'Do I look gay to you?' How do some people nowadays think that they can spot either a gay man or a lesbian in everyday life
and what basis is there for such beliefs?
Please remember to avoid footnotes and to include an
alphabetical list of 'References' which have been cited in the text
(not a Bibliography of anything you have read for the essay). This list should include
author's names, date, book titles (in italics), place of publication and publisher.
Within the text always cite author's surname, date and page number. Double-space your
text and number your pages.
Guidance for this assignment: Focus either on gay men or lesbians - do not try to cover both,
and indicate in your title which group you have chosen. Clearly, you'll need to discuss stereotyping
in everyday life and stereotypical representations in the mass media (especially TV, film, magazines and advertising).
To what extent are such stereotypes derived from the mass media (this needs to be backed up with
evidence from published academic research)? Do some gay people act in stereotypical ways and if so,
why (again, you need to consult published studies)? Consider verbal and nonverbal behaviour, clothing
and hairstyles, and so on. Do not be tempted into easy generalizations about the 'influence' of the mass media
on people's attitudes and behaviour (avoid the whole 'effects' debate). Stick closely to the question.
Note also that this is an assignment for which the
inclusion of relevant pictorial illustrations may be useful.
Use these to illustrate particular points. Contrasting
one with another can also be productive.
Incorporate illustrations electronically into your text (e.g. by
scanning or downloading from the Internet) rather than literally cutting and pasting.
For guidance on capturing stills, click here.
Some suggested reading
- Basow, Susan A. (1992)
Gender: Stereotypes and Roles. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole
- Bergling, Tim (2001)
Sissyphobia: Gay Men and Effeminate Behavior. New York: Harrington Park Press
- Brown, Rupert (2010)
Prejudice - Its Social Psychology (2nd edn).
Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell
- Cleto, Fabio (Ed) (1999)
Camp: Queer Aesthetics and the Performing Subject. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
- Clum, John M. (2002)
He's All Man: Learning Masculinity, Gayness, and Love from American Movies.
London: Palgrave
- Cole, Shaun (2000)
'Don We Now Our Gay Apparel': Gay Men's Dress in the Twentieth Century.
Oxford: Berg
- Core, Philip (1984)
Camp: The Lie That Tells The Truth. London: Plexus
- Cortese, Anthony J. (2004)
Provocateur: Images of Women and Minorities in Advertising (2nd Edn). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield
- Craig, Steve (Ed.) (1992)
Men, Masculinity and the Media. Newbury Park, CA: Sage
- Dines, G. & J. M. Humez (Eds.) (1995)
Gender, Race and Class in Media: A Text-Reader. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
- Dyer, Richard (Ed.) (1977)
Gays and Film. London: British Film Institute [recommended]
- Dyer, Richard (1990)
Now You See It: Studies on Lesbian and Gay Film.
London: Routledge [recommended]
- Dyer, Richard (1993)
The Matter of Images: Essays on Representation.
London: Routledge [recommended]
- Fone, Byrne (2000)
Homophobia: A History.
New York: Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt
- Greenberg, David F. (1988)
The Construction of Homosexuality. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press
- Kitzinger, Sheila (1987)
Social Construction of Lesbianism.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
- Lester, Paul Martin & Susan Dente Ross (Eds) (2003)
Images that Injure: Pictorial Stereotypes in the Media (2nd Edn). Westport, CT: Praeger
- Macdonald, Myra (1995)
Representing Women: Myths of Femininity in the Popular Media. London: Edward Arnold
- Mackinnon, Kenneth (2003)
Representing Men: Maleness and Masculinity in the Media. London: Arnold
- Morrison, Melanie A. & Todd G. Morrison (Eds) (2008)
Psychology of Modern Prejudice.
New York: Nova Science
- Oakes, Penelope J., Alexander Haslam & John C. Turner (1994)
Stereotyping and Social Reality. Oxford: Blackwell
- Pascoe, C. J. (2007)
Dude, You’re a Fag.
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press
- Russo, Vito (1987)
The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies.
New York: HarperCollins
- Schneider, David J. (2004)
The Psychology of Stereotyping.
New York: Guilford Press
- Streitmatter, Rodger (2009)
From 'Perverts' to 'Fab Five': The Media's Changing Depiction of Gay Men and Lesbians.
London: Routledge
- Weiss, Andrea (1993)
Vampires & Violets: Lesbians in Film. New York: Penguin
- Whitley, Bernard E. & Mary E. Kite (2009)
The Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination.
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth
Note: Treat with extreme caution sources labelled with this symbol!