We were queer first

Male homophobic anxieties in three American sitcoms of the 1990s

Bibliographic Data

ID21874602
AuthorsAlec Charles (0000-0003-1171-2188, University of Winchester, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume8
Issue1
Pages3-22
Publication date2020-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Popular Television (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2046-9861 • E-ISSN: 2046-987X
PublisherIntellect (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1386/jptv_00008_1
OpenAlexW3006050688
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited11

This article investigates how three of the most popular and influential mainstream American situation comedies of the 1990s ( Seinfeld, Frasier and Friends ) explored and developed societal attitudes to sexual identities. None of these sitcoms feature gay male characters in leading roles, yet (the odd camp restaurant critic aside) they may be seen as pioneering popular televisual representations of attitudes towards male homosexuality. This article argues that these sitcoms (which are today considered homophobic by some) may, in their exploration of problematic responses to differences in sexual identities, be (in effect) more progressive than those series of that period (such as Ellen [1994–98] and Will & Grace [1998–2006, 2017–20]) whose representations of central gay characters in positive but often stereotypical ways tended to avoid (or posited that they had no need to engage in) discussions of the prejudices of wider society (of homophobic ridicule, discrimination and violence)

Aesthetics · Art · Aside · Homosexuality · Literature · Mainstream · Male Homosexuality · Men who have sex with men · Political science · Queer · Sociology · Cinema and Media Studies · European history and politics · Gender Studies · Law · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Psychology · Social Psychology

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