After reading the 'Information-Seeking
Practices during the Sexual Development of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual
Individuals: The Influence and Effects of Coming Out in a Mediated Environment' article and our class discussion on the visibility of LGBTQ individuals in the media, it seemed pretty clear that we could all at least come up with one or two shows that featured a gay or lesbian character, and had at least heard of one that had a bisexual character. While we touched on the topic of transgender existence in the media, it was difficult to come up with shows that included such a character let alone had them as their main feature. After giving it a little bit more thought however, the show Ru Paul's Drag Race came to mind. Soon following, I saw an article online reminded me of the purpose the show serves that goes beyond discovering "America's Next Drag Superstar!".
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| Tyra Sanchez:Season 2 Winner of RuPaul's Drag Race |
The article I read was about Ru Paul's Drag Race season 2 winner, James
William Ross IV, otherwise known by drag stage name Tyra Sanchez, in a new documentary about his dedication to fatherhood as a drag queen. While a contestant on Drag Race, James/Trya often spoke about the fact that his main motivation in the competition was to win it in order to better be able to provide for his now seven-year-old son, Jeremiah. Contestants alike on the show, most notably during workroom and backstage footage, often shared very frank stories about their personal life struggles, their coming-out stories, breaking into the drag scene, and how their drag lifestyles effected relationships with their family and friends. While individual stories ranged widely in diversity, the common themes consisted of establishing acceptance within their communities and/or forging new "drag families" and finding a place in the gay community. This called to mind how the Brown, Hefner, and Drogos article mentioned that, “After
LGB individuals are able to express their sexual identities to themselves, the
next developmental task to tackle is coming out to others. If individuals can
integrate their sexual identities into their lives successfully, they will
experience a level of acceptance.” (Brown et al. 2008).
Media exposure such as television shows, documentaries, films, and internet sites/blogs help promote establishing normalization
of transgender lifestyle in society through portraying examples of community acceptance regarding non-mainstream issues (such as being a drag queen). By coming out publicly as a drag queen, Tyra/James is promoting public education and awareness raising through TV exposure helps establish a more accepting community not only for himself and his son, but for the broader LGBTQ community in general. Through exposure via multiple media outlets, information about LGBTQ lifestyles and communities becomes more available to those who may otherwise be unexposed to these things (such as LGB adolescents/teens). The research article points out that “The
stories communicated through computer-mediated means could serve as information
sources for the LGB adolescent browser, in essence, constructing a virtual
community that gives these adolescents a sense they are not alone.” (Brown et al.). While in general television portrayals tend to adhere to stereotypes and can thus promote inaccurate images of transgender individuals, it is still important for LGBTQ individuals to continue to pursue their increase in media exposure. Through multimedia exposure (such as internet blogs and documentaries) there can be a better effort towards challenging stereotypes and increasing awareness by providing more avenues to do so.
Brown et al. reaffirms the importance of attention to multimedia exposure by explaining that, “Media, particularly the Internet, may now be serving as the primary information source for LGB adolescents. Ryan and Futterman (1998) argued the Internet plays an important role in early adolescents’ declaration of sexuality because it provides information that allows teens to label feelings and figure out who they are.” These ideas can be echoed by Ru Paul's famous words at the end of every Drag Race episode, "If you can't love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else? Can I get an Amen?!"
