In her “The Danger of a Single Story” TED Talk, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie stated: “The consequence of the single story is this: It robs people of dignity. It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult. It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar.” She centered her discussion on her experience as a Nigerian woman coming to America, and the stereotypes she encountered. She defines the “single story” as the generalizing of people in another culture, and then becoming a stereotype in all eyes. Through this generalization, people become “othered.” A lack of understanding other cultures is to blame, and the media plays a significant role in developing these generalizations based on their representation of minority groups and anyone outside “the norm.”

Currently, the homosexual community faces the single story within our media. The media creates “heteronormativity” by their representation of homosexuals; shows like The Fairly Odd Parents and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, as well as the modern-day adaptation of Twelfth Night called She’s the Man, support that claim. Any attempt to break “the norm” is immediately altered to please the masses, or made into a joke, which exposes a problem. People simply become “othered” in society when they identify as homosexual, even today with the strides towards marriage equality. I am not necessarily making the argument that there is a misrepresentation of the homosexual community in the media, even though there very well could be, but that due to the single story that homosexual people are not “the norm” in society, the media accepts heterosexism and that becomes problematic in the accepting minority groups.

Before going into the cultural artifacts that support the argument made, notice the uniqueness the homosexual community holds. They are, unlike ethnic minority groups, “a self-identified minority,” (Gross, 13). To clarify, I am not saying people choose to be gay, bisexual, transgender, etc. Larry Gross, in “The Mediated Society”, compares the LGBT community to political and religious groups due to the fact a person generally chooses to “join” said community after adolescence. While ethnic groups will be generalized and not accepted for their “inferiority” in a white dominated society, political and sexual minorities threaten the “natural.” My cousin will have a baby in July, and as soon as the family found out his wife would be having a boy, everything they bought was blue and related to sports. The baby will also have a onesie that says “Bros before Bows,” the PG “Bros before Hoes” phrase. Not to say the baby won’t like blue or sports or stereotypical “male” things, but why is gender/sexuality forced onto a baby, especially one that isn’t even out of the womb? Obviously not a malicious act, but these actions exemplify how our society functions. We do not assume a baby boy will grow up and want ballet lessons and pink clothes. Not to say we should, but then why assume a baby boy will grow up to be a baseball star? Any assumption allows for pressuring people to stray away from their true self. While the possibility that our children may not be heterosexual as they grow up always remains, it is not “normally” expected. The act of “othering” takes place before a homosexual person is born, simply because heterosexuality illustrates that expectation. The fact that parents must worry if they have a gay child, not even because they don’t agree with it but because society may give them a hard time, expresses the issue that heterosexual assumption creates the sexuality single story. I am arguing that when the assumed no longer hold true, the people who identify as homosexual lose their “natural” standing in society. A homosexual person who grows up in a heterosexist society becomes exposed to mass media that over emphasizes these straight people representations alongside a homosexual misrepresentation, or lack thereof.

While homosexual people have been common in modern television, “programs targeted to children and adolescents remain utterly silent about gay potential, either because the writers, directors, and actors believe that children must not be aware that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) people exist, or because they fear public disapprobation,” (Dennis, 738). Some could argue that no sign of homosexuality lingers at all, but the jokes made throughout shows remain funny only if gay culture exists. With that being said, jokes are never outright gay. For example, in SUNY Oneonta Professor Jeffrey P. Dennis’ study “The Boy Who Would be Queen: Hints and Closets on Children’s Television” for the Journal of Homosexuality by Routledge Taylor & Francis Group LLC, he mentions an episode of the hit cartoon The Fairly Odd Parents. The show is about a young boy, Timmy Turner, who has fairy godparents to make all his wishes come true, and the show explores all his adventures. In the episode mentioned, the characters Mr. Crocker and Norm team up and attempt to defeat Timmy. Throughout the episode, Norm continues to say things to Mr. Crocker like “Hunchback of Never-Dated-A- Dame” and “Seriously, have you ever dated a girl?” So, would this make any sense if Mr. Crocker were gay? No, because it would not matter if he ever dated a girl because he would not find girls attractive. The example was placed in the show as a joke, hinting at the straight normativity, and it is funny if Mr. Crocker can’t live up to those expectations. In “Invisibility, Homophobia And Heterosexism: Lesbians, Gays And The Media,” Fejes and Petrich state discuss negative stereotypical presentations of homosexuality, and its presence in the media from the beginning. In the 1940s and 1950s, Milton Berle would regularly do a drag queen, “gay throwaway with a little lisp” routine on his show. In the 1950s, Frank Nelson would appear on I Love Lucy as Freddie Filmore, who would always respond with the phrase “Yee-e-es,” and shown in roles from dress salesman to waiter (Fejes andPetrich, 400). Such a situation could influence not only a young child viewer, but also society as a whole. With straight being the norm, straight people will feel superior over those who are not. People who are not straight will feel misrepresented by the media, and the story of people like them being placed on television is that they are not normal and subject to ridicule.

