Digital Essay: Paris is Burning

Media is accessible amongst the general population, holding influences over us. Media has played a role in the way we view homosexuals as being “outsiders.” The film “Paris is Burning” accurately depicts defying the norms and shows the sense of community built that they are marginalized from. It defies the expectations placed on men being masculine and allows for the freedom of self-expression. The film touches on the fear homosexuals have for their “freakish differences” and its effects. It provides awareness of a marginalized community.

The lack of representation is exemplified through the “gay plague.” HIV has been stereotypically linked to gay culture with mass media “blaming” the epidemic as a result of the sexual revolution. Larry Gross writes, “AIDS provided society and the media with a double-edged opportunity and challenge, the truly frightening specter of a deadly disease that could be associated with sexual permissiveness, showing up among a group the media have consistently defined as being outside the mainstream.” The term “outside the mainstream” is evident through the lack of representation of sexuality. The media marginalizes the gay community and severs them from what is “normal.” They do this through the influence and negative connotation held on the general population. For instance, due to the viewpoints on the gay community, media mixed facts with opinions and the awareness needed was nonexistent. Instead, media outlets referred to AIDS as GRID--Gay Related Immune Deficiency--the “gay plague.”

Larry Gross illustrated the mass media’s role and coverage on AIDS in reference to Larry Kramer. Larry Kramer, a gay playwright grew alarmed and worked to build awareness through the Gay Men’s Health Crisis. He used media as a call to action for medical investigations and to warn gay men. However, the differences between the coverage on Legionnaire’s disease, which affected the general population, “the New York Times publishing sixty-two stories...eleven of them on the front page” in comparison to “the New York Times ran a total of ten stories about AIDS, and none of them reached the front page” shows the role media held for representing a subgroup (Gross, 96). Mass Media continuously divided the general population from normality and abnormality through a health crisis.  Gross asserts mainstream media was not only not helping but was apart of the problem. A source of news with availability to the general population, it played a role in people’s judgments. The media was impressionable and “regularly infuriated the lesbian and gay community through its hostile headlines, slanted coverage, and negative editorials that characterized AIDS as fitting punishment for homosexual behavior” (Gross, 105). The negative influence media had on people resulted in the continuing prejudice the community faces.

The prejudice of the gay community produced the need for social acceptance. Woods addresses viewpoints on gender and the stereotypical portrayals of men in the media. Men are often characterized as aggressive and masculine. “...children's television typically show men as ‘aggressive, dominant, and engaged in activities in which they receive awards from others for their ‘masculine’ accomplishments’” (Woods, 32). Men are expected to not show their femininity and to abide by these expectations. Jessica Strubel-Scheiner writes about self-perception, the HIV epidemic, and its effect on social acceptance. HIV took a toll on the way homosexuals view one another “these irrational perceptions of AIDS and body build have termed AIDSphobia. Out of fear of contracting AIDS, gay men found themselves discriminating potential partners based on their body size and shape” (Strubel-Scheiner, 14). Lack of awareness brought a detriment to the community in producing social consciousness and body negativity. Media played into the idea that gay men are subjected to having AIDS, instilling this fear.

The importance of representation, that is positive, in media is clear through its influence. To fade discrimination there is a need to work towards the normalization of being different--race, sexual orientation, or gender. Social media plays a role in that. Instagram, for example, features people spreading awareness on issues and building acceptance. Vogue recently broadcasted Nathan Westling, formerly known as Natalie, as a transgender male model. Seeing a transgender model defies the idea of “normality” by creating a new perspective on what can be considered normal. Covergirl’s face James Charles and Youtuber Jeffree Star confront the idea that makeup is not only for women but for men as well. Businesses and corporations like Youtube, Covergirl, and Vogue seek to advocate the conflicting ideologies that wouldn’t be considered standard because it encourages society to understand that not all humans are the same. It builds a foundation; an open-armed community, welcoming everyone. Such influence and exposure as seen throughout mass media affect these advancements towards the acceptance of those we once deemed as “different.”

Works Cited

Gross, L. (2001). Up From Invisibility: Lesbians, Gay Men, and The Media In America. Colombia, University Press, pp. 94-109.

Livingston, J. (Director). (1991). Paris is Burning[Video file]. United States: Academy Entertainment. Retrieved March 24, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k70tlLetqqw

Strubel-Scheiner, J. (2011). Gender Performativity and Self-Perception: Drag as Masquerade. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science,1, 12-19. Retrieved March 24, 2019, from http://www.ijhssnet.com/journals/Vol_1_No_13_Special_Issue_September_2011/2.pdf

Woods, J. T. (2019, February 18). Gendered Media: The Influence of Media on Views of Gender[Scholarly project].In NYU.edu. Retrieved March 24, 2019, from https://www.nyu.edu/classes/jackson/causes.of.gender.inequality/Readings/Wood - Gendered Media - 94.pdf