Gay On-Screen: The Relationship Between Exposure to Gay Characters on Television and Heterosexual Audiences' Endorsement of Gay Equality

The current study, grounded in the parasocial contact hypothesis, employed a survey of emerging adults to investigate the relationship between exposure to gay characters on television and heterosexuals' endorsement of gay equality. A positive relationship existed between exposure to on-screen gay characters and gay equality endorsement. The relationship was stronger for racial minority participants than for White participants, and for participants who had no or few interpersonal relationships with openly gay individuals than for participants who had more than three respective relationships. Results are discussed in terms of the parasocial contact hypothesis and television as an agent of social change.     

Exploring the Relationship Between Computer-Mediated Communication,Sexual Identity Commitment,and Well-Being Among Lesbian,Gay, and Bisexual Adolescents

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adolescents are avid users of computer-mediated communication (CMC), but few empirical studies have investigated the function of CMC in the lives of LGB youth. Grounded in the media practice model, the present study explored the relationships among CMC, sexual identity commitment, and well-being by surveying LGB adolescents (N = 570). Results indicated that a positive relationship existed between time spent on social network sites and well-being that was mediated by sexual identity commitment. Time spent instant messaging, sending/receiving e-mail, or in chat rooms was not related to sexual identity commitment or well-being. Social network sites may aid LGB youth in understanding their sexual identities in ways that other CMC modalities cannot.     

Ellen,Television, and the Politics of Gay and Lesbian Visibility

–The discourses constructing the coming-out of Ellen DeGeneres/Ellen Morgan, star of and lead character in the ABC television sitcom Ellen, were permeated with implications of authenticity and liberation, illustrating the continuing power of the confessional ritual described by Michele Foucault in The History of Sexuality. In contrast to the popular interpretation of the coming-out as an escape from repression, media treatment of the Ellen phenomenon was productive, in Foucault's sense, constructing a regulatory discourse that constrained the implications of gay visibility on commercial television by channeling it through a narrative of psychological autonomy, through television norms for representing homosexuality, and through an overarching strategy of personalization. I conclude with a discussion of the problems of “poster-child politics” as exemplified by the Ellen discourse.     

Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,and Transgender Health Issues,Disparities, and Information Resources

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons, while widely diverse in many ways, share health disparities related to the stigma and discrimination they experience, including disproportionate rates of psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, and suicide. Lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and the transgender communities have additional health concerns and disparities unique to each population. This paper highlights the national recognition of these health issues and disparities and presents web-based information resources about them and their mitigation.     

Sex and Sexuality in Entertainment Media Popular With Lesbian,Gay, and Bisexual Adolescents

Media may serve as important sexual socialization agents for lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) adolescents who often have limited interpersonal resources from which to garner sexual information. A content analysis was conducted on a sample of television programs, films, magazines, and music popular with LGB youth to quantify the sexual messages LGB youth encounter in the media. Results suggest that heterosexuality is overrepresented and LGB sexualities are underrepresented in media popular with LGB adolescents. When depicted, LGB sexual talk was often talk about stereotypes or insults/jokes related to sexuality and rarely about relationships or sex. LGB sexual behaviors were nearly nonexistent. LGB sexual talk seems to be increasing in entertainment television, but LGB sexual behaviors have remained relatively rare over time. Findings are discussed in terms of the possible effects of exposure on LGB youth relying on media for information about sex and sexuality during sexual socialization.     

Archiving the Russian and East European Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,and Transgender Web, 2013: A Pilot Project

This article focuses on the conceptualization and implementation of a web archiving pilot project of selected Russian and East European lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) websites by the University of California, Berkeley. It introduces the use of the Web Archiving Services (WAS) platform developed by the California Digital Library. While identifying the criteria used to harvest these websites, the paper also describes various complexities associated with the viability of projects related to such complex social and political issues as the Russian and Eastern European LGBT rights movements. The article does not take an ideological stance with respect to legal issues, but rather strives to preserve information for academic research.     

Sex,Love, and Risk-n-Responsibility: A Content Analysis of Entertainment Television

This study documents the extent of sexual content, including sexual health content, in scenes with and without expressions of love on network and cable television popular with emerging adults. Sexual talk and/or behavior was found in 20% of all television scenes coded across 53.5 hours of programming. One third of these scenes featured sex alongside expressions of love. An additional 10% of scenes suggested love but not sex. Coded as a separate category, 25% of analyzed scenes contained a passing joke or pun referencing sexual organs, making these nonspecific, comedic one-liners the predominant reference to sex in this sample. Beyond jokes, most of the sexual or loving talk in this sample consisted of expressing a romantic interest in someone; sex- and love-related behaviors largely consisted of kissing or flirting. Very few scenes specifically referenced sexual intercourse. Sexual health messages were also rare. The majority of scenes mentioning any health consequence (7% of analyzed scenes) concerned emotional heartache. One scene mentioned sexually transmitted infections; 12 of the nearly 2,600 scenes coded mentioned condoms or contraceptives. It is thus a challenging proposition to build upon existing sexual depictions on television to promote safe sex practices within sexual and loving contexts.     