As one can see, representation of the homosexual community in children’s television is only subtle. For example, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody on Disney Channel stars twin brothers, Zack and Cody, and shadows their life living at the Tipton Hotel. The episode “Kept Man” introduces a rich boy who tries to buy Zack’s friendship and affection. In some gay circles, the term “Kept Boy” refers to a young man who receives gifts/money in exchange for sex (Dennis, 747). Yet, in the episode, there is no reference to sexuality. So the situation is made “natural” by making the two boys only friends. One could argue that sexuality should not even be a topic of discussion for children and that’s why the two boys were only friends, but Zack and Cody are always talking about dating pretty girls, and many episodes included them kissing girls. Therefore, if a sexuality discussion should arise throughout children’s television, why are we only getting one side? We are getting the single story simply because our society is structured that way; we assume everyone is heterosexual so our entertainment outlets depict life as such. Thus, the single story implies that children who consider themselves to be “different” and apart of the homosexual community will not feel represented by the media. The situations homosexual children may relate to become altered to fit the “heteronormative” society they live in. Zack’s “caller” is only understood to be “normal” because he is straight; he just wants to be Zack’s friend…nothing more. Large audiences would not respond positively if the media depicted children as gay on television, but will laugh at the jokes only making sense in a world where gay culture exists.

With shows like Modern Family and The Ellen DeGeneres Show with openly gay stars, there is this misconception that society is moving forward towards equality and more people are accepting the change. That could be true, but that is not something with concrete evidence. Fejes and Petrich state “Homophobia has been replaced by heterosexism as the major component in the mainstream media’s discourse,” and this is exactly what needs to be emphasized (Fejes and Petrich, 412). While society as a whole may not be considered homophobic, there is still this radical idea that homosexuality is “different.” Raley and Lucas discuss in “Stereotype or Success?” the four stages of media representation by Clark: non-representation, ridicule, regulation, and respect. Society remains “heteronormative,” rather than completely homophobic. With that being said, we are in somewhat of a “regulation” stage with movements pushing for the “respect” stage. Fejes and Petrich support this claim in discussing comedy programming. They stated that aside from several stereotypical behaviors like a man with a sensitive side, homosexuals were presented as heterosexual in every other characteristic. It is also less likely to see lesbians on television. Their representation is being regulated because they threaten the “norm” (Fejes and Petrich, 401).

