Angelo De Leon, J., & Jintalan, J. (2018). Accepted or not: Homosexuality, media, and the culture of silence in the Philippine society. Jurnal Komunikasi, Malaysian Journal of Communication, 34(3), 408–425. https://doi.org/10.17576/jkmjc-2018-3403-25
This article draws the line between media that is meant to entertain and media that provides meaningful discussion about homosexual lives, issues, and rights. De Leon and Jintalan gives examples of how afternoon reality TV shows often bring up issues like same-sex marriage, and how the reaction of audiences is often interpretable as joy or delight. However, this cannot be generalized to the population of the Philippines and cannot be an accurate representation of each person’s reaction because of how they often fit the situation they are put in, which is often a comedic segment. The article also discusses the influence of our country’s dominant religion on the legislature regarding these issues.
Ballaret, J. R. (2024). Navigating Parenthood: A Study of Family Formation and Parenting Experiences Among Same-sex Couples in the Philippines. The Family Journal, 32(4), 596-604. https://doi.org/10.1177/10664807231225406 (Original work published 2024)
This qualitative study explores how same-sex couples in the Philippines form families and navigate parenthood in a predominantly conservative and heteronormative cultural context. Using a phenomenological approach, Ballaret examines the experiences of a lesbian couple, a gay couple, and a bisexual couple, highlighting their struggles with legal, societal, and familial barriers to parenthood. The study reveals diverse strategies, including adoption and fostering relatives’ children, and emphasizes the role of familial support, resilience, and role-sharing within households. By centering lived experiences, the article advocates for inclusive policies and a redefinition of family beyond traditional norms.
Erera, P. I., & Fredriksen, K. (1999). Lesbian Stepfamilies: A Unique Family Structure. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services. https://goldseninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Lesbian-stepfamilies-A-unique-family-structure.pdf.
This article examines the dynamics of lesbian stepfamilies through a strengths-based lens, contrasting them with heterosexual stepfamilies. It reveals how unique challenges are faced by lesbian families- including legal invisibility, ambiguous parenting roles, and stigmatization in society. The authors drew from existing literature on stepfamilies where it was found that familial roles were more complicated in families with parents of the same gender and how lesbian communities often serve as crucial support systems within these spaces. In sum, Erera and Fredriksen advocate for culturally appropriate social work practices and suggest future research directions such as legal, psychological, and structural dimensions of lesbian parenting.
Gomillion, S. C., & Giuliano, T. A. (2011). The Influence of Media Role Models on Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Identity. Journal of Homosexuality, 58(3), 330–354. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2011.546729
Gomillion and Giuliano discusses two studies, which are summed up to acknowledge the role of media in providing positive role models for LGB individuals. It also recommends decreasing the stereotypical portrayals in media and it also recognizes its role in helping LGB individuals in their process of coming out.
Parker, K. M., Sadika, B., Sameen, D., Morrison, T. G., & Morrison, M. A. (2019). Humanizing lesbian characters on television: Exploring their characterization and interpersonal relationships. Journal of Lesbian Studies, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/10894160.2019.1678935.
The study is written by Kandice M. Parker, Bidushy Sadika, Durr-e Sameen, Todd G. Morrison, and Melanie A. Morrison. Through a mixed-methods approach, the study examined how 39 lesbian characters’ interpersonal relationships and characteristics were represented in media using 20 ‘lesbian-centric’ television shows from 2008-2018. The authors argued that while lesbian representation on television has increased, it remains problematic due to the utilization of homonegative tropes as well as limited diversity. Lesbian characters were predominantly portrayed as young, white, cisgender, and middle-class, with stories catered to hegemonic (i.e., heterosexual, white, cisgender) audiences. While positive interpersonal relationships were shown—often with mothers and romantic partners, they lacked complexity, especially in friendships and father-daughter relationships. A key limitation that arose in this study is the lack of lesbians’ sibling-relationship portrayal, recommended by the authors to be explored in future research. Overall, they recommend a more nuanced and realistic representation of family dynamics.
