Imagine you have this character, that happens to be gay. Now you’re going to need to communicate this to the audience, but with the majority of people, not to say, media watchdogs, considering man-on-man romantic action rather icky, and simply telling the audience would be too simple, you’ll have to come up with some other cues to make things obvious.
So you give him perfectly styled hair, baby-smooth skin, a passion for fashion with a special place in his heart for scarfs, a series of effeminate personality traits and a predisposition to using the word ‘fabulous!’. Can’t make his sexuality any less clear than that, right?
This stereotype is very common in many forms of media. Characters such as Jack McFarland from Will and Grace, Kurt Hummel from Glee, and, as depicted above, Marc St. James from Ugly Betty all follow this characterization. It has been around for quite a while, probably having originated from the flamboyant mannerism of Oscar Wilde. Ever since, it has been a frequent source of humour, such as in Monty Python’s sketch Biggles Dictates a Letter.
Though there are, in fact, some homosexuals who are similar to this caricature, the majority is not. However, this prominent representation of homosexuals causes some people to classify all gays as fabulously queer, causing a lot of discomfort for homosexuals who do not wish to be associated with such an image.
Additionally, these overly effeminate characters are often solely a source of comic relief, and are hardly ever taken seriously. This spreads the idea that homosexuals are shallow, unintelligent and petty, concerning themselves only with trivial matters, which leads further negative preconceptions about homosexuality.
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