Teens: Current Representations of LGBT Commercials

Commercial #1: Dad Thinks the Date is a Boy



Analysis:

• opening line is "mother tells me you think you're in love" this has a multifaceted message, that daughters talk to mothers but not fathers, that teens are not capable of understanding love, and that teens are an alien life form that parents will never understand. This feels very Raby to me, under the double standard that we force teens to act older then they are but treat them as if they are younger than they are.
• this shows and tells a lot about dominant culture, because the father assumes the person she likes is a man, and she doesn't feel the need to tell him it is a woman. the discourse of silence surrounding the LGBT community is strong, and accurately portrayed here. Though accurate, that doesn't not mean it should be accepted or perpetuated. But i digress, this shows how the homosexual community operates within a herteronormative society as if we are ashamed of our resistance to their assumptions.
• this video shows sexuality without oversexualizing participants, but it should be noted that a double standard persists in which gay males in commercials do not touch, and gay females almost always do, showing how society finds it desirable to see two females together but not two males.
• This commercial was due to air in Canada but was banned for "content"
  

Commercial #2: Standards of Beauty at the Bar (and the teen reaction to it)




Analysis:

• the use of three men together further reinforces same gender associations as safe and comfortable as opposed to different gender associations, as Carey showed in her photo presentation
• Standards of beauty are defiantly on display here. the busty blond is favored over the conservative brunette, and the friends give each other a high-five over the second woman, totally objectifying her as a better prize, and when the man avoids them both to go for a man the friends are disgusted and repulsed. again, while progressive in intent the translation is not so clear
• Tolman talks about the objectification of women and what this translates to in feelings about ones self in real life, showing how media matters and does effect us, so what does the timing of the video teach us? We see the first female for four seconds, all concentrated on her face, perhaps saying if you don't want to be objectified, you need to dress yourself differently, but you will always be overlooked for the "hotter" people. The second female we see for eighteen seconds, only two of which show her face. The teen that narrates the video in the second frame comments to this woman "boobs, boobs, wow big boobs" though the pan of her body shows legs, tongue over lips, hourglass silhouette, and long blond hair. The man gets six seconds, they focus on his body, and we see the "friends" looking appalled twice, in case you missed it the first time. If this timing doesn't show how media matters, values somethings while devaluing other things, and will effect viewers, i don't know what will.
• this is a British commercial
  
• teen that analyzes the commercial comments "there's always one gay add during the Superbowl season that pisses people (of power) off". my argument is: there is only one because dominant culture doesn't want to allow for the "other" to have any chance at be seen (because then of course we will up rise and take over the world, because we are inherently violent, too). He also comments that this is "nothing new", showing how media matters and teens do see and understand the discourses that constantly bombard them.
  

Commercial #3: MTV Gay Teens in America



Analysis:

• this also effectively shows how homosexual relationships operate within a heteronormative society, and even a progressive commercial that shows a gay man (bisexual? craves four women and also one man, very stalkerish undertones, no friends, never touches the man) focuses 55 seconds of the one minute swenty second commercial on heterosexual relationships
• an American commercial (finally!) on MTV (though i haven't ever seen it air)
• "if your love is boundless wear a condom"- so wrong. progressive because it promotes safe sex, but it also spreads the assumption that only gay and bi people need to wear a condom, that bi people are greedy and love everything "boundlessly" and that they crave as many partners at once as possible
• progressive in that it fights the traditional macho male stereotype, this male is in touch with his feelings, but perpetuates the stereotype that gay males are in touch with their feelings too much, are weak and are feminine, are loners and are creepy.
  
• Christenson would argue that all these things mentioned above, the dominant hetero-normative discourse, the portrayls of masculinity, and the portrayal of gayness as an oversexualized monster are all myths that circulate in out culture and are reinforced constantly through movies, tv, the radio, internet, etc to reinforce their messages. She would also argue that we need to teach our children young to interpret these messages so that by the time they are teenagers and beyond they don't absorb all that they hear and see as the only truth.
  

