Gay Representation

Gay representations have always been present in media throughout my lifetime; though sometimes they have not become as obvious until later years. Family programmes like The Simpsons have always had some aspect of gay portrayal, though as the years have passed they have become more evident and prominent. Camp characters, both real (Elton John) and fictitious (Dumbledore – From Harry Potter) have always been present but perhaps not always realised.


Men kissing in the media has slowly been developing over the past few years, it is not particularly uncommon to see men kissing in soaps, music videos, comedies, reality T.V or most areas of the media anymore, though it is still a rare occurrence if compared to the amount of heterosexual kissing shown to us on a day to day basis.

Music videos have always been prominent in representing gay culture; from Christina Aguilera’s groundbreaking video back in 2002 to the more recent videos featuring homosexual romance such as, Katy Perry’s Firework and Pink’s Raise Your Glass both currently in the charts.



The question that lingers within my mind is when we see gay men kissing, what do we see beyond? I have a suspicion that the majority of people may connect it with sex rather than love. Typing gay love or men kissing or something of that nature into a search engine somewhat proves this. Instead of romantic images we are bombarded with degrading images of gay porn. How accepting of gay men are you, truly? It’s okay to see straight couples kissing, it’s even okay to see straight children kissing– as long as it’s not in a sexual nature of course.

Billy Elliot is a prime example of a widely respected film where there is a gay kiss between two male children; however it isn’t in the romantic sense as such. It is a touchy area however I strongly believe if children and teenagers are to become more open about the concept of homosexuality then homosexuality in children needs to be represented within the media as well. – Homosexuality in the companionship sense, homosexuality in the innocent attraction to a member of the same sex.



The following music video, as well as being brilliant, haunting and heartbreaking even made me question my own beliefs on gay love.



I’d like to know your opinions – even I was taken aback at first, though I did appreciate the beauty of the piece and was touched by it, I did find some of it a little too much, possibly even disturbing. (You will know the part I mean). How did you feel watching this?

Happy, confused, disturbed, gratified, disgusted, overwhelmed?

What do I see when I see men kissing? I see love. I see what I see when I look deep into my boyfriend’s eyes. I feel butterflies inside of me and have an overwhelming sense of purpose and faith in humanity. I personally see no emotional difference between a gay couple kissing to a straight couple.


Do you see a difference?