Consumer Health Materials for Lesbians,Gay Men,Bisexual and Transgendered People

Abstract

This article identifies the major health challenges of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (L/G/B/T) communities, pointing out that each is faced with stigma and discrimination in the search for healthcare. Members of these communities are thus more likely to seek out and consult services offered by public libraries which identify and disseminate consumer health and self-care information appropriate to their needs. The article concludes with a bibliography of current sources of information-both print and electronic-that will interest the L/G/B/T health consumer.     

Depictions of Gender on Primetime Television: A Quantitative Content Analysis

To document current portrayals of women and men on primetime television, a quantitative content analysis was conducted. A 1-week composite of primetime television programming across 9 broadcast and cable networks was randomly sampled, yielding 89 programs and 1,254 characters. Consistent with prior findings, women were significantly underrepresented on primetime TV when compared with men. Analyses examined representations of gender in the realms of occupation, aggression, sexualization, and stereotypically masculine and feminine attributes, with comparisons drawn across different age groups. Contrary to popular belief, these findings suggest that the current state of primetime television does not represent a “golden age” for women. Although it appears that some gender stereotypes have declined when compared to previous decades, others (e.g., dominant men, sexually provocative women) have persisted. Implications are discussed in terms of cultivation and social cognitive theories.     

Gendered Relationships on Television: Portrayals of Same-Sex and Heterosexual Couples

Although intimate heterosexual couples often exhibit power imbalances in gender role behaviors, with one partner more dominant and the other more submissive, it is unclear whether the same is true for homosexual relationships. Anecdotal evidence, however, suggests that television portrays both heterosexual and homosexual couples as gendered. This content analysis of intimate relationships on television examined whether heterosexual and homosexual couples are portrayed as gendered, finding evidence of gendering for both homosexual couples and heterosexual couples. Possible implications of these gendered portrayals for viewers' perceptions and behaviors include cultivation of negative stereotypes and modeling of gender-typed behaviors.     

Using Twitter for Promotion and Branding: A Content Analysis of Local Television Twitter Sites

A content analysis examined the Twitter sites of 488 local television stations in the United States, based on a strategic and tactical model of media promotion. One finding of the study was that news stories were the most frequently occurring items on the sites. However, stations that offered news items also seldom promoted their regular newscasts. Overall, stations did not appear to use Twitter to direct viewers to the station's on-air programming.     

Representations of Race in Television Commercials: A Content Analysis of Prime-Time Advertising

Given the paucity of contemporary examinations of racial/ethnic minority portrayals in television advertisements, this study analyzed the frequency, context, and quality of 2,3 15 speaking characters in a one-week sample of prime-time television commercials. Results reveal different patterns of portrayals when African American, Asian American, Latino, Native American, and White characters are featured in television advertisements. The implications of these images are examined from the perspective of social cognitive theory to provide insights into their possible impact on audience members' self-perceptions.     

Sexual Objectification in Music Videos: A Content Analysis Comparing Gender and Genre

Although sexual objectification is commonplace in media culture, music videos provide the most potent examples of it. In the current study, we developed a coding system to measure sexual objectification and its correlates in music videos. Our analysis compared sexual objectification across artists' gender and musical genres (R&B/hip-hop, pop, and country). Compared to male artists, female artists were more sexually objectified, held to stricter appearance standards, and more likely to demonstrate sexually alluring behavior. In addition, sexual objectification was more prominent in R&B/hip-hop and pop videos than in country videos. The results are discussed in light of objectification theory and sexual agency.     

FCP and Mediation Styles: Factors Associated With Parents' Intentions to Let Their Children Watch Violent,Sexual and Family-Oriented Television Content

An online survey of 457 parents identifies factors associated with parents' intentions to allow their children to watch 18 common television scenes. Results of an exploratory factor analysis indicated that, with some exceptions, parents identified the scenes as 3 distinct factors representing violence, nudity and sexuality-related, and family-oriented content. Further, results from hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that mediation style explained a greater portion of the variance in parents' likelihood to let their children watch this content than either family communication patterns (FCP) or relevant demographic characteristics.     

