If you only ever see yourself in tragic stories, do you learn to expect sadness? If you only ever see people concealing pieces of themselves, do you learn to hide elements of yourself? Despite the changes that are occurring in American society concerning the acceptance of LGBTQ+ people our representation in the media is deeply problematic. One of the fundamental problems is that TV, like society, asks its LGBTQ people to cover. According to Kenji Yoshino the author of Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights, covering is "to tone down a disfavored identity to fit into the mainstream" (Yoshino 2006: ix). In Covering Yoshino examines the consequences of covering in the queer community, specifically how it affects our rights as citizens
…show more content…
He believes that covering is the dark side of assimilation and "the most widespread form of assimilation required of us today" (Yoshino xi). Covering is the act of disguising unfavorable characteristics but not removing them completely. According to Yoshino to cover is to make oneself more able to assimilate into heterosexual culture, but is not the same as passing which is to pretend to be heterosexual. Covering is the key to being accepted as a LGBTQ+ member of society and is the way most LGBTQ+ characters are scripted on TV. On its most basic level covering is the way to separate the Gays from the Queers. Yoshino explains this distinction in terms of vulnerability. When he decided between going to Law School or to pursue writing he said," I decided on law school in part because I had accepted my gay identity. A gay poet is vulnerable in profession as well as person. I refused that level of exposure" (Yoshino 12). Behind the title of a lawyer, a profession that is seen as both highly masculinized and vital to society, the fact of Yoshino 's homosexuality becomes less important and less visible as it could be if he were a writer. The difference laying in the amount society believes one 's identity influences their profession. Moreover, to be a lawyer who is gay is still to be a productive and valuable member of society, a 'respectable deviant ' someone who does not let their …show more content…
When applying a larger gradient to both sides of sexuality you get a spectrum of heterosexual privilege and homosexual privilege; and while a privileged homosexual will never reach the status of a privileged heterosexual, they do have power over less privileged homosexuals, who are the Queers. Privileged homosexuals, sometimes colloquially referred to as the Hetero-Gays, are those who conform to a heterosexual lifestyle who fulfill the societal expectations of what it means to be a couple. Complete with the white-picket fence, steady careers, two children and the min-van, the Hetero-Gays are the ultimate coverers. They are the people who are accepted into mainstream society because they actually do belong, they are assimilated to a point where their homosexuality is but a fun element to spice up the neighborhood. This sect of homosexual people are the standard that society holds all other LGBTQ+ people to and sees those who do not conform as flaunting their homosexuality, something they could easily hide like their more respectable
He believes that covering is the dark side of assimilation and "the most widespread form of assimilation required of us today" (Yoshino xi). Covering is the act of disguising unfavorable characteristics but not removing them completely. According to Yoshino to cover is to make oneself more able to assimilate into heterosexual culture, but is not the same as passing which is to pretend to be heterosexual. Covering is the key to being accepted as a LGBTQ+ member of society and is the way most LGBTQ+ characters are scripted on TV. On its most basic level covering is the way to separate the Gays from the Queers. Yoshino explains this distinction in terms of vulnerability. When he decided between going to Law School or to pursue writing he said," I decided on law school in part because I had accepted my gay identity. A gay poet is vulnerable in profession as well as person. I refused that level of exposure" (Yoshino 12). Behind the title of a lawyer, a profession that is seen as both highly masculinized and vital to society, the fact of Yoshino 's homosexuality becomes less important and less visible as it could be if he were a writer. The difference laying in the amount society believes one 's identity influences their profession. Moreover, to be a lawyer who is gay is still to be a productive and valuable member of society, a 'respectable deviant ' someone who does not let their …show more content…
When applying a larger gradient to both sides of sexuality you get a spectrum of heterosexual privilege and homosexual privilege; and while a privileged homosexual will never reach the status of a privileged heterosexual, they do have power over less privileged homosexuals, who are the Queers. Privileged homosexuals, sometimes colloquially referred to as the Hetero-Gays, are those who conform to a heterosexual lifestyle who fulfill the societal expectations of what it means to be a couple. Complete with the white-picket fence, steady careers, two children and the min-van, the Hetero-Gays are the ultimate coverers. They are the people who are accepted into mainstream society because they actually do belong, they are assimilated to a point where their homosexuality is but a fun element to spice up the neighborhood. This sect of homosexual people are the standard that society holds all other LGBTQ+ people to and sees those who do not conform as flaunting their homosexuality, something they could easily hide like their more respectable