At the University of North Texas (UNT), several journalism classes include discussion of LGBT issues as they relate to ensuring fair, non-stereotyped news coverage, as well as fair depictions for creative work in advertising and public relations. Particularly in our department’s “Race, Gender & Media” course, curriculum includes discussion of LGBT issues and BDSM lifestyles in mass media and news coverage.
Usually, students just want to understand what these terms mean beyond the ways they are sensationalized (or demonized) in the media. When asked to bring examples of common stereotypes from news reporting or advertising, students are quick to recognize when gay, bisexual or transgender people are used as scapegoats or punch lines, or when lesbians are used purely for sexual interest. Trips to Commercial Closet’s Web site help a lot. Through media literacy, students figure out the codes and analyze them, finding master narratives and stock characters in storytelling, feature articles and film, such as the gay supporting character who also finds some hint of love at the end of every heterosexual romance. Students also identify the likely ideology behind stories like this, when gay romance is literally short-changed.
Explanations of BDSM lifestyles, along with terms such as “transgender” or “transsexual” or even “pansexual,” elicit questions of genuine curiosity. Many students admit they understand these terms in only superficial ways. At UNT, students may earn a minor in our Study of Sexualities program, and the presence of this curriculum on our campus enhances the dialogue and opportunities for students to engage in research and theory in both LGBT and BDSM issues.
Student journalists working for our campus newspaper, The North Texas Daily, arrange time each semester to hold workshops about diversity. In a workshop held this semester, students discussed trying to garner comments about general campus issues from LGBT groups, instead of calling them as sources solely for LGBT stories. While a content analysis of the paper determined that few stereotypes were used of these groups in recent editions, voices from LGBT groups appeared infrequently and only in relation to specific LGBT issues.
