American media depicts bisexuality as extremely deviant
and attention-seeking behavior. Popular celebrity figures are often criticized
for bisexual behavior as it is seen as ‘slutty’ and as it correctly says in the
article “Sex, Power, and Intimacy” people have the impression that bisexuals
have sex all of the time and that they’re doing it with both men and women.
The media loves to play on this idea that bisexuals are
crazy and too often they put up a picture of say, Lindsey Lohan for example,
walking home from a night out drunk with a cigarette in hand stumbling around
headlined “Lindsey Wasted Again.” the majority of the time the media portray this 'deviant' behavior as behavior which correlates with times when she is dating a girl. This implies that she is getting
‘wasted’ and looking so unstable because she is bisexual.
Magazines and newspapers have a habit of portraying bisexuality in this way and they never leave it out. Jessie J illustrates this point when she tweeted “Really annoys
me when newspapers put 'Jessie J the bisexual singer' would they put 'Beyonce
the straight singer'?? #sortitout." And she has a valid point. The
identity of these bisexual celebrities is defined by their sexual orientation
instead of their careers or talents.
The media labels celebrities and makes
connections between unrelated things such as deviant behavior and sexuality and
hopefully one-day sexuality will be viewed in a different light. In the large scale of things, why does it matter who is gay, straight or bisexual?
Hi Charlotte, thanks for this post, it gave me a lot to think about. First of all, I totally agree with you when you wrote, “…my belief is that society shapes our sexuality.” This is something that I have learned from our class, and I think it has particular resonance in regards to bisexuality. Society has definitely constructed a bisexual identity to be equated with people who are overly sexual, deviant, and attention seekers. Such conceptions are not only damaging and alienating to those who identify as bi, but also largely ignores society’s influences on how sexuality is constructed and perceived. Also, I really appreciated your comment on the Jessie J tweet. This is something that happens often to groups that are marginalized; for instance people might say “female doctor” or “black lawyer,” but you would never hear “male doctor” or “white lawyer” because the privileged group is normalized and always assumed. Finally, I would like to respectively disagree with your example of Lindsey Lohan. I do think the media treated her unfairly when she was dating a woman, but I think for the most part her deviant behavior is not associated with her sexuality identity. Her relationship with Samantha Ronson ended several years ago and yet the media still places a lot of emphasis on her bad behavior, therefore I do not think she is portrayed poorly because of her sexual choices, but instead because she simply make poor choices.
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle,
DeleteThanks for your comment. Jessie J’s tweet really does put things into perspective and I agree with your example of “black lawyer” or “female doctor” the privileged group is always assumed and as soon as there is a change in societal norms it is pointed out and so it sticks out like a sore thumb. I wish there was no such thing as ‘normal’ and that nothing mattered and everybody could be individual without robotically following what we’re taught is right or normal. I agree sometimes Lindsey can be out of order but I definitely think she fits into what I was saying about bisexuals being portrayed as deviant. Projecting her to the rest of the word as a sassy, bisexual, diva gives people this image of bisexuals, which is wrong. How the media chose to present her sexuality was wrong, this blog certainly isn’t me saying how perfect she is because I think she has been deviant at times, but this doesn’t correlate with sexuality. Thanks for your comment!
I like many of the arguments you made in your article. I agree, I think the focus on sexuality in the media is concerning, as it should focus more on what made these stars "stars" in the first place. However, I also have to agree with Michelle regarding Lindsey Lohan. Lindsey Lohan has received a great deal of criticism from the media, and many would deem this rightfully so. She has exhibited both behaviors and acts (not based on her bisexual tendencies) that may place her in jail. So, I do believe while some of the criticism of her relationship with Samantha Ronson a few years ago was unacceptable, much of it was also based on some of her other action that were occurring at the time. Again though, I do think there is a great deal of focus on the sexuality of celebrities and whether their sexuality is "acceptable" in the limelight. While many people accept Ellen as a lesbian in the media, much of this is accepted because of her avoidance of discussing her sexuality in the media and specifically on her TV show. Perhaps people would have more respect for other people as well if they avoided this discussion, and yet, is this the right solution? I'm not quite sure.
ReplyDeleteHey Tara, thanks for your comment! You’re right the focus on sexuality is concerning and sexuality should not interfere with talent, lets look at somebody like Freddie Mercury from Queen one of the biggest bands in the world. He had an unbelievable talent and had one of the best voices around however he was never credited as much as he should have been. His sexuality was the main thing people talked about when he should have been applauded for his amazing talent, sexuality aside. As I said to Michelle, Lindsey Lohan was merely an example of how the media link bisexuality with deviant behavior and how they influence members of the public to have this association. I think avoidance shouldn’t be the route to take, hopefully one day everybody will be comfortable talking about their sexuality with 100% confidence that it won’t change anything and that it won’t be any different from a heterosexual couple.
