"Up until recently, gay representation in media centered around two main stereotypes: flamboyant best friend and tragic subject. Even as gay love stories become more common, they're still often presented as secretive or forbidden. For women, the stereotypes are even worse. From 1976 to 2016, 35% of the lesbian or bisexual female characters featured on TV were 86'd by the end of their stint. The trope is known as "bury your gays.""
"How about we take this to the next level? Subscribe to our newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy. Coincidently, many gays feel the same way about queer Hollywood archetypes: bury them! This week, we asked Queerty readers to sound off on the cliche gay characters and storylines that make them spit out their popcorn in disgust. Here's what they had to say... What's a gay trope in media that you're tired of seeing?"
""Not every gay person has good taste. In fact, some gay folks are tacky!" - Teddy in Concord, New Hampshire We spend so much time complaining about the negative attributes associated with gay people (conniving, dishonest, manipulative, wimpy, frightened, unfaithful, sex hungry), we forget about the hackneyed positive traits, too. Some gays, with their explicit shirts about bottoming and matching rompers, are tacky AF! Free from the shackles of heteronormativity, we're free to act and dress how we desire. But that doesn't mean we're classy. Au cointreau, monsieur. (If you think we know French, we have a mesh tank top to sell you!)"
""The campy gay man and straight girl 'f*g hag' is so overplayed to have become a parody of the stereotype. Also, the variation that involves the straight female friend to be in unrequited love with her unavailable gay best friend." - Benjamin in Savannah, Georgia "The gay best friend/f*g hag." - Sebastian in Staten Island Oh yes, the hated f*g hag. Coined in the '"
Gay representation in media has long relied on stereotypes such as flamboyant best friends and tragic subjects. Even when gay love stories appear more often, they are frequently framed as secretive or forbidden. For women, stereotypes are described as even harsher, with a large share of lesbian or bisexual female TV characters reportedly killed off by the end of their run, a pattern referred to as “bury your gays.” The content also criticizes recurring character types like the campy gay man and the “f*g hag,” including variations where a straight woman is portrayed as having unrequited love for an unavailable gay best friend. Readers express fatigue with these clichés and negative portrayals.
#lgbtq-representation #media-stereotypes #bury-your-gays #lesbian-and-bisexual-women #queer-character-tropes
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