Media Portrayals of Romantic Relationship Maintenance: A Content Analysis of Relational Maintenance Behaviors on Prime-Time Television

Maintenance behaviors play an important role in sustaining relational states, especially within committed romantic relationships. Limited research, however, has considered media portrayals of these behaviors. From the framework of social cognitive theory, this content analysis examined relational maintenance behaviors portrayed by committed romantic couples (heterosexual, gay, and lesbian) on prime-time network television. The frequency of maintenance behaviors (positivity, understanding, self-disclosure, assurances, relationships talks, tasks, and networks) varied by type, valence, program genre, and couple type (married/civil union or cohabitating). Results indicated that comedies featured more frequent relationship maintenance behaviors than dramas. In addition, comedies exhibited more frequent negative maintenance behaviors than dramas. Differences also existed between couple regarding the types of maintenance behavior exhibited. No sex differences in maintenance behaviors were observed between male and female characters.     

On Communicating Pride,Crying in Movies,and Recruiting Innocent Bystanders: The Effect of Sex on Communication Schemas Activated with Gay and Heterosexual Targets

Invoking social identity theory as an interpretive frame, a previous content analysis of heterosexuals' representations of imagined conversations with gay men revealed a number of communication schemas for talk with the latter (e.g., homonegativity and offense avoidance). This study explores the role of participant sex in determining the prevalence of such schemas, comparatively incorporating representations of conversations with a heterosexual target. Two hundred American undergraduates imagined a conversation with a gay or heterosexual male target. Male participants' imagined conversations with a gay target were rated more negative, indicated less evidence of relational development, and included more gay stereotyping than did females' imagined dialogues.     

Surviving Survivor: A Content Analysis of Antisocial Behavior and Its Context in a Popular Reality Television Show

The scope and nature of reality television has changed since researchers last conducted a content analysis of the antisocial behavior for this type of programming. This study examines the content of seven seasons of Survivor, one of America's longest running reality television programs, to determine the types, frequency, and context of antisocial behavior presented in the series as well as the possible effects of the program on longtime viewers using social learning and cultivation theories. In the 76.4 hours of programming analyzed for this study, 4,207 antisocial acts were documented in the coding database. Indirect aggression and verbal aggression were found to be the most frequently occurring types of antisocial behavior. The number (4,207) and the rate (45.7 acts per hour) of antisocial acts in the seven seasons of Survivor analyzed in this study is higher than the findings of a previous study of antisocial behavior in reality-based television conducted in 1997. This study clearly demonstrates that longtime viewers of Survivor get a higher dose of antisocial behavior than did regular viewers of news programming and other reality-based programs that aired slightly more than 10 years ago.     

浅析电视图书馆建设——以佛山市电视图书馆为例

近几年,佛山市图书馆在提升公共文化服务水平、推动文化服务创新方面做了大量探索,电视图书馆是其中一项新举措。介绍佛山市电视图书馆的建设概况、建设背景、建设内容、成效与亮点,并探讨佛山市电视图书馆的发展方向。     

内容分析法在互联网研究中的应用初探——以与传统媒体内容分析法应用的比较为视角

随着互联网时代的到来,许多适用于传统媒体的研究方法和工具已不再能完全沿用,内容分析法在媒体研究中的应用必须根据媒介特性的改变而作出及时的调整与改进。与传统媒体的内容分析法应用相比较,内容分析法在互联网研究中的应用,在实施抽样、确定分析单位、收集资料和信度检验等方面已发生了显著变化。内容分析的自动化将是互联网研究中内容分析法应用发展的新趋势。     

内容、机构、人才与收益:论当前媒介融合时代的电视活力——兼对“电视之死”的回应

在媒介融合时代轻易对传统媒体进行简单判断,是值得警惕的问题.作为传统媒体的电视,在媒介融合时代依然保持一定的活力,这种活力当前主要体现在:在电视内容方面,多元终端呈现的,依然多是电视的内容;在电视台方面,进行组织重构的电视台可以依然保持活力;在电视人才方面,高端大制作依然需要专业化、高水准的电视业者;在电视收益方面,品牌电视媒体和现象级节目,依然享有高额商业回报.未来,传媒格局可能呈现出一种新旧媒体混合、兼容而共生的状态;而若要持续保持电视的活力,必然需要传统电视媒体破除“惯性思维”,饱具创新与“再创业”的意识,不把与新媒体的融合只看做传统电视媒体的“脱困”手段之一,而更应以全新的理念看待传媒与传播.