Sexuality

Definition of sexuality:

Sexual orientation is a romantic pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to men, women, both genders, neither gender or another gender.

Sexualities

Hetrosexual; Attracted to the opposite sex 

i.e. Male attracted to a Female

Homosexual; Attracted to a person of the same sex

i.e. A Woman attracted to another Women

Bisexual; Attracted to both genders

i.e. Men attracted to other Men and Women

Explanation of stereotypes associated with this in the media:

Common stereotypes of sexuality are used in the media to present a person's character. Examples of these include: Homosexual males (gay) being camp and overly feminine. Homosexual females (lesbians) being butch and man like. The media may choose to stereotype characters of a certain sexuality so that the audience can make assumptions of these people.

A selection of TV shows that include the stereotype:

• Doug Carter: Doug is a homosexual male character in the hit TV Drama Hollyoaks. He is presented as your 'stereotypical gay'  as he has a very high pitched voice and wears pristine clothing and hair styles.

•  Christian: Christian from the well known TV Soap Eastenders is presented as an overly sensitive homosexual with a love for other hetrosexual characters included in the show. 

• Bobby: Bobby from The Only Way Is Essex or 'TOWIE' is presented as your stereotypical homosexual as he cares for himself like a women would. He 'fake tans,'  wears make up, grooms himself including getting his eyebrows waxed and is overly sensitive and extremely emotional.

• Orange is the new black; this TV Drama features a group of lesbians inside a prison. They are stereotypical lesbians as they are presented as butch.

The issues that can arise through sexuality can be the misconception of the stereotypes. Not all gay men are feminine and not all lesbians are butch. Some homosexuals can become embarrassed of their sexuality as people can frown upon the thought of the same sex being together. 

Downtown Abbey, set in the early 1900's, does not include any characters that are homosexual as it was very much frowned upon in that era. People with mental illnesses were locked up in this time and being 'gay' was perceived as a mental illness. 

Representation of Me

People are represented by certain stereotypes. Using UK Tribes I have identified many groups including "Styles" and "Tumblr kids" that I fall under.

Stylers

Music, status and style – Stylers are living for the good life!

Stylers are united by a love for partying and looking good. They've also a fairly discerning bunch, into the finer things in life and less brash than, say, Blingers. Sharing an urban upbringing, they’re a diverse bunch, ranging from GCSE students to young professionals.

The ‘housification’ of r’n’b has really galvanised the emergence of the Stylers – now you can be both US cool and Ibiza hedonist in the one hit – and urban commercial dance music is the sound of the tribe. Think Drake, Rihanna, Rita Ora and Chris Brown, as well as artists like Maverick Sabre and Wiley.

A small subsection of the Stylers will be seeking out niche underground sounds, but most are listening to what’s readily available – artists championed by trusted sources, friends and stations like Radio 1Xtra.

Favourite Brands:

Radio 1 Xtra

Nike 

YouTube

River Island

Twitter

I said that I would be categorised in this 'tribe' because I love listening to music and have a keen interest in fashion and style. My favourite Bands/Artists are:

Arctic Monkeys

Kendrick Lamar

Chris Brown

Nicki Minaj 

Two Door Cinema Club

A$AP Rocky

Beyonce

Frank Ocean

McFly

I feel that I have a varied taste in music, I love R'n'B but also love bands like the Arctic Monkeys.

The next tribe I fall into is 'Tumblr Kids'

Strike a pose, Tumblr Kids are opening their worlds for all to see

Tumblr Kids are an entry-level Leading Edge Tribe with lots of members under 16, and a female-bias. As the name suggests, Tumblr is at the heart of this Tribe. Like a digital scrapbook, it’s used to visually document their lives – every minute of the day

There are plenty who use the platform but for whom it’s just a means to an end, but among the Tumblr Kids it’s Tumblr glory that’s more important than actually being an expert on anything. Rather than creating content, it’s all about re-blogging images that show a window into their world – fashion icons, cult films, lyrics, and pets.The most respected members of the Tribe are the ‘Tumblr Famous,’ style conscious teenagers adored by thousands of 

followers, eliciting levels of hysteria once reserved for only A-list celebs.

I am in this 'tribe' because I own a Tumblr account and seem to spend most of my time on there! I like it because its a way to share pictures and to see other peoples. 

Trendies

Chasing the beautiful dream and the next big thing, for Trendies image means everything…

Trendies are a burgeoning Tribe with no signs of abating – and they are getting younger by the day. The high street has exploded with brands like Urban Outfitters and Topshop offering off-the-peg Hipster-influenced styles, so channeling your inner Cara Delevingne or Harry Styles has never been so easy.

