I felt like we had sufficient positive, i suppose, role models into the news that I didn’t, you know, i did not feel just like it had beenn’t one thing i possibly could show or that it was a poor thing.
The current presence of positive GLB part models when you look at the news normalized Megan’s lesbian identity and aided her view her identity definitely in the place of adversely.
In a wider feeling, seeing other people’ acceptance of GLB individuals into the news made participants feel just like others’ reception of those could be more tolerant than hostile. As an example, Ted (24, White, gay) talked about exactly just how Will and Grace made him believe that their gay identification was more socially appropriate.
I experienced hardly ever really been with us homosexual individuals then, and thus seeing like right individuals all over convinced that show ended up being funny really was useful in terms of like this these people weren’t freaked out because of it. Thus I ended up being like, oh well, then that’s a good sign and that calms me a little if they can deal with a sitcom where people are unapologetically gay.
To close out, Ted utilized other people’ reactions to Will and Grace being a measure of the way they would answer his very own sex. The acceptance and popularity regarding the show made him feel less threatened by the likelihood of hostility toward him on such basis as their homosexuality.
These results on individuals’ good self-views might be analogous to your ramifications of part models on people’ self-concepts present in other research ( Cheung & Yue, 2003; Ochman, 1996, Wohlford et al. 
, 2004 ) so that as such support that is provide the possibility that experience of positive GLB part models may improve the self-views of GLB people. This contention is supported by the truth that participants when you look at the current research stated that their GLB part models motivated pride within their identities and enabled them to view their identities more in a confident means.
Unwanted effects regarding the not enough part models
The availability of GLB role models in the media has historically been very limited (see Gross, 1994, 2001; Hart, 2000; Russo, 1987 ) although respondents discussed several benefits of having role models in the media. Consequently, it’s not astonishing that respondents also talked about the way the lack of recognizable figures in they were affected by the media(n = 4). The current belief in these conversations ended up being a feeling of being excluded from conventional culture. Including, both Rick (38, White, homosexual) and Megan recalled seeing depictions of traditional families into the news that didn’t consist of GLB individuals. Rick stated, “from the being actually struck by that as like, I’m not a part of that, ” and Megan said that “I’m able to note that it form of had been challenging my entire life versus what conventional life ended up being, you realize, there is a significant difference from early. ” Media depictions such as these made both Rick and Megan feel excluded from traditional families on such basis as their GLB identities. These emotions are quite normal for GLB people, whom usually create kinship systems of friends, enthusiasts, kiddies, along with other loved ones because of their appropriate and social exclusion from alleged traditional families (see Weeks, Heaphy, & Donovan, 2001, and Weston, 1991 ).
Individuals additionally talked about the harmful aftereffects of the absence that is general of people when you look at the news. For instance, Rick talked about the possible lack of GLB themes in popular music:
After all, like, exactly exactly how many tracks do We hear in the radio which are love songs that pair some guy and some guy or a female and a female, for example? It is simply, like, oahu is the absence this is certainly so—that may be therefore harmful, i do believe.
Michelle unveiled feelings that are similar her ambivalence concerning ladies’ mags:
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