Nowadays,
many television shows contain main characters that belong to the LGBTQ
community. Popular shows such as Will and Grace, Queer Eye for the Straight
Guy, the Ellen Show, and Glee are all examples of series that people find
entertaining. However, it is a rare or nonexistent occurrence in these shows to
see representation of lesbian or gay couples that are not of a non-white ethnic
background. The character Santana from Glee is one of the few exceptions to
this exclusion of non-white LGBTQ representation in television, which goes to
show that society still finds it difficult to not only cross the
heteronormative boundary and embrace an LGBTQ view of life, but even more
difficult for society to accept when these characters are of a non-white
background.
Much of the
show Glee centers on the relationship between the two male homosexuals, Kurt
and Blaine. Although these two face the same challenges that any high school
student who has come out of the closet may face, they still seem to be rather
accepted amongst their friends, family, and peers. However, when the show took
a turn by putting emphasis on a lesbian couple, Santana and Brittany, acceptance
was not so easily offered. At first, Santana was seen by everyone as a popular,
beautiful, singing and dancing cheerleader who could easily get any guy she
wanted in the school. Once she finally began her coming out process, she began
facing difficulties.
Santana is
a young Mexican woman who was raised by her grandmother. Her grandmother taught
her the traditional beliefs of every Hispanic family: the importance of growing
up to marry a nice young man. When Santana comes out to her abuela, the reaction
is anything but accepting. Her grandmother claims to be ashamed of Santana, and
tells her she must lie about her identity in order to be socially accepted. Santana
is kicked out of her house and forced to leave without any form of acceptance
from her grandmother.
In my
opinion, this episode of Glee did a great job addressing the issue that most of
us do not even think about: the risk of not only coming out, but also of coming
out as a person from a non-white ethnic background. This episode demonstrated
Santana having to deal with her personal identification not only as a young,
middle class female, but also a lesbian of Hispanic origin. Just like Santana
in Glee, most Chicanas and Chicanos of the LGBTQ community experience a traditional
Catholic up-bringing that is not accepting of any lifestyle besides the
heteronormative one: “Since lesbians and gay men have been forced out of our
blood families, and since our love and sexual desire are not housed within the
traditional family, we are in a critical position to address those areas within
our cultural family that need to change,” (Last Generation, 159). Here Moraga is saying that because she is a
Chicana and therefore forced out of her family, she knows she must work to
improve life for all members of the LGBTQ community in order to rid of the
heteronormative view of the traditional family.
Although
Glee does a great job of addressing Santana as a Chicana woman in the LGBTQ
community, I am yet to see a television show that depicts the struggles that a non-white
man are faced with. In Almaguer’s article, he states: “Unlike the rich
literature on the Chicana/Latina lesbian experience, there is a paucity of
writings on Chicano gay men,” (Chicano Men, 109). In Chicano culture,
masculinity is extremely important. The fear of coming out and therefore being
demasculinized prevents Chicano gay men from being able to express their true
identity. Because of the shortage of gay Chicano men willing to come out, there
is an even larger shortage of representation of Chicano men in television.
Over time,
the growing acceptance of members of the LGBTQ community has allowed for a
larger role of gay and lesbian characters in television. Although white gay and
lesbian couples are a common occurrence in television shows, viewers are yet to
see representation of non-white relationships. Until society is fully accepting
of all members of the LGBTQ community, no matter what the ethnic background,
television will continue to demonstrate relationships between white LGBTQ members
only.
Bibliography
Almaguer, Tomas. "Chicano Men: A Cartography of
Homosexual Identity and Behavior." Differences: A Journal of Feminist
Cultural Studies 3 (1991): 137.
Bonnie, Faller. "‘Glee’ Recap: Santana’s Grandmother
Disowns Her After She Comes Out." Hollywood Life. 29 Nov. 2011.
Web. 22 Feb. 2012.
<http://www.hollywoodlife.com/2011/11/29/glee-recap-i-kissed-a-girl-season3-episode-7-naya-rivera/>.
Moraga, Cherrie. "Queer Aztlan: The Reformation of
Chicano Tribe." The Last Generation. South End Press, (1993): 159.
Fox’s hit TV series Glee, a show well known for its strong LGBTQ storylines and characters, displayed another facet of LGBTQ community by focusing on a sexual and ethnic minority character in the form of Santana, a sassy lesbian Chicana cheerleader. The difficulty of coming out in a small town is made even more problematic when combined with the complications of reconciling her sexual orientation with her ethnic roots.
ReplyDeleteAdmitting the fact that she was a lesbian not only meant that Santana was going against the heterosexual norms of society but also her Chicana heritage. Though she succeeds in gaining acceptance from her parents, the struggle to reconcile her sexual orientation with her Chicana background is illustrated when she comes out to her grandmother. Santana finds that choosing to publicly declare her lesbianism requires her to go “against anything that stood in its way, including my Church, my family, and my ‘country’” (146). The abuela who raised her in the traditional Catholic upbringing cannot accept this part of Santana as it goes against everything she believes as well as what she taught Santana. Her grandmother’s approval, that resolution of queer and cultural identity is what Santana craves the most but in the end it is denied to her. This struggle parallels the problems that other queer ethnic minorities face in coming out and is another obstacle in embracing the queer community wholeheartedly in society.
References:
Moraga, Cherrie. “Queer Aztlan: the Reformation of Chicano Tribe” from The Last Generation. South End Press, 1993.
Although LGBTQ presence in the media is clearly increasing through popular television shows such as Glee and Modern Family, it is also true that the majority of these homosexual characters within these shows are typically white. Through the example of Santana’s struggle as an LGBTQ woman of Mexican descent, this post does a great job of discussing the additional issues that non-white homosexual individuals face in the process of coming out. The one that stood out the most to me was the lack of support from Santana’s grandmother due to her traditionalist beliefs. I think this is a very common issue of many LGBTQ members as in the chapter titled ‘Forever is a long time’, Weston brings up that friends are often the most supportive group for individuals in the process of coming out, and that “the prospect of being disowned by ‘blood’ or adoptive relatives [is] the greatest threat...” (Weston, 69).
ReplyDeleteI believe that the majority of people would say that their family is the most important thing in life. This is why the thought of one’s family not being supportive of and in some cases, ‘disowning’ them after finding out that they are homosexual is really upsetting and a huge concern of many individuals wanting to ‘come out’. However, the next closest thing to family is friends, which in turn become the nearest support system for many LGBTQ members and a place to seek comfort and relief. This being said, while it can be inferred that non-white homosexuals have less support from their families due to their more traditional values, as in the case of Glee’s Santana, it can also result in the building up of greater relationships between friends who act as an extended family and support system.
Bibliography:
Weston, Kath. “Forever Is a Long Time.” Longslowburn: Sexuality and Social Science. New York: Routledge, 1998. Print.