Exploring national culture through international media The publication of a viral pro-LGBT image compared against a nation’s wealth, level of religion, and democracy

Bibliographic Data

ID12634211
AuthorsLinda Jean Kenix (0000-0001-8462-5152, University of Canterbury, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume19
Issue1
Pages1-12
Publication date2019-03-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Intercultural Communication (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1404-1634 • E-ISSN: 1404-1634
PublisherInternational Collaboration for Research and Publications (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.36923/jicc.v19i1.773
OpenAlexW4389214852
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited34

Gay marriage is now legal in 22 countries around the world. However, homosexual acts remain punishable by death in 10 countries and are now illegal in a further 65 countries. Thus, there appears to be very clear national cultural distinctions in how local cultures consider the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. In 2016, an image of a 12-year-old boy who stood against a sea of anti-LGBT marriage protesters in Celaya, Mexico went ‘viral’ around the world as an icon for LGBT rights. This research will examine newspapers from a sample of 17 countries to see where this particular pro-LGBT image was used. This research asks the question, what is the relationship between the publication of this image and a country’s level of democracy, wealth and religion – socio-economic factors that have been found to be correlated to the acceptance of LGBT rights. The findings of this research could potentially suggest the presence of ideological biases at the national level in regards to how international news stories are told and also which news stories are even addressed. These factors may help to coalesce into a cultural perspective unique to each country examined

Cultural rights · Democracy · Fundamental rights · Homosexuality · Human rights · Icon · Lesbian · Media studies · Newspaper · Political science · Politics · Sexual orientation · Sociology · Transgender · Gender Studies · Law · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Media Studies and Communication · Social Media and Politics