DeleteI really like your post because I can totally see how the media tries to portray Lindsey as some sort of monster. I do remember how they tried to use her bisexuality to enforce this "monster" ideal. I think it is simply them ousting what they don't understand. As both Freud and Baumgardner have discussed, it is quite normal for people to experience bisexual desires. If more people were to come out and admit this, perhaps the media would have less to stigmatize. And I do agree that we should stop focusing on famous peoples'' personal lives and instead focus on their talents so that we can stop feeding into the media's "bashing frenzy."
ReplyDeleteHey Shuray, thank you for your comment! You’re very right, the media love to twist things and have the power to present information in whichever way they please. It is unfortunate that they have this power and it’s also unfortunate that they have the capability to almost brainwash members of the public. It’s rare for me to agree with Freud because I think he’s crazy and has some totally bizarre theories but his idea that everybody was born bisexual makes sense to me. In my view we are born with a clean slate and we are socialized into becoming straight, becoming the acceptable ‘norm’. We shouldn’t learn how to behave or who to fall in love with, everybody should be individual and if they fall in love with a boy they fall in love with a boy, likewise if they fall for a girl then so be it. There should be no such thing as ‘normal’.
DeleteI've definitely encountered this attitude from peers when friend's reveal they're bisexual. It's unusual that media outlets reinforce this negative stereotype about bisexuals. When I think of bisexuality, I think of two scenarios: someone who is capable of sharing the same relationship ideals and behaviors of heterosexual couples and happens to be attracted to men and women, or, a person who feels fluidity in their sexuality and isn't limiting him/herself to a preference in one of the genders within the binary, sees bisexuality as a safe space to identify. Either option shouldn't invite negativity. Like our reaction to many things we don't know,bisexuality is met with backlash like the Women's movement, the Trans-community, and even much of the homosexual community. Unfortunately, bisexuality is an identity with little support. At least those examples have the support of communities to counter backlash. It seems as if bisexuals are under attack from a variety of communities. If we were to see bisexuals "fight back", it would require some support. Perhaps a lesson in sexuality is in order?
ReplyDelete
DeleteHey Meghan, thanks for commenting! I like the two scenarios you presented and agree with what you’re saying! Bisexuality shouldn’t be viewed as negative at all nor should it be presented as anything to do with deviant behavior. I think a lesson in sexuality is definitely in order. Recently I’m happy to say, people are becoming more and more comfortable with gays and bisexuals especially if we compare it to 50 years ago where people would probably be killed if they admitted to being gay or bisexual. Now all we have to tackle is the media and get them to stop planting ideas in everybody’s heads about what normal is or what’s acceptable and what isn’t. Sexuality should be celebrated and not frowned upon.
Hey Charlotte, I really enjoyed reading your blog! I think I definitely agree with you about Freud's principle that we are all bisexual, and then our homosexual tendencies are repressed. You used great examples to show the negative light that media puts on bisexuality. I think posting something about an artist and saying " the bisexual" or "the black" is just a way that the group in power tries hurts the marginalized group and stay in power by expressing their views. Sexuality shouldn't be used to put someone down, or explain deviant behaviour, it is part of your identity and that should be celebrated and not used against someone!
ReplyDeleteHey Mieke! I agree with you completely, Freud can be unreliable like I said but I think in this particular case he may be correct although something like this can be difficult to prove. Society should get rid of the stereotypical norms and stop focusing on sexuality so explicitly because in the large scale of things it really doesn't matter whether you date a girl or a boy! As well as this, it is ludicrous that the media try to correlate bisexuality with deviant behavior, there is no link there at all! Thanks for your comment!
ReplyDeleteHi Charlotte,
ReplyDeleteI think that you chose a great topic to talk about. As it is already obvious, heterosexual is the norm, homosexuality is becoming more accepted, yet bisexuality has yet to make many improvements in the eyes of society. The term "bisexual" ALWAYS seems to be used in a negative context, like you mentioned in the magazine article with Lindsey Lohan. However, like other people have commented, I think that Lindsey Lohan has done many other things in her life, other than going through a bisexual phase, to make magazines and media classify her as a monster and unstable. But either way it is not a good thing that media always has to classify being bisexual as a bad things.
You bring up a very interesting point when you talk about how media will add sexual preferences and race, when that person identifies with something other than being white or heterosexual. It is so sad that they feel they have to focus on a person's differences and make them seem like a bad thing. I agree with what Mieke said about "is just a way that the group in power tries hurts the marginalized group and stay in power by expressing their views". If media keeps doing this, we will never get to a point where not being heterosexual or white is seen as okay.