Trendies are motivated by the current trends du jour, looking to street style, celebrities and authoritative media brands for inspiration on music and fashion – in short, the latest in cool. It’s about tapping into what’s hot just before it hits the mainstream and picking it up online or on the high street, with key pieces nabbed from vintage, charity shops, or the ultimate Trendie pilgrimage – shopping on Brick Lane in London.

Topshop
Urban Outfitters 
Asos Marketplace

The websites above are just a couple of websites I shop at, all selling the "street style" type clothing to create the look of a 'trendie.' 
Trendies tend to try and create their own style using high street brands, mixing and matching different brands to create a unique look just for them.


The Tribes listed above are just a handful of the tribes I'm categorized in. I also looked at others such as sports junkies as I am a competitive athlete. This category shows key words such as 'determined' and 'dedicated.' As I am a competitive swimmer I have to train up to 14 hours a week meaning I have to be disciplined and dedicated in order to achieve the pinnacle of my sport. The favorite brands for this group include, Nike, Puma and ITV.

I found looking into my own representation interesting because I often feel like people misjudge the type of person I am and it shows how much as a young adult I am stereotyped into different groups depending on my interests, taste  in music and sense of style.

Representation

Representation; The action of speaking or acting on behalf of someone or the state of being so represented.

We judge people by many things when we first meeting them. We judge them on things like their appearance, the way the act, their age and gender, class and ethnicity.

Yesterday we were shown 3 different images and given time to judge them based on what we can see.

Image 1



The first image we were shown was of a man called Doug Bihlmaier. In the initial lesson I thought that he was a homeless man because he was unshaven and looked to stand out from the other people in the street. He is a male in his late 50s/60s. Although he came across as a homeless man he conducts himself well. He has good posture and his clothing is clean. We later discovered that he is a fairly wealthy man, working in Ralph Lauren as a shop dresser, collecting furnishings from across the world. The boots that he is wearing are worth $350, his shirt and cardigan fit perfectly and he has a scarf around his neck to keep him warm. His turn-ups are immaculate and his patched clothing is sown to perfection.

He was in fact American, living in New York City, where in this picture he is stood on the most famous street in the City, Madison Avenue. From first glance I knew he must have been in a busy city from what else is in the "mise en scene." (everything in the frame) There is a tall building in the background and a bus.

Bihlmaier has a unique style, he may not be fashionable but there is a distinct difference between being stylish and being fashionable. He is highly regarded in the fashion and clothing industry because of his status within the Ralph Lauren industry and the way he puts himself together.



Image 2




The second image we were given was this one of a Mr Ted Bundy, born in 1968. At first glance I thought Ted was some sort of lawyer or in another highly ranked profession due to the way he looks. He is wearing a smart/casual suit and is cleanly shaven and all in all well presented. I thought he would be aged between 28-35 in this picture but we later discovered he was in fact 42. As I started to unpick this picture I began to grow more and more suspicious of the way he looks. His expression is one of concern and he has his attention else where.



We later went on to learn that Ted Bundy was a serial killer. He confessed to the killing of 30 women and was executed in the Raiford electric chair at 7:16 on 24th January 1989. I am slightly embarrassed to say that when our teacher asked which was our favourite out of all the images I chose this one, goes to show looks can most definitely be deceiving!



Image 3


 

Finally, the last image we were given was of this lady. Her name is Anna Piaggi, a famous fashion journalist. My first impression of Anna was that she must have been some sort of designer, or if not, most definitely involved in the fashion world. I came to this conclusion purely on how she has presented herself. she is wearing the most extravagant clothing that not many people could pull off. I also concluded that she must have a lot of self confidence, or if not a good front to be able to pull off such an outfit and to not care if people like you and I judged her. I thought that she might have been Vivienne Westwood as she is renowned for wearing bright, clashing outfits like this. Anna is know for only wearing an outfit once. You would never see her in the same outfit twice, personally I have no idea how she does it! Because she is so involved in fashion she gets garments for free so can quite easily afford to mix and match her outfits. In this picture everything she has on is designer. She loves to look expensive and to be different and thats exactly what shes known for. 

Representation has taught me that we can't judge people on our initial feelings, we can't judge someone just for what they look, or how they act or where they come from. It's also taught me that wherever we are we are constantly getting stereotyped just for how we come across to people. Society has done this to us and the media has a massive role to play in it. The media is constantly bringing people into the lime light if they have done something "out of the norm" or wearing something that isn't within "their style." Day after day everyone is judged in some way or another in an attempt to categorize themselves, whether it is for what they wear, or how they conduct themselves or whether they are relatable or not. The media constantly puts pressure on all of us to follow a certain trend or to like or dislike certain people. The media has such a big impact on the decisions we make day in, day out. They influence us on what we wear, and what music we should listen to and what it thinks is "the norm." Most of the influences the media put us under we don't realise because we are used to reading articles on someone being scrutinized for wearing an outfit thats "too reveling" or "ugly."