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Is There Even A Balance For Media Representation Anymore?

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srebak Since: Feb, 2011
#1: Jun 5th 2022 at 3:07:15 PM

Before I go any further, I want it to be made absolutely clear that this is by no means meant to be a hate or prejudice thread. I am just trying to figure out how to properly view this subject, that’s all.

Now, while I am sure that it is viewed as a good sign of societal progress for the LGBTQ and non-binary community to have representation of them present in movies and television, including animation, and yes, I will not deny that it is indeed good to know that this is no longer viewed as the type of taboo that it was most likely once viewed as before. But, sometimes, it sort of feels like there is a little bit too much representation of them in the media. I mean, I’m not saying that there shouldn’t be any of it on TV, but, at times it feels like they’re maybe sort of overdoing it a tad.

I mean, it’s one thing to have an LGBTQ couple within a show or movie, whether they be the main couple of the story or not, and it’s also one thing to have a transgender, non-binary, pansexual and/or bisexual character, whether they be a main, supporting or minor character within story’s context. But it feels like another thing to make it seem like those are the type of lifestyles that should be the dominating norm. I mean, it was clearly viewed as unfair and bias to make the LGBTQ and non-binary community believe that they were committing an unnatural taboo, so, why does it feel like the exact opposite scenario is being put into effect in the media?

At times, it seems like some shows and what not are trying to say that it is archaic and outdated for someone to remain simply as a he or she, or to have an attraction for only the opposite sex. Plus, in modern times, rather than just stick to simply creating new LGBTQ and/or non-binary characters, some comic book companies are actually taking certain characters that were of the heterosexual orientation and making them fall into the LGBTQ and/or non-binary persuasion. Something that the TV media tends to do as well. Now, am I saying that that’s a bad thing? No, I cannot and will not bring myself to utter those words. But, at times, it does feel kind of like an unnecessary change to certain characters. I mean, Korra from “The Legend of Korra” seemed to heterosexual within the first three seasons of the show, why suddenly make her into a lesbian so abruptly? The same of which applies to Tim Drake of DC Comics; he was portrayed as being straight before and even had a female love interest from time to time, if I recall and heard things correctly. Why suddenly make him homosexual now? It all just feels sort of abrupt and out of nowhere, to be honest.

Once again, I am not trying to be prejudiced or express any form of hatred, I am just trying to better understand what’s going on these days; nothing more, nothing less

RacattackForce (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#2: Jun 5th 2022 at 3:58:07 PM

I mean, Korra from The Legend of Korra seemed to heterosexual within the first three seasons of the show, why suddenly make her into a lesbian so abruptly? The same of which applies to Tim Drake of DC Comics; he was portrayed as being straight before and even had a female love interest from time to time, if I recall and heard things correctly. Why suddenly make him homosexual now?
They didn't. They're bisexual.

As for your overarching point, the idea is to make it clear that these people exist. That it isn't bizarre or unnatural for someone to be LGBTQ+, and that they're normal people leading normal lives. And you do that by getting more of those type of stories out there and making them as visible as possible. To that end, I wouldn't say there is an oversaturation of such representation; I honestly doubt we'd ever get to that point. If anything, I feel like there are plenty of groups that still haven't had much in the way of positive representation in media yet, especially in more mainstream or big-budget works.

As for changing existing characters to fit these molds? While I have my thoughts on the execution of Korrasami, I don't find it particularly odd that the creators decided in the second half of the show to make Korra and Asami bisexual. Most of people who watched the show would tell you that the two characters had a certain chemistry that could lend itself to that. And I haven't been following Batman comics recently, but... hey, at least they're doing something with Tim. (EDIT: Plus, his character lends itself the best towards teen drama out of the entire Bat family, so why not use him to tackle a Coming-Out Story?)

Edited by RacattackForce on Jun 5th 2022 at 7:32:30 AM

Ultimatum Disasturbator from The Wiggle Room (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#3: Jun 5th 2022 at 3:58:16 PM

Betteridge's law of headlines means I'm tempted reply with a hard no,but I'll try to answer respectfully

Very often when I see someone complain about there being too much representation it basically amounts to someone wanting the opposite a of balance,they don't like the way the scales being tipped,their idea of a balance is very often an imbalance

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WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (8,356/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (8,356/50,000)
#4: Jun 5th 2022 at 4:23:51 PM

Personally as long as the representation is done properly and we aren't just given shoehorned tokens or (in rare cases) defying the story's worldbuilding and logic, I'm happy to see as much representation as possible. Why should there be a balance? Most stories would say the same regardless of if the protagonist is White, Black, Asian, cis, trans, nonbinary, straight, gay, pan, ace, whatever. The only balance should pertain to what's necessary for the story to function; a story about the Stonewall Riots would be fairly different if the lead was straight, but a story about a fictional pirate ship wouldn't be much different if the lead was gay.

Otherwise, let people do what they want.

Edited by WarJay77 on Jun 5th 2022 at 7:24:45 AM

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AegisP Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man
#5: Jun 6th 2022 at 8:01:00 PM

There wasnt any balance BEFORE either. ALSO I dont think Yack Fest is the best place for this sort of talk.

As long as this flower is in my heart. My Strength will flow without end.
Ultimatum Disasturbator from The Wiggle Room (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#6: Jun 7th 2022 at 7:16:29 AM

> ALSO I dont think Yack Fest is the best place for this sort of talk.

well it's here now

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
gc10 Human Bean from Pastastastan Since: Feb, 2019 Relationship Status: A cockroach, nothing can kill it.
Human Bean
#7: Jun 8th 2022 at 6:33:58 AM

Betteridge's law of headlines means I'm tempted reply with a hard no,but I'll try to answer respectfully
Is it immoral to exterminate a village including children? No.


Jokes aside.

What I believe is that, rather than an overpresence of LGBT in media, there's a demographic that is more exposed to media with LGBT presence.

To reformulate: generally people like you, me and the overwhelming majority of Tv Tropes users belong to that demographic (Gen Z, Millenials, or whatever they're called cuz I'm kinda lazy studying that terminology) where LGBT topics are most heard of. So it happens that most media produced by "our" demographic, or "for" our demographic (such as Netflix/Amazon prime series, DC Comics, MCU, etc...) do tend to be in line with times and have an LGBT representation, because it's perceived as an important matter for us. So, if we're talking about LGBT representation in media in its broadest sense possible, I would say that there's not yet an "oversaturation".

If we're talking about media that is "closer" to us and aimed at "our" generation, indeed LGBT is much more present. Is it to the point of overrepresentation? To be honest, I wouldn't say that's the case yet. Could it be that lots of authors are using LGBT representation just because they see it as trendy, so it's sometimes mishandled? That could be as well. Is there the possibility we will reach an overrepresentation point or, on the contrary, representation will drop suddenly because authors will loose interest in it? Neither are impossible. After all unbalance can go both way. And I understand the "there was no balance before either" "some people actually advocate for an unbalance that goes the opposite way", but two wrongs don't make a right.

For the examples you made, I can't comment on the Tim Drake case, but for The Legend of Korra, my knowledge is that things went actually the opposite way of what you're describing: authors intended to make the attraction between Korra and Asami clearer and had to back down because of Executive Meddling. And I read many Lesbian/Bisexual people commenting that they saw the Ship Tease between them as obvious and well done, and people didn't recognize it just because they're not used to homosexual couples in media.

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