Fourth International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

The visibility of gays and lesbians in Chilean television has increased steadily over the last decades. Telenovelas, one of Latin America’s particular forms of cultural production, have been central to this, as they have constituted the preferred mechanism through which networks have incorporated “new” topics. This paper offers an analysis of over fifty gay/lesbian characters that have appeared on Chilean telenovelas from 1990-2018; specifically, it focuses on the characters’ intersectional identifications, the roles they inhabit, and the diegetic positions they occupy. It argues that gender functions as a fundamental differentiating mechanism that contributes to consolidate as “appropriate” a homosexuality that adjusts to gender norms and conforming expressions. In this, there are differences between gays and lesbians. Among gays, there are almost equal number of characters that act in gender conforming and non-conforming ways; for all, gender expression is utilised for defining the character’s features and possible storylines: while masculine gays are treated seriously, being depicted as partnered and living comfortably, effeminate gays are depicted humorously, being reduced into a specific set of occupations, with non-existent affective/sexual lives. Among lesbians, gender conforming characters largely surpass non-conforming ones. Notwithstanding, the representation of all of them is marked by their existence as-women in a machista order. Consequently, they are depicted as mothers or mothers-to-be, emphasising characteristics like dependency, vulnerability and hegemonic beauty. In general, while masculinity is encouraged for gay characters, gay femininity has been “accepted” only through its laughable sanitisation; for lesbians, hegemonic femininity is almost always the only option.