Does popular culture change how society views an idea? Or does popular culture reinforce dominant ideas, thereby slowing the pace of change? This week’s Discussion is broken into various threads, each of which focuses on a specific social issue. Your mai

 Gender/Sexuality

Popular culture has played a significant role in how gender and sexuality have been viewed over time. The term gender refers to masculine and feminine and includes transgender issues. The termsexuality refers to relations between people, whether heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual.

One significant popular culture sexuality moment occurred when the title character on the TV showEllen, Ellen Morgan, played by Ellen DeGeneres, came out in a 1997 broadcast as gay. She became the first openly lesbian actress playing an openly lesbian character. Several other TV shows today include openly homosexual characters.

Consider how audiences over time have received TV representations of gender and sexuality. Have popular culture representations of gender and sexuality pushed the issue forward? Or have they reinforced dominant ideas of what is “normal” and thereby slowed down society’s acceptance of a broader understanding of gender and sexuality?