From Misrepresentation to Milestones: An Investigation of LGBTQ Character Development in Two Primetime Situation Comedies

Abstract

While gay and lesbian content has increased in the media, there are still visible differences in the non-heterosexual content when compared to heterosexual content in the media. Prior to 1998, there were relatively little or no roles for gay characters in film and television. Further, it was uncommon for gays and lesbians to be positively represented in the media. In the last decade, the representation and the roles for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people have changed tremendously. The current textual analysis of prime-time sitcoms is intended to identify the growth and development of scripted content for lesbian gay, bisexual, transgendered, and queer (LGBTQ) characters in comedies known to have reoccurring LGBTQ characters. Specifically, this analysis evaluates the verbal messages related to the general dialogue, sexual comments, romantic comments, and general humor of characters in 20 episodes of two NBC sitcoms from the 2017 season. Implications of the media effect on audiences in which the character‘s intersectionality is acknowledge and unpacked using humor are discussed.