This paper investigates the relationships (between each other and with other characters) of the two homosexual characters, Mitchell Pritchett and Cameron Tucker, on the ABC sitcom Modern Family. The paper explores how these characters are gendered into the stereotypical and heteronormative roles of “husband/wife” and “father/mother,” as well as how the traditional familial paradigm (and its implied heteronormative hegemony) is reaffirmed by the show. Through the use of textual analysis, I posit that the two characters represent constant sites of resistance in the show since they affirm and reject the explicit and implicit gender roles they are cast into. However, the show itself ultimately reaffirms the heteronormative familial paradigm by failing to ever question its social primacy.
About the presenterMichael K Canty
Michael Canty is a doctoral student in media and communication at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa. He received his bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University and his master’s degree from the University of Louisiana at Monroe.