“In the late 1950’s and 60’s, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a nonviolent protest advocating for equal rights for African-Americans. During this time period, racism and segregation were very prominent within the society. As a leader of his community, Dr. King felt a need to oppose this crisis through the application of civil disobedience. He took much of his knowledge of civil disobedience from the bible as a Baptist minister. Although he utilized Christian ideologies, he was also strongly influenced by certain non-Christian ideas. One of the most important of these was the idea of nonaggression practiced by Mahatma Gandhi. Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi, a spiritual leader in India during their independence movement, showed King that it was possible to protest for freedom without the the use of violence, but rather through the practice of love and honesty. In December 1955, King had his first chance of displaying civil disobedience by leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott, where all the black people of Montgomery, Alabama would protest the buses until they could sit wherever they wanted. He applied Gandhi’s philosophies to lead this boycott by peacefully fighting for their rights. King also took a five-week tour of India in 1959 to study the various techniques of peaceful protests. In Dr. King’s return back to America, he led a huge protest in Birmingham, Alabama, which got the attention of many civilians and inspired other protests. In this process, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested, and wrote his admirable letter “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” After many years of protesting and struggling for uniformity, King was assassinated in 1968.
King’s ideologies and protests demonstrate Thoreau’s ideas of protesting against the government without being hostile. Both King and Thoreau believed that people should stand up for what they believe in, as well as doing this in a non-violent manner. In his essay Civil Disobedience, Thoreau states “I was not born to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion.” He states this to depict the fact that no one will force Thoreau into anything, but rather he will follow his own path to make his own decisions. Following his motto, Thoreau was later thrown in jail for not paying the poll tax, which he believed was unjust. Similarly, King was arrested for protesting for black rights. Both of them had different reasons for being detained, but had the same goal: equality. Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau and Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr. effectively justify egalitarianism. In Thoreau’s letter, he mentions “”not at once no government, but at once a better government” while in King’s essay, he states “”injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”” Thoreau is asking for a better government while King is requesting an equal nation. Martin Luther King’s protests validate the want for change and impartiality, through peace and affection. King’s ideologies would be most likely to connect to those of Thoreau because of standing up for their beliefs and fighting for change.”
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LGBTQ Community And Entertainment Industry
In the last few years, our nation has become increasingly progressive, especially in regard to gay and lesbian rights. The ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy was repealed, there are over 450 openly gay elected officials serving across the country, and the Supreme Court granted same-sex couples equal marital rights as heterosexual couples. This progressive push has also been noted within the entertainment industry.
‘Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’ is back and better than ever, and the majority of highly viewed television shows feature homosexual characters. Unfortunately, while homosexuality has become better accepted, there is still a lack of understanding and representation of bisexual individuals. Bisexuality is most often described as a romantic or sexual attraction to both men and women. However, one’s sexuality is not so easily categorized or defined, and it is often perceived differently by each person. This oversimplification, in combination with poor mass media representation, leads to inaccurate stereotypes. Just like most categorized groups, there are positive stereotypes as well.
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Bisexuals are often thought of as being more open-minded and flexible in interpersonal situations. While these favorable stereotypes exist, they are often overshadowed by damaging misconceptions which perpetuate negative stigmas about bisexuality. Mass media representation, or lack thereof, perpetuates negative stereotypes and misconceptions about bisexuality and works to erase the sexuality altogether. This damaging effect can be traced to how LGBT news is reported and how the entertainment industry portrays bisexuality. These factors culminate in damaging stigmas associated with the bi-community and impact how these individuals are perceived internally and externally. In the United States, it’s estimated that bisexual individuals account for half of the LGBT community (Gates, 2012).
In a Gallup poll, more adults than ever are identifying as LGBT. This rise can be seen most clearly among millennials, who “are more than twice as likely as any other generation to identify as LGBT … and now account for 58% of LGBT-identified adults” (Gates, 2017). These numbers show that LGBT visibility is improving. However, this recognition is not being shared among bisexual individuals particularly, in mainstream media coverage. Despite LGBT being a common term for the queer community, bisexuality is being erased both through terminology and a passé focus on journalistic style. Many news headlines use phrases like “gay rights” to describe stories and fights that affect the LGBT community on a wider scale. A notable example of this was the 2017 Masterpiece Cake Shop Court Case. This case was publicized as a “gay rights” case, despite being a decision that affects any queer or same-sex couple. This example is coupled with several other examples that mislabel LGBT stories and downplayed because they become associated exclusively with “gay rights”. Many issues related to the representation of bisexuals originate from this binary thinking, wherein things are classified as either purely heterosexual or purely homosexual.
The erasure of bisexuality is a very “pervasive problem in which the existence or legitimacy of bisexuality (either in general or in regard to an individual) is questioned or denied outright” (GLAAD, 2014). Clarifying and having intent with terminology is an important process that ensures the mass media isn’t discounting a group of people or erasing them altogether. A study conducted by PLSO discovered a “lack of positive attitudes toward bisexual individuals among the general population of adults in the U.S. and highlighted the need for developing intervention approaches to promote more positive attitudes toward bisexual individuals” (2016).
Authentically representing multiple viewpoints and people is becoming an important factor in reporting. Having the media represent issues more objectively and discussing how they affect a group can have a significant effect on how these proposed groups are perceived. Media can have a huge impact on shaping public opinion, particularly in the entertainment industry. Television and movies provide individuals with a vessel to empathetically relate to another person through a narrative structure.
Consider Spike Lee’s Malcolm X, which shaped public opinion about discrimination and made viewers more aware of U.S. race relations. Similarly, Brokeback Mountain accomplished a similar feat, addressing issues about closeted homosexuality and its portrayal of love in an industry that prizes traditional ideas of masculinity.