Reed, E. (2018a). The Heterogeneity of Family: Responses to Representational Invisibility by LGBTQ parents. Journal of Family Issues, 39(18), 4204–4225. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513x18810952
This article by Elizabeth Reed shows how feelings of invisibility, exclusion, and family conflict are attributable to the lack of diverse representation in various mainstream media. This recognizes that there are now more images to be modeled, but there is still a significant gap between media portrayals and lived experiences.
Reed, E. (2018b) Lesbian, Bisexual and Queer Motherhood: Crafting Radical Narratives and Representing Social Change through Cultural Representations, Women: A Cultural Review, 29:1, 39-58, https://doi,org/10.1080/09574042.2018.1425535
Another article by Elizabeth Reed provides insight as to how representation in different forms of media helps lesbian mothers make sense of their experience by having a framework that they can easily find themselves in. Representation in media also provides a way to circulate the ideas behind their identities as a family that is accessible to many. This highlights the need for representation in media as it is helpful in the day-to-day lives of lesbian mothers, as well as in situating themselves in society. The article also brings up how depictions of lesbian mothers can be stereotypical or depicted as neglectful.
Simmons, M. (2020). TROPES IN LESBIAN YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE 1976-2019 [University of Texas at Arlington]. In 2020 Spring Honors Capstone Projects. Mav Matrix. https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/honors_spring2020/51/?utm_source=mavmatrix.uta.edu%2Fhonors_spring2020%2F51&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages.
A thesis written by Maddison Simmons, this study traces the evolution of lesbian representation in young adult literature from the 1970s to 2019 by analyzing recurring tropes and connecting them to shifting cultural attitudes. Such tropes include 1) the miserable lesbian; 2) the lesbian victim; 3) the confused parent [of the lesbian daughter]; 4) the lesbian self-discovery; and 5) the found family trope. While the study offers rich historical insight into the evolution of lesbian media as well as highlights the importance of visibility and belonging, there are limitations to it, such as not taking into account intersectionality in its analysis- and it may be reflective of the accessibility to intersectional lesbian novels or the lack thereof.
Snyder, A. L., Bonus, J. A., & Cingel, D. P. (2023). Representations of LGBQ+ families in young children’s media. Journal of Children and Media, 17(1), 154–160. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2023.2173856
The journal article is written by Allyson Snyder, James Bonus and Drew Cingel. This explores the media representation of LGBQ+ families intended for young children. The authors argue that there was an increase in LGBQ+ characters in media for young audiences. However, characters who appear in programs aimed at older children (ages over seven years old), with most portrayals focusing on age-appropriate romance, which is less relevant for this age group. Instead, emphasizing diverse family structures creates more significant narratives that increase the positive theoretical implications of these representations, which include the enhancement of the effectiveness of educational programs (increasing identification for children in LGBQ+ families) and helping to mitigate prejudice toward LGBQ+ individuals. This study serves as a reference for the current state of LGBQ+ media representation in television and movies targeted at younger audiences.
Walters, S. D. (2012). The kids are all right but the lesbians aren’t: Queer Kinship in US culture. Sexualities, 15(8), 917–933. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363460712459311
Suzanna Danuta Walters is the Director of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, a professor of Sociology at Northeastern University and has published numerous feminist and queer books and articles. This article criticizes media about lesbian families and provides good examples that our zine used as a recommendation. It also called for the representation of complex and real queer families.
Yuan, G. (2025). A literature review on the influence of LGBTQ Films on university students’ attitudes toward gender diversity across cultures. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, VIII(XII), 3985–3998. https://doi.org/10.47772/ijriss.2024.8120330
This article by Gao Yuan tackles cultural contexts and how it moderates acceptance of queer individuals and specifically identifies the role of films in changing values and therefore policy.
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