The contemporary LGBTQ rights movement has centered largely on issues like gay marriage and, perhaps to lesser extents, military service, employment nondiscrimination, and hate crimes legislation. The visibility of these issues in the popular press has helped to create the appearance of a ubiquitous LGBTQ agenda. Covering these issues in a way that suggests that all LGBTQ persons are of a similar mindset, the press effectively nullifies the internal debates that persist about these issues among self-identified LGBTQ persons. This study examines the agenda setting effects of the popular press on LGBTQ criticism and dissent regarding those issues portrayed as most topical to the lives of LGBTQ people.
About the presenterBruce Drushel
Bruce Drushel is Professor and Chair of the Department of Media, Journalism, & Film at Miami University. He serves on the Endowment Board of PCA and chairs its Gay, Lesbian & Queer Studies area. He is editor of Fan Phenomenon: Star Trek, co-editor of Sontag and Beyond: New Perspectives on the Camp Aesthetic, Ethics of Emerging Media, and Queer Identities/Political Realities and is co-editor of the journal Queer Studies in Media & Popular Culture.