behavior in a pro-gay direction. Religion (the shares of Muslims and Orthodox Christians) and living in a post-communist country tend to relate negatively to our quality of life indicators. Most of these factors have been shown to matter for the well-being of people in general as well, which may be taken to suggest that gay people benefit from being included in society—legally, socially and economically—on the same terms as others.     

Getting out in the "real world": young men, queer and theories of gay community

A recent opinion piece published in the Sydney Morning Herald expresses a widely held perception that, among young same-sex attracted men in Australia, "queer" has well and truly supplanted "gay" as the language and lens through which self and practice is generated. In this article, I discuss findings from a qualitative research project that studied notions of community among young gay men, and argue that this assumption should not be taken for granted. The article explores participants' understandings of the concept of "gay community," arguing that the young men studied share a common definition of community: one based on a conventional liberal model which prioritizes sameness and the cooperation of individuals to achieve common goals. This is of particular importance in that problems around "fitting in" with these understandings are also raised. In examining the potential place for queer alternatives to these formulations, however, the article finds that queer attracts little support among participants, raising questions about the bind young men may find themselves in if they prioritize sameness as fundamental to community, yet feel themselves to be excluded from community by their own or others' perceived difference.     

Investigating Differences in Public Support for Gay Rights Issues

Public opinion surrounding two of the most well-known gay rights issues—same-sex marriage and adoption by gays and lesbians—varies widely: About 30% of the public favors same-sex marriage, while about 50% favors adoption. The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the demographic variables that predict attitudes toward same-sex marriage and adoption by gays and lesbians. Political ideology and attendance at religious services emerged as the strongest predictors. However, a close examination of the two issues shows that there were important differences between them. These differences may aid gay rights advocates in crafting media campaigns designed to increase support for same-sex marriage.     

Ambivalent Homoprejudice towards Gay Men: Theory Development and Validation

ABSTRACT

Myriad social groups are targets of hostile and benevolent (i.e., ambivalent) prejudice. However, prejudice toward gay men is typically conceptualized as hostile, despite the prevalence of benevolence toward gay men in popular media. This article aims to compare gay men with other targets of ambivalent prejudice (i.e., women and elderly people) and draw on the stereotype content and microaggressions literatures in order to develop a theory of ambivalent homoprejudice. The resultant framework, comprising repellent, adversarial, romanticized, and paternalistic homoprejudice was investigated using seven focus groups of heterosexuals and gay men (N = 22), and the findings were consistent with stereotype content theory. Directions for future research into the deleterious effects of ambivalent homoprejudice and possible empowering interventions are discussed.     

Religion and Public Perceptions of Gays and Lesbians in South Korea

Public support for gay and lesbian rights has increased in Western democracies, yet less is known regarding views in South Korea, or East Asia more broadly. Rather than broad cultural claims, this analysis asks to what extent religious identification explains perceptions of gays and lesbians. Public opinion survey data from South Korea finds that Protestants were consistently less supportive of homosexual issues compared to Catholics, Buddhists, and those without a religious identification. Furthermore, after controlling for religion, identification with the largest conservative party associated with less support.     

Assessing the Tongzhi Label: Self-Identification and Public Opinion

Tongzhi is one of several Chinese terms that refer to individuals who are attracted to the same sex. Using data from two different surveys in Hong Kong, this research note examines how the term tongzhi coexists with other terms. We investigate the prevalence of self-identification as tongzhi, and we explore the extent to which using the term tongzhi influences public attitudes toward gay people and gay rights. Activists began popularizing the term tongzhi in the late 1980s, but less than one third of the participants in our 2008 survey of sexual orientation minorities (n = 728) described themselves as tongzhi. Using a split-ballot experiment in a 2013 public opinion poll (n = 831), we found that attitudes toward gay people and gay rights were not significantly impacted by whether questions were phrased in terms of tongzhi or the main alternative term tongxinglianzhe. We discuss how our findings can enrich understandings of earlier research and illuminate avenues for future study.     

Racialized Masculinities and the New Homonormativity in LOGO's Noah's Arc

Examining the relationship between neoliberalism, race, and gender performance, this article provides an analysis of Noah's Arc, a popular LOGO television series in the United States. More specifically, it focuses on the intricate relationship between specific forms of racialized masculinities and the new homonormativity in this show. This article is divided into six sections. First, an overview of the LOGO series is provided. Next, gay, lesbian, and queer visibility in mainstream U.S. popular culture and the new homonormativity are examined. Third, the relationship between race and masculinity is discussed. Next, a close reading and analysis of the show is provided. Fifth, an exploration of how representations of Noah's Arc queers and "quares" Black masculinity in U.S. culture is undertaken. Finally, some concluding thoughts on representations of racialized masculinities and homonormativity in this popular television series are offered.     

The Emergence and Persistence of Queerness: Conversing Through Visual Culture Within a Generation

ABSTRACT

In this article, the authors explore the work of becoming queer within the Millennial generation. Collaborative in nature, their investigation turns to three key popular-culture texts of the 1990s—Will & Grace, Rent, and MTV’s Spring Break—that were central to their then-emerging sense of self. Staged as an intragenerational conversation, the authors look to create space to unpack the connections, anecdotal by design, between popular texts and changing ideas of queer identity and community. Since neither author grew up within the confines of a gay ghetto—Boystown of Chicago, the Castro of San Francisco, the East Village of New York City—where they may have encountered and been enamored by the avant-garde queer subcultures so often praised in queer scholarship (for important reasons), they turn instead to experiences with popular culture that opened up lessons in becoming gay, in rural and Midwestern locales where queerness operated and emerged differently.     

Online surveys for BGLT research: issues and techniques

Online surveys are becoming increasingly popular for accessing less visible and decentralized populations, including bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender (BGLT) populations. Advances in technology and convenience for the both the researcher and the participant have facilitated this trend. In this paper, we explore issues related to conducting BGLT survey research online, such as making decisions about survey formats, target populations and recruitment, compensation, access.     

Eros underground: Greece and Rome in gay print culture, 1953-65

This essay surveys the building of intellectual community through print culture in the nascent gay movement in the United States and in Europe in the mid-twentieth century. Amateur historians, especially Jim Kepner and W. Dorr Legg of ONE, used Greece and Rome as models on which to base claims for gay rights. Ancient history figured in ONE's educational enterprises, including articles in the magazine ONE, the ONE Institute, and Homophile Studies. The magazine writers and their readership faced problems in the accessibility of knowledge, which the increasing circulation of the magazines corrected, to a degree. Biases surviving from the Victorian period caused the popular idea of ancient homophile culture to favor Greece over Rome, and made Greek a code word. Antiquity also played a large, though decreasing, role in formations of homoerotic fantasy during this period.     

Getting Out in the “Real World”: Young Men,Queer and Theories of Gay Community

ABSTRACT

A recent opinion piece published in the Sydney Morning Herald expresses a widely held perception that, among young same-sex attracted men in Australia, “queer” has well and truly supplanted “gay” as the language and lens through which self and practice is generated. In this article, I discuss findings from a qualitative research project that studied notions of community among young gay men, and argue that this assumption should not be taken for granted. The article explores participants' understandings of the concept of “gay community,” arguing that the young men studied share a common definition of community: one based on a conventional liberal model which prioritizes sameness and the cooperation of individuals to achieve common goals. This is of particular importance in that problems around “fitting in” with these understandings are also raised. In examining the potential place for queer alternatives to these formulations, however, the article finds that queer attracts little support among participants, raising questions about the bind young men may find themselves in if they prioritize sameness as fundamental to community, yet feel themselves to be excluded from community by their own or others' perceived difference.