As a young girl, it was assumed, and encouraged, that I would marry a man one day. It never even occurred to me that someone could step outside that “norm,” until my pre-teenage years. The media and the language that is used increasingly affect our perceptions of reality. As stated in “Metaphors We Live By,” by Lakoff and Johnson, “Our concepts structure what we perceive, how we get around the world, and how we relate to other people…But our conceptual system is not something we are normally aware of.” The way in which sexuality is spoken about supports our conceptual systems are highly “heteronormative” (Lakoff and Johnson, 3). One of my favorite movies in the past was She’s The Man, starring Amanda Bynes as a tomboy named Viola in a well-off family. When the girl’s soccer team was cut at her school, Viola wanted to try out for the boy’s team. Ignoring Title 9 laws, the school did not allow her to do so. So, she dressed up as her twin brother and went to her rival school to prove she can beat the boys. Viola, now “Sebastian,” got stuck in many sticky situations due to the fact that she is a straight girl pretending to be a straight boy. Viola falls for Duke, her teammate/roommate, but he likes the pretty and popular Olivia. When Olivia meets “Sebastian”, she falls for his sensitive side and feminine looks. She only decides she does not like “Sebastian” when she realizes he is really Viola. She was attracted to Viola and enjoyed her personality; why would it be wrong for Olivia to be a lesbian and still like Viola after knowing her actual gender? It is because of the heterosexism that exists in society. It was normal for Olivia to like “Sebastian,” but not to like Viola… even though they were the same person. Why is it that a “best friend” relationship is only present when “Sebastian” and Duke are together, but suddenly Duke falls for Viola only when he knows she is a girl? After analyzing this, it is clear that while people can be attracted to the looks and personality of any gender, they are likely to ignore it if there desires are homosexual. She’s The Man is “funny” because if they knew the truth, Olivia would not have fell for “Sebastian” and Duke would have fell for Viola from the start. It was not “normal” for Duke to like Viola as “Sebastian,” so this is the strategy in making the movie a comedy. The movie can be related back to the children’s shows again. Instead of representing the homosexual community for younger people, Disney Channel decided to make Zack and Cody twin brothers, and pokes fun at the homosexual community rather than embracing it. “On The Suite Life, Zack asks Cody to come along on his date with a popular girl, but Cody believes that he has an ulterior motive: “I’m not dating her creepy sister, or her brother…or her dog,” which was “funny” because the pause before “or her dog” would indicate that Zack would expect Cody to date a boy (Dennis, 743). That expectation is not what would be assumed, so our society finds it comical. The single story portrays a way of life many people share as unnatural. Thus, it is subjected to mockery.

The single story creates the concept of black and white, a danger when shades of grey accurately portray our world. When the government defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, when society assumes sex defines gender and sexual orientation, and when heterosexuality is the assumed sexual orientation – so many peoples’ identities are overlooked. Government institutions, the media, and the majority standpoints influence our conceptual structures as a society. If a news article is written, a straight, white, Christian person is referred to as “A man,” or “A woman,” while any other person is categorized by their differentiations from the “norm” like “a gay man,” or “a lesbian.” These implications that people must be defined on how they are different rob them from basic human respect. The similarity is this: we are all human, and we all share the right to be who we are. If we allow a stereotype or generalization to destroy the dignity of a group of people, we have no right to be proud people. The solution is not to treat anyone different like they are “special” in a condescending attempt to be politically correct; simply embracing people for who they are and not who they are expected to be can aid in solving the issue of the single story.

 

 

Works Cited

 

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. “The Danger of a Single Story.” July 2009. TED: Ideas

Worth Spreading. Web. 23 Mar. 2015.

 

Dennis, Jeffery P. “The Boy Who Would Be Queen: Hints and Closets on Children’s

Television.” Journal of Homosexuality 56.6 (2009): 738-56. Web.

 

Fejes, Fred and Kevin Petrich. “Invisibility, Homophobia And Heterosexism:

Lesbians, Gays And The Media.” Critical Studies In Mass Communication 10.4 (1993): 396-422. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.

 

Gross, Larry P. “The Mediated Society” Up from Invisibility: Lesbians, Gay Men, and

the Media in America. New York: Columbia UP, 2001. Print.

 

Johnson, Mark and George Lakoff, “Metaphors We Live By” Chapters 1-3. Chicago. The

University of Chicago Press. 1980. Print.

 

Raley, Amber B. BA & Jennifer L. Lucas PhD (2006) “Stereotype or Success?”, Journal

of Homosexuality, 51:2, 19-38. Print.

 

She’s the Man. Dir. Andy Fickman. Prod. Lauren Shuler-Donner and Ewan Leslie. By Ewan Leslie. DreamWorks Distribution LLC, 2006. DVD