The Slow Burn of Physical Intimacy in a Four-Season Relationship

So in the span of four seasons since they met each other, sexual intercourse was implied only twice, and the number of times that they were seen kissing can be counted on your fingers. So while we don’t expect them to make out in each episode, it is apathetic in comparison to what’s shown on most other prime-time shows centered around high-school kids. Showing two gay characters kissing romantically on national television is big step forward, but we are not yet there.

Dave Karofsky One of the more fascinating and intriguing depictions of gay characters is Dave Karofsky.

Initially intended to be the typical jock bully, Karofsky’s role in Glee has grown to be much bigger than that. In the first season, the character doesn’t have much of a storyline, more than pushing the glee kids into the walls and throwing slushies in their faces, however in the season 2 episode ‘Never Been Kissed’, Karofsky is revealed to a closeted homosexual (Never Been Kissed, 2010).

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After months of bullying, Kurt finally stands up to Karofsky in an empty locker room, Karofsky kissed Kurt passionately on the lips, revealing that he has been channeling his confusion about his sexual orientation through bullying.

Queer media studies have examined how the mass media, as a cultural and social institution, contribute to the maintenance of the sexual status quo expressed as the pre-eminence of heterosexuality in the representation of social interactions. In the past, gay men were consistently portrayed as effeminate in the media.

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Unlike Kurt and Blaine, there is nothing effeminate about him. That doesn’t mean that being manly is better, but it is different. We get a better understanding of his action, if we look at it from his perspective.

Just like we have, Karofsky has probably seen the cliche depictions of gay people in media, and then when he saw that same type of gay character that dominates popular culture in his own school, he felt confused and angry that he couldn’t be gay and masculine at the same time. Moreover, in today’s mass media a man can be at the same time openly gay and masculine. However, media’s gay masculinity is predominantly “young, white, Caucasian, preferably with a well muscled, smooth body, handsome face, good education, professional job, and a high income” (Iren Annus, 2011).

This of course does not imply that all gay characters on television respond to this description or that the effeminate gay man has completely disappeared from the mass media. Later in the show, Karofsky starts accepting his sexuality and tries being honest with his feeling, even goes as far as admitting that he actually loves Kurt. However he still doesn’t want to come out publically, nether the less he gets outted at his school and someone spray-paints “FAG” across his locker (On My Way , 2012).

While he tries running out of the school, the other football jocks bully him and slam him into the lockers. He returns home and tries to hang himself but fails as his father finds him in time. The character also shows that not all gay people are the same cliche. The truth is, there are gay people who are accepted by their families and peers, but there are also those who are scared to embrace who they really are. All these people exist but they have not existed on television, at least not for a long time or targeted at mass audiences (O’Callaghan, 2011). Conclusion.

Updated: Apr 29, 2023
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The Slow Burn of Physical Intimacy in a Four-Season Relationship. (2020, Jun 02). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/iren-annus-essay

The Slow Burn of Physical Intimacy in a Four-Season Relationship essay
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