By Emilia Marcyk
Current scholarship and academic news addressing LGBTQIA identities and concerns, of interest to librarians, educators, and information professionals.
Publications
Corey, Sarah. “All Bi Myself: Analyzing Television’s Presentation of Female Bisexuality.” Journal of Bisexuality, vol. 17, no. 2, 2017, pp. 190-205. URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15299716.2017.1305940
How do mainstream TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy portray bisexual women? Not well, it turns out. This examination of bisexual female characters in television highlights the need for greater diversity in representation, not simply more characters.
Davies, Adam W. J. and j. wallace skelton. “Queer and Trans at School.” Education Canada, vol. 57, no. 2, June 2017, pp. 42-44. URL: http://www.cea-ace.ca/education-canada/issue/Summer2017
A discussion of the importance of belonging at school for queer and trans students, written by two PhD education students who have extensive experience working with LGBTQ+ youth.
McLaughlin, Bryan, and Nathian S. Rodriguez. “Identifying with a Stereotype: The Divergent Effects of Exposure to Homosexual Television Characters.” Journal of Homosexuality, vol. 64, no. 9, 2017, pp. 1196-213. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2016.1242335
Previous studies of how gay men are portrayed on television theorize that these characters can lead the watcher to acceptance, or can serve to reinforce negative stereotypes. Bryan and Rodriguez suggest a third way: that these shows can increase acceptance, while limiting the audience’s view of what it means to be and “act” gay.
Special Issue
Keeping with our pop culture theme this week, a new issue of Gender Forum discusses gender and superheroes. Articles include a discussion of fragile masculinities in the Dark Knight Trilogy, as well as articles on Iron Man and Watchmen. You can view the issue here: http://genderforum.org/
