Audiences out of the box: Diasporic sexual minorities viewing representations of sexual diversity

Abstract

Much has been written about the representation of sexual minorities in the media, but the meanings of such representations for audiences have hardly been explored to date. Moreover, most of this writing only addresses Western representations and White, Western audiences, so the current picture is limited and culturally specific. This article draws on in-depth interviews with (children of) migrants living in Belgium, discussing their readings of representations of sexual diversity. In media from their country of origin, but also in Belgian and Western media, they identify many of the 'old' problems discussed in the literature on lesbian, gay and bisexual and transgender representation: invisibility, negativity and stereotyping. While they are also critical about the lack of diversity in the media, particularly in terms of nonWhite, non-Western representations, they generally 'make do' with what is available This research shows how patterns of representation are all but even across the world, and how strongly the meanings and implications of these representations depend on the readings of audiences, situated in particular cultural, social and media contexts.

‘If you don’t “pass” as cis, you don’t exist’. The trans audience's reproofs of ‘Cis Gaze’ and transnormativity in TV series

“…However, a part of the academic literature has focused on how LGBTIQ + audiences interpret and interact with their representation. Dhoest (2016) speaks of a negotiation process between representation, stereotypes, and stigmatization that LGBTIQ + audiences engage in based on their own experiences when dealing with negative media portrayals. Gross (2001) identifies practices of appropriation and subversion as forms of resistance to harmful representations.…”

“…In recent years, the amount of scientific production on the LGBTIQ + community has increased, and the subject has also drawn the attention of media studies. However, empirical studies focused on trans audiences have received little attention (Dhoest, 2016). Moreover, these studies have traditionally focused on the analysis of media messages, but scarcely on other parts of the (audiovisual) cultural circuit (Hall and Du Gay, 1996), such as production and reception.…”

Gay the right way? Roles and routines of Irish media production among gay and lesbian workers

“…Within Media Studies, a concern with LGBT sexual identities has been adopted for the purpose of analysing screen texts, (Beirne, 2008; Dyer, 1990; Gross, 2001; Russo, 1981); as well as in approaches to understanding screen audiences (Dhoest, 2016; Kern, 2014); and in the context of new media landscapes (Alexander, 2004; Driver, 2006; Sender, 2012). However, queer sexualities in general have not been a central concern within the sub-discipline of Production Studies.…”

What is the ‘Television’ of the European Journal of Cultural Studies? Reflections on 20 years of the study of television in the Journal

“…3: 3) concerned with issues of Turkish media use and identity. Alexander Dhoest (2016) provides a more recent example with his study of how diasporic sexual minorities in Belgium understood and used representations of diverse sexuality from the ‘West’ and compared them with those in their home cultures.…”