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Homero Trevino

Dr. Kevin Lindberg

English 1302

3/10/22

Representation in the Media

The growth mindset many people have today is a big stepping-stone for equality and

diversity.  Even so, many others do not see it that way nor do they want racial equality for all.

For example, in the media today, there are a lot of heterosexual Caucasian male actors and much

fewer people of color, gay or lesbian people, women, and transgender individuals who do not get

to appear on the big screens as much and therefore, do not experience equal representation.

Having actors who are diverse getting to be seen by other people who are like them can help

viewers feel represented and show that being different is a positive thing.

People of color

         With the media, there has not been an equal representation for the Black community for

the majority of film history; however, in 2018, Marvel released “Black Panther” starring the late

Chadwick Boseman. This was the first superhero movie starring a black actor as the main

character. “Most importantly as the Black Panther, King T’Challa, Boseman gave American

children their first Black superhero in a major motion picture,” says Elizabeth Wellington, a

writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer. The responses given to this movie were overwhelmed with

positivity by many Black communities. Like Natasha S. Alford said that the representations that

came from this movie were needed, “… But now kids have #BlackPanther’s Nakia, Shuri, and

Okoye”. These characters that she mentioned are Black female characters that many little girls of

color can relate to and feel the representation they desired for so long. For instance, Shuri is one
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of the smartest characters in the movie, and she can be a stepping-stone for many girls of color to

show that intelligence is just as useful as being strong. For Okoye, she is a skilled fighter that

proves that anybody could lead if they display confidence in themselves. According to Rebecca,

“the representation of Black women in #BlackPanther made me feel seen”. The importance of

kids seeing people on the big screen that they can relate to is that it will have a positive impact

on their future. In an interview done with Boseman on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy

Fallon,” he got to talk to other people of color on how important his movie was to them and the

impact it had, with people saying how much the movie meant to them, their families, and their

community. One person even said how important it was to see people who look like them star in

a movie. All the fans that came out in the video all had one thing in common, Boseman was the

representation that they needed and deserved. However, this is not the first time that people took

a stand for the black community. Dolly Parton is a pioneer for having black entertainers in her

show. “A times, Parton supported the contributions of black entertainers by featuring them in her

concerts and television shows,” says Lindsey Hammers in an article talking about how she

helped black entertainers. Parton was ahead of her time as she saw everyone as equals and

refused to discriminate against people based on race. Thanks to the Black Panther movie and the

help of Dolly Parton, more kids of color can feel the representation that they earned for so long

and can look up to them and say to themselves, “I can be a hero too”.

         Representation for the gays

         One of the communities that do not get enough representation is the gay community.

There have been little to no movies or television shows where the main character is gay. One of

the most famous movies where a gay character is a protagonist is “Love, Simon.” This movie

follows Simon, a young boy who is struggling with his sexuality and all the positive and negative
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effects it has around his life. When this movie first came out, it had a ton of negative feedback

from many people. The movie’s spinoff show, “Love, Victor” was supposed to air on Disney+,

but many parents have said that it is not Disney that they know and grew up with. These

characters all come off as being feminine, with other shows like “Shameless” that do not depict

their gay characters as stereotypes. Both “Micky” and “Ian”, a gay couple in “Shameless”, are

shown off as very masculine and manly, unlike in other shows like “Riverdale”, “Glee”, and

“Faking It” that all depict their gay character in accordance with the believed stereotypical gay

people, who act very feminine and lack representation for the masculine gay men. The very

diverse way in which gay men are shown will have a big impact on younger people. This will

show that being feminine or masculine is a good thing and not something negative, and they do

not need to be stereotypical. For lesbians, representation of them being the main character is

uncommon, but in “Batwoman” it is not. “Batwoman” stars Ruby Rose who plays “Kathy

Kane”, AKA Batwomen. This is the first superhero show to star a lesbian character as the main

protagonist. In an interview done with Metro, “… ‘This is something I would have died to have

seen on TV when I was a young member of the LGBT community who never felt represented on

tv and felt alone and different. Thank you, everyone.” Says Rose. By her saying this tells that

Rose would have loved to see representation for others like her on the screen. Since she did not

have representation for herself, she became a role model for other young people.  She took this

stand to help those in need and help them overcome any troubles that may come their way.

         Representation for Transgendered

         In recent years, many people have got the courage to come out and say they do not agree

with their gender at birth. There is little to no representation for this community in the media, but

there is one show that took its first step. “Supergirl”, stars Nicole Maines, who plays Nia Nal
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AKA “Dreamer” who is a transgender activist and the first transgendered woman to become a

superhero. In an interview done with “The Washington Post”, she explains her life since the age

of two, “When do I get to be a girl?” says Maines. Even at this young age, she knew that she did

not associate with being a boy. During her time as a kid, it was not common for transgendered

people to be out in the open. Coming from a very conservative family, her dad was out of the

picture, but her mother protected her and a few years later her father came back to support his

child. She took a stand and became a stepping-stone for many other young people who feel the

same way she felt. In an article done by Lauren B. McInroy, she explains how there is a big lack

of transgender representation in the media. “The representation of transgender people in

traditional, offline media (e.g., television, movies) has increased since the 1970s, with the most

significant growth occurring in the last several decades (Ekins & King, 2006; Ghazali & Nor,

2012)” Says McInroy. As the years progress and people start to become more open-minded, we

can have a world where it is normalized for transgendered people to be shown on the big screen.

