Sexuality in Media
& the Arts
& the Arts
This popular children's show with puppets was criticized for having mostly male characters and reinforcing gender roles.
What is Sesame Street?
This word means the rules or ideas society has about what’s “normal” or “sexy.”
What is sexuality?
This word describes how people and identities are shown in stories, media, and images.
What is representation?
This social media platform was once a top space for LGBTQ+ youth to find community but became toxic over time.
What is Tumblr?
This issue is increasing again under the current federal administration, impacting queer media and representation.
What is censorship?
These two gender roles are often emphasized in media: men as leaders and women as sexualized figures.
What are traditional gender stereotypes?
This character is a lesbian in a hit Netflix series
Who is Robin Buckley?
This era focuses on marketable queerness, often highlighting white, cis, middle-class individuals.
What is the post-closet era?
Despite increased connection, too much social media use can lead to this negative outcome.
What is poor mental health?
Despite progress, queer representation in media often centers this narrow group, limiting diversity across race, class, and gender identity.
What are white, middle-class, cisgender gay men and lesbians?
In many ads, men are shown as strong and confident while women are shown as this.
What is childlike, quirky or playful?
This French feminist declared, "One is not born a woman," emphasizing that gender is socially constructed.
Who is Simone de Beauvoir?
For many years, Hollywood banned open queer representation but allowed this kind of subtle messaging.
What is coded representation/queer coding?
According to Berger et al. (2022), LGBTQ+ youth who lacked supportive families turned to social media for this kind of connection that boosted emotional well-being.
What is peer support or community connection?
More queer characters are appearing in mainstream media, but many shows still choose to highlight queerness only when it fits this marketing goal in the economy.
What is being marketable or commercially acceptable?
In many TV shows and movies, female characters are often valued more for beauty than brains—an example of this recurring media issue.
What is the sexualization or objectification of women?
This theory questions norms around gender and sexuality in media and challenges stereotypes through an inclusive lens. It emerged in the late 1980s and was popularized by scholars like Teresa de Lauretis.
What is Queer Theory?
This 20th-century Hollywood system banned any open portrayal of homosexuality, forcing filmmakers to use stereotypes or hide queer characters.
What is the Hays Code?
This messaging platform helped gender-diverse youth express themselves by allowing nickname changes—but many still stayed hidden.
What is Facebook Messenger?
This online animation about queer demons in hell trying to go to heaven was picked up and is now produced by Prime Video.
What is Hazbin Hotel?
This color was painted on the young boy's toenails in a 2011 J Crew advertisement
What is pink?
This term describes how media defines what’s “normal” or “deviant” in sexual behavior.
What is social construction of sexuality?
In the 1800s, sexologists and early films often portrayed gay men as feminine and lesbians as masculine. This term is used to refer in reinforcing the idea that queerness was a visible “abnormality.”
What is gender coding/pathologizing of queer identities?
A wave of creators on this platform came out and represented a positive shift in online attitudes towards the LGBTQ+
This teen survival drama about a high school women's soccer team that crashed in the wilderness was praised for putting queer female characters front and center.
What is Yellowjackets?