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Volume 9, Issue 2
  • ISSN: 2055-5695
  • E-ISSN: 2055-5709

Abstract

This article examines recent popular discourse around LGBTQ+ media representation and argues that the discourse’s attitudes and assumptions reflect both an expanded understanding of gender and sexual diversity and a narrowed understanding of how media representation functions. First, a sample of recent popular journalism from three online publications targeted at LGBTQ+ readers ( and ) is analysed. Findings show how the publications assume representation should be measured according to a progress narrative and quantitatively, among other reductive attitudes. Second, the article contextualizes these findings by outlining sociotechnical and economic conditions of the current media landscape, dominated by mega-franchises, streaming platforms and social media platforms, and argues that together these media forms are guided by twin imperatives – the proliferation of minor variations and the promise of consumer empowerment – which in turn help to condition viewers’ expectations for LGBTQ+ representation.

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2024-07-05
2026-04-17

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/content/journals/10.1386/qsmpc_00128_1
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  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): gender theory; higher education; media franchises; online journalism; queer representation; queer theory; social media; streaming platforms

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