None of this could have been possible without Christine Jorgensen. She was the first

transgendered female to get famous over her sex reassignment surgery in the 1950s. She also

fought in World War 2, at a time when if the army found out they were gay, they got stripped of

their medals. Without her brave and courageous actions, the fight for transgendered people

would have started many years later. Jorgensen is a stepping-stone for many people out there

who want to be their true selves.

         Conclusion

   Over the years as we grow our mindset becomes more open to new ideas of what people

want to identify as. As we grow older so does the amount of representation on the screen. This

fight has been going on for years and is still going on. Thanks to Chadwick Boseman, Ruby
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Rose, Nichole Maines, and many other diverse people, we can gradually see more of the

representation that all these unique communities want and deserve.

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References:

Alford, Natasha S. [@NatashaSAlford]. “If you don’t understand the power of representation,

imagine growing up and never seeing a superhero who looks like you.” [Tweet]. (Jan 29,

2018). https://twitter.com/NatashaSAlford/status/958157441946054657?ref_src=twsrc

%5Etfw% 7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E958157441946054657%7Ctwgr%5E

%7Ctw con%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hollywoodreporter.com

%2Fmovies%2Fm ovie-news%2Fblack-panther-first-reactions-premiere-1079894%2F

This tweet talks about how representations are needed for all the

diverse communities. So, each one has a voice that can speak out for them and have

someone to relate to.

Fallon, Jimmy. [ The Tonight Show Staring Jimmy Fallon]. (Feb 28, 2018).

Chadwick Boseman Surprises Black Panther Fans While They Thank

Him. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=expKmfdoo28

This video shows how big an impact Boseman had on the black community.

To see how much the influence his movie had to all

the black people and to have someone to relate to.

Hammers, Lindsey. “The Parton Paradox: A History of Race and Gender in the Career of

Dolly Parton.” Georgia Southern University. Spring 2017.

https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2645&context=e

td

This article talks about the life of Dolly Parton and how much of an impact she had on

the black community by giving the musicians a voice and a shot to fame.
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Lewis, Rebecca. “Ruby Rose lands ‘dream role’ as Batwoman, DC’s first openly-gay

superhero”, Metro. Aug 7, 2018. https://metro.co.uk/2018/08/07/ruby-rose-lands-dream-

role-batwoman-dcs-first-openly-gay-superhero-7811923/

This article explains how much an impact Rose had when she was announced to

play the first openly gay superhero on screen. This had a positive impact for many young gay

people to have someone to look up to.

Nutt, Amy Ellis. “The Washington Post” Becoming Nichole. Oct 19, 2015,

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2015/10/19/becoming-nicole/

This article explains the life of Nichole Maines and her struggles of life when

she came out as transgendered. All of her hard ships and the people that she lost and gained

on her journey to discovery.

Rahman, Abid. “Black Panther’: First Reaction From the Premiere”. The Hollywood Reporter.

(Jan 29, 2018). https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/black-panther-

first-reactions-premiere-1079894/

This article talks about how big an impact Boseman had after his passing. He

was a big movement to the black community and helped them out.

DeGeneres, Ellen. [TheEllenShow]. (Oct 11, 2018). ‘Supergirl’s’ New Star Nicole Maines Talks

Growing Up Transgender. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=OVrAO60hGdM&t=54s This interview talks about Maines’s

life and her struggles in life with the people who don’t accept her as the person who she was.

She goes off to explain that it is good to be different and be the person who you want to be.
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Lauren B. McInroy & Shelley L. Craig (2015) Transgender Representation in Offline and Online

Media: LGBTQ Youth Perspectives, Journal of Human Behavior in the Social

Environment, 25:6, 606-617, DOI: 10.1080/10911359.2014.995392

This article explains the lack of representation that LGBTQ+ youth have in the

media. It shows how far the representation has come from the past to the current present.

The National WWII Museum, From GI Joe to GI Jane: Christine Jorgensen’s Story. June 30,

2020. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/christine-jorgensen

This article explains the life of Jorgensen the first person to openly come out and

say they were trans. From a WWII veteran being stripped of her medals to becoming a

stepping-stone for many people.

Theodore-Vachon, Rebecca, [FilmFatale_NYC]. “And the representation of Black women in

#BlackPanther made me feel seen.” [Tweet]. (Jan 30, 2018).

https://twitter.com/FilmFatale_NYC/status/958229010135347200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E958230053984325632%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ct

wcon%5Es2_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hollywoodreporter.com%2Fmovies%2F

movie-news%2Fblack-panther-first-reactions-premiere-1079894%2F

This tweet shows of how people feel for the lack of representation they have for

their community. It brings awareness for not only them but brings into light for other

that have little to no representation.

Wellington, Elizabeth. “The Philadelphia Inquire”, Chadwick Boseman brought Black

superheroes to life and died like one | Elizabeth Wellington, (Aug 29, 2020).

https://www.inquirer.com/columnists/chadwick-boseman-black-panther-dies-colon-
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cancer-20200829.html

This article explains how Boseman brough a positive impact for the black

community and how grateful they were to him. This expresses the joy and positive feedback

he had for his movie.