Commercial #4: European School Dance (followed by the english version)



Analysis:

• this is a commercial that i feel has the intention of being very progressive, to say that"you don't have to be afraid" that gayness happens, people know it at a young age, and that it is not something to fear, but i think that message is lost through the add itself.i believe the implication is that we see the gay male as a lone wolf on the prowl, that he doesn't have friends and is indeed dangerous, that he intentionally breaks up happy heterosexuals and seeks to "recruit" for his "cause" and "turn others gay".
• This is a Norwegian commercial, and despite efforts to translate the original message, I'm still not entirely sure what it is really trying to say. another response in English called all gay people "pedophiles" and said we should be institutionalized (thank you but the psych association declared us mentally fit long ago).
• an alternate ending that would actually be progressive, besides showing the male with friends at the beginning, would show the male with the female as not enjoying himself at all, and when the second male offers a dance the first should get up immediately with a reassured face and we should see them dance (yes, *gasp*, we would have to show two men touch in this ending)
• i am torn if this is depicting teens as an alien life form or not, they do seem very awkward, but cross culturally, in the united states i can understand the "awkward first dance" in junior high is a reality. maybe its a little bit of both (i know, shocker, life has grey area)
  

Commercial #5: That's So Gay Campaign (and teen reaction to it)





Analysis:

• this is very progressive and direct to take down teen terminology that spreads phrases like "thats so gay" when things are stupid or unfair "that's straight" when their cool. it does lead to a disconnect from the gay community, which i am at odds about, because people try to argue that this "gay" has no relation to sexuality, when it does. But i like how wee see straight people opening the dialogue, to show that not only the community can talk about issues that target and discriminate against the community.
• It airs on United States TV! (though i see it more on logo than anywhere, which is so preaching to the choir, and don't even get me started on how bad it is that we throw all the gay shows in one place so it is easier to avoid them)
• in the final PSA, teens are creating culture and sending it back out for other teens to view. Miller would argue that this is part of phatic culture that that this is not from corporations preaching to the masses but people making progressive insight for others to view.
• this reminds me how the terminology "no homo" is used in hip-hop culture and how some rappers are opening discourse about its use, see the video below. :)
  

"Discourse on 'No Homo'"

• We know that media matters, because there are people that walk around the campus rapping their favorite songs, spitting out things like "no homo" without stopping to think about what they are saying, or perhaps understanding but unaware of the effect this has on the people around them. i, for one, was hurt the first time i heard it used, it was a very "othering" experience, and if it were progressive should read more like (sample lyric)"...that just came outta my mouth, but so what if it sounds homosexual, people are flexible, and no matter who you love, be sure to give respect each other and hold your lover tight." Marco McWilliams had talked about how rap involves the culture of African Americans, a culture in which males are demasculinized and hence are forced to be hypermascline to counteract their stereotypes. Part of this is the demonetization of the homosexual community, which, i argue, is suggested by dominant white society, accepted and perpetuated by black society, and furthered through such venues as hip hop as a form of expression.
  

Commercial #6: Lesbians; Normalized :)



Analysis:

• i commend this commercial for normalizing the lesbian, making her just the "girl next door"
• however, these women are oversexualized, are undressing each other and wrestling, there is a lot of body contact, and two of the seventeen seconds show faces. this was not meant for the GLBT community but for the hetero community, specifically males that want to see "girl on girl action". they won;t be listening to the progressive audio but watching the steamy visual.
• this is an American video, but i have never seen it air
• Tolman, i believe, would have a hard time discerning if these women were "good" or "bad", because though they are normalized they are also sexualized, and sex is not cool before marriage, and by definition in the vast majority of states gay people cannot get married, so are these women doomed to be deemed "loose sluts" because they are normal, active teens (oh wait i forgot, according to dominant culture, lesbians don't have sex)?