Rough Draft Final Paper

So I am really struggling guys. Tell me if you think that this direction is good. I'm worried the topic is too dry. Please comment below!

“Candor is a compliment; it implies equality. It’s how true friends talk.” These words were spoken by Peggy Noonan, an American author and Wall Street Journal columnist. Her statements perfectly encompass the situation pertaining to the LGBTQ community and American society. The general public has made large steps towards acceptance and progress in gay issues but the movement still has many things to fight for. The most influential factor in this movement has been mainstream media’s introduction of gay society into mainstream society. Media’s inclusion of gay issues into mainstream media has positively influenced the acceptance of gay issues by the American public. The combination of news coverage, television inclusion, and social media influence has positively shaped a younger generation much more comfortable with the idea of gay equality. Peggy Noonan’s statement accurately reflects the hopes of the gay community. When gay issues and concepts can be spoken of openly and honestly without prejudice or bigotry, then true equality will have been met.

To understand the changes in gay issue acceptance in media, one must first understand its origins. It was not until February 7^th, 1991 that the first homosexual kiss took place on network television. The television show was L.A. Law and ran for eight episodes on NBC. The scene was so controversial that many advertisers threatened to pull advertisements due to its broadcasting. It wasn't until three years later in 1994 that we saw the first advertisement with a gay couple in it. The advertisement was a television commercial for Ikea featuring two men shopping together. We wouldn't see the first gay engagement or wedding on television for almost 14 years. The two aired in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Now almost every major television program has at least one character to represent the LGBTQ community. We even have programs on the air that specifically focus on the community in its entirety leaving heterosexual characters as the minority. So why such a drastic change?

Media and GLBTQ Issues

So I have decided to change my research topic. This may sound pretty crazy to do so late in the game but I just wasn’t feeling as interested in my topic as I got into it and one of the responses I received on my topic pointed out a huge flaw in my foundation. I have decided to focus my research to a new topic. I want to examine how new media has changed pre-existing attitudes towards gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer issues. The GLBTQ community has become vastly more accepted in the world compared to where we as a society stood only a decade ago. I want to examine how media has influenced that.

The first area I want to examine is television. Television was and still is one of the most actively used forms of media distribution in the world. In the 20^th century it was the absolute most influential and that is why I want to start here. I want to examine how GLBTQ issues were first introduced to the mass public and track that growth pattern so that I can identify the variables that influenced opinion. It is my hope that I can then apply these variables to GLBTQ information disseminated through social media and compare the effectiveness of the two mediums.

When I address social media’s impact on the issue I believe that I can target key concepts that were first examined through the inter-web. These very concepts lead to the formation of numerous organizations, groups, and new understanding of GLBTQ issues. Of the top of my head I can think of things like the Trevor Project which is an organization who tries to reduce the amount of teen suicide in the GLTBQ community. We see social media celebrities like Tyler Oakley who have become GLTBQ icons due to the strategic use of social media.

I believe that this new concept will keep me engaged and prove quite interesting to examine.