Cultural Constructions

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer looks at how the prosperous sitcom, 'Will & Grace' challenges traditional notions of hetero-normativity in that it seeks to "normalize" a gay character by placing that character within a situation comedy also featuring an attractive heterosexual woman he just so happens to be living with. The writer points out that the show emphasizes Will's professional success and is unafraid to make explicit "gay" references to human sexuality - scenes that, whatever their dramatic and aesthetic merits, certainly humanize Will and force the audience to view homosexual men and women as having the same human and instinctual impulses as heterosexual men and women. The writer maintains that at the same time, though, even as the series casts a bit of mockery on some old stereotypes about gays, it also perpetuates the notion that gay men are weaker than other men - less virile, in short. The writer concludes that the series is a commendable one, but hardly an infallible one.

From the Paper:

"The series has done other rather remarkable things that have challenged the bigotry gay men and women habitually face in modern-day American society. Most notably, the show has not been averse to making explicit "gay" references on-air, an apparent first in US prime-time television. Suffice it to say, this strategy has forced gay themes about sexuality and about human relationships into the mainstream - a process that, over a period of time, might diminish the reflexive distaste some audience members have for such topics. At the very least, the show's willingness to discuss explicit "gay" themes has allowed for a presentation of Will as a genuinely three-dimensional human being; in a day and age when "gay-bashing" is still a fact of life in many parts of America, anything that serves to humanize a gay character on prime-time television is something that deserves to be applauded."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Battles, Kathleen, and Hilton-Morrow, Wendy. "Gay Characters in Conventional Spaces: Will and Grace and the Situation Comedy Genre." Critical Studies in Media Communication, 19.1 (2002): 87-105.
• Fejes, F., and Petrich, K. Invisibility and heterosexism: Lesbians, gays, and the media. Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 10, 396-422.
• Russo, V. The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1985.

More papers on Cultural Constructions:

• Film Review # 133344 : "Cultural Constructions: The Challenge of "Will and Grace" towards Hetero-normativity?"
• Research Paper # 118372 : "ADHD: A Culturally Constructed Illness"
• Essay # 70230 : "Cultural Bias in Testing"

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