Representation: Why is it Important?

Hello!

I wanted to start this post off by letting you know that the playlist of music that was played on our latest show (9/22) is available on Spotify (player below).

Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about a topic that seems to come up fairly frequently regarding LGBTQ issues: representation.

It is no secret that the large majority of popular American media is heteronormative as well as cisnormative. As queer people, we typically must actively seek out queer content in order to experience storylines and characters that we can deeply relate to. While there have been some recent efforts of inclusivity, such as the Amazon Prime Original show Transparent, which features numerous transgender actors as well as a multitude of different queer characters, or the fourth episode of season three of Black Mirror entitled "San Junipero" (which just won two Emmy's), it is often few and far between that queer people get to consume popular media that also represents the members of our community.

Why is this important? Well, if you are a queer person yourself, you probably already know the answer to that. As a queer person, growing up in a society that mostly, sometimes even solely, presents you with media that normalizes heterosexual couples and cisgender people causes you to begin to think and feel that you are not normal. Because of this constant reminder of alienation, and the ways in which you are "other," the process of self-acceptance can sometimes be a much longer, more painstaking process. This is why we need media that reflects our struggles and lifestyles.

So, what do we do about this? Well, for one, continue to support the people who are doing it right: providing realistic, truthful stories that queer people can both relate to and support. So, in honor of this theme of positive representation, I will make a list below of some of my favorite queer media, or media that at least features queer characters, and maybe you can e-mail us to let us know any that you enjoy that we may have missed, or to talk about any thoughts you may have about the ones on here that you've seen!

Have a great week, and we'll talk to you on Friday!

Chloe's (Incomplete) List of Quality Queer Media (in no particular order)

1. Transparent (tv show- available to stream on Amazon Prime)

2. "San Junipero" (season 3, episode 4 of Black Mirror- available to stream on Netflix)

3. The Way He Looks (movie- available to stream on Netflix)

4. Please Like Me (tv show- available to stream on hulu)

5. Rupaul's Drag Race (tv show- VH1)

6. Moonlight (movie- 2016 Oscar's Best Picture winner)

7. Billy on the Street (tv show- available to stream on hulu)

8. Shameless (tv show- available to stream on Netflix)

9. The L Word (tv show- available to stream on Netflix)

10. Orange is the New Black (tv show- available to stream on Netflix)

11. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (tv show- available to stream on Netflix)

12. The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo (web series- available on Youtube)

13. Milk (movie- available to stream on Netflix)

14. Paris is Burning (documentary- available to stream on Netflix)