Popular cinema and lesbian interpretive strategies

Still Trapped in the U.S. Media's Closet: Representations of Gender-Variant, Pre-Adolescent Children

Many studies have examined representations of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the U.S. media. Yet they have centered on portrayals of adults or teenagers. This investigation considered a potential LGBT population that has been neglected in media research, namely gender-variant, preadolescent children. Surveying the U.S. media at large but with an emphasis on television, the article reveals that gender-creative youth are nearly invisible. When depictions of gender-variant kids do appear, they often focus on either children who express extreme gender dysphoria or in some way signify the "tragic queer" motif (or both). The implications of these findings are discussed.

Judi Dench's age-inappropriateness and the role of M: challenging normative temporality

This article approaches Judi Dench's role as M in the long-running James Bond series from a gender and ageing studies' perspective and explores this character's subversion of normative concepts of gender and temporality. Based on the assumption that cultural narratives shape our understanding of ageing, it examines how M disrupts prescribed age- and gender roles, presenting an alternative within films which otherwise perpetuate normative notions of a sexualised, youthful femininity. It focusses on Dench's return as M in Casino Royale (2006), as an instance of anachronism (Russo, 1999), subverting viewers' expectation of linear timelines and examines M's challenge of normative age-appropriateness in Skyfall (2012). Despite M's portrayal as a more vulnerable female character in the latter, this article presents her character as an alternative to traditional portrayals of older women on screen.

Out smoking on the big screen: tobacco use in LGBT movies, 2000-2011

OBJECTIVE

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people have significantly higher smoking prevalence than heterosexual people in the U.S.A. The reasons for this disparity remain unclear. Tobacco use in movies has a substantial influence on tobacco use behaviours, particularly among youth. Yet, no research has examined tobacco use in movies for LGBT audiences or containing LGBT characters.

METHODS

We identified 81 U.S. movies from 2000 to 2011 with a theatre release and with LGBT themes or characters. We then selected a random sample of these movies (n=45) for quantitative content analysis to examine the proportion of movies with depictions of tobacco use and the number of occurrences of tobacco use.

RESULTS

Tobacco use was depicted in 87% (95% CI 80% to 94%) of movies with an average of four occurrences of tobacco use per hour (95% CI 3 to 5). Only 15% (95% CI 8% to 23%) of movies and 3% of all depictions of tobacco use conveyed any harms of tobacco use.

CONCLUSIONS

Viewers of movies with LGBT themes or characters are exposed, on average, to one depiction of tobacco use for every 15 min of movie run-time. As a major component of the entertainment media environment, movies may contribute to smoking among LGBT people.

The influence of media role models on gay, lesbian, and bisexual identity

The current investigation examined the influence of the media on gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) identity using both survey and in-depth interview approaches. In Study 1, 126 GLB survey respondents (11 unreported) in Texas indicated that the media influenced their self-realization, coming out, and current identities by providing role models and inspiration. In Study 2, 15 interviewees (6 women and 9 men) revealed that media role models serve as sources of pride, inspiration, and comfort. Our findings suggest that increasing the availability of GLB role models in the media may positively influence GLB identity.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Xena: Warrior Princess: reception of the texts by a sample of lesbian fans and web site users

This qualitative study of television reception examined the ways in which a sample of lesbian fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Xena: Warrior Princess incorporated their experiences as viewers, fans, and Internet users with relation to their sexual identity as lesbians. Specifically, this study examined the ways in which participants used these television programs to inform their sexual identity development. Results indicated that participants used television and the Internet to normalize and affirm lesbian experience, to decrease negative feelings regarding their lesbian identities, and to decrease social isolation.

Feminine but not femme: the dual lesbian body

This paper deals with the ways in which young educated Israeli lesbians construct their bodies, disregarding the traditional categories based on binary criteria such as butch/femme. The "lack of codes" is deconstructed in order to bring forward their complexity and their adherence to the postmodern era. The results, based on 50 in-depth interviews, point to the young lesbians' tendency to unify within their bodies two trends: one that allows the mingling of the male with the female body; and another that eliminates the option to choose to be either femme or butch. This study points to means of social control that assure the acceptance of the dressing code as well as bodily codes by the lesbian community. Their acceptance allows drawing boundaries not only between the lesbian and the heterosexual women but also between the young lesbians and the former generation of lesbians who lived out of the closet.