FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY MAKATI

Gil Peat Avenue corner Zuellig Loop, Makati City

ANALYSIS ON THE PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY THE LGBT SOCIETY: BASIS

FOR GENDER SENSITIVITY THROUGH MEDIA

______________________________

A Research Paper
Presented to
The Faculty of the Business Administration Department
FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY
MAKATI
______________________________

In Partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the course

Communication Arts 2,
First Semester, S.Y. 2014 2015
________________________________
By:
CHRISTINE A. FORCADILLA
MARIELLE DIA A. GAO
MARICAR V. GALDONEZ
ANNE SHERINA MAE V. LAVARIAS
MARYGEM SHYRELL L. LEYNES

OCTOBER 2014

CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING
Introduction
The modernity has forced society to rename gender but still categorizing the
world into two orientations: the heterosexual and the homosexual. In terms of sexual
preferences, heterosexuals, or straight people, are more attracted to the opposite sex.
Homosexuals, on the other hand, prefer partners of the same-sex. The homosexual or
queer community is composed of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender or simply,
the LGBT.
There is definitely a struggle for Filipino LGBT members to come out, even to this
day. The society dictates what or how a person should act. Whether that is by following
the norm or going against it. The media was supposed to be a positive way that people
can erase fear but instead media became a way of gathering more stereotypes and
creating identities that are not even parallel to the real world. It only shows the half-truth
and the half-side of the story.
The people dont necessarily need to agree on their choices but rather respect
the way they wanted to be represented especially in the media in front of the world.
They are not just characters of television. If someone who doesnt know a lot about the
issue perceives it as somewhat disturbing chances are it will always be disturbing to
them because the media presented it in such a way that it will not be understood. We
are not saying that they should sugarcoat things but rather show them a side of the

LGBT society that the people havent seen something that is worth understanding. Take
a look at the way television and media, in general, portrays the LGBT society. The
media shows the same problem or issue over and over again that although it is valid, it
becomes a clich. The portrayal of the media of the members of the LGBT society often
is wrong or stereotypical that most of the time even its own members couldnt identify
with the representation it is creating even if it is based on them. The media created
and still creates the assumption that all gays are overly promiscuous, flashy and
incredibly bold and lesbians have to be tomboys or butch. Although that is not true for
everyone, it becomes the reality for the people that is influenced and persuaded by the
media. It is extremely important that the media shows the different aspects of being gay
and being out.

Statement of the Problem

The study attempts to analyze the problems encountered by the LGBT society
also its connection to media. It aims to show the way that media portrays the LGBT
society and reveal the problems that people encounter whether they are out or not
Specifically, it seeks to answer the following question:
1. What are the problems encountered by the LGBT Society?
2. How do media affect the LGBT Society?
3. What is the significant relationship between media and the LGBT Society?
Significance of the Study
The study is beneficial to the following:
Society will be able to create its own understanding of what the LGBT
community should be and not be dictated with what the media has been portraying them
as. The research can help the society understand that not because it is true for some, it
is true for every member. It allows the LGBT community create their own identity and
not be bothered by the limits of how the community should view and accept them as. It
aims to explain to the society that what media portrays LGBT as is not as accurate so
people should not generalize. It also aims to change the way the society views
stereotypes and the minority or the somehow invisible side of the LGBT society.
Faculty Schools and universities nowadays have GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) or
organizations that help students with their questions in identity and preference. The
research is significant in helping the faculty understand that the students that they teach

have problems that may or may not be remotely close as to how the media portrays the
LGBT problems. It intends to guide them to prevent school bullying as it happens and
not be the cause of it. It also intends to educate the faculty of the right way to handle the
gay kids in a classroom that instead of making it a big deal, everyone should be treated
the way they should. Also help them determine the difference of gender identity and
sexual preference of a person and rather respect each and everyone as they should.
Parents could help the parents know more about the topic and this might help
them understand - and maybe accept the way that media wrongly conceptualize the
LGBT people and maybe helps that parents be open to PFLAG and other organizations
that might help their gay or bi child. It helps them deal with the struggles they might
encounter and help their children with the problems they might be facing. It aims to help
them be more open minded and accepting to what or who their child might be. As for my
own parents, if they ever see this, I aim to show that not everything they see on T.V is
true but in fact what they see is a minority of a huge community. Even though parents
might be struggling accepting this now, according to PFLAG, more and more parents
adapt to being open minded and one of the factors is media portrayal and positivity.
Future Researchers will be able to use this as a reference on how the society
has changed over the years. It would help them deal with the fact that either progress or
regress happens throughout time especially in the LGBT Society. It can also be
significant to educate them in a way that it wouldnt be forcing the term rights rather it
would focus more on the medias representation of the LGBT Society. It would help
them understand the connection of media and LGBT as the visibility widens.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

It would be about the LGBT Society and its people. It would talk about the problems that
they have and how they go through those problems.
It would include media's representation of the LGBT Society. How it affects an
individuals point of view towards the LGBT society and how it will help them. Also it
would cover the effecrs if wrong representation and how it can change a person's
opinion towards the LGBT members. It would cover how the society views LGBT
problems in general and not just the way that media portrays it as. It would also be
about the way the LGBT responds to media representation of them and whether they
agree on it or not. Lastly it would include point of views from different aspects, whether
they are homophobic, straight, ally, gay or bi. It would include analysis on Philippine
media, being one of the most gay-friendly countries. Also t would include the pros and
cons of being out and about and being closeted.
However, it would not include intensive discussion about gender identity and how it
differs from sexuality. It also wouldn't only include the differences in the way of thinking
in the Filipino point of view, although Philippine Media will be discussed, the focus would
be much more general and worldwide. Expect that the scope would be more about it's
the problems outside the LGBT community while they conquer their everyday lives
rather than the problems they face inside their own community.

Hypothesis
The LGBT society is facing problems that involves bullying, discrimination and
most recently hate crimes. The media and the LGBT community can be of help with
each other with promoting education and proper representation to avoid even more
discrimination and wrong assumption. The media and the LGBT society can be a team
debunking stereotypes and creating unity with the people gay or not. It can provide a
better understanding as well as a larger audience to show what the LGBT community
could be about. It can only be guide for people who cant and wont understand what the
LGBT individuals are going through each day. The LGBT community is not a political
statement that needs to be a debate on media whether to call a he, a she or vice versa.
It is an identity at stake and the media has a say on how well they can inform the people
about it and how well they can make sure that the information theyve gathered are
right.

Conceptual Framework

LGBT
Communit

MEDIA
Problems
Encountered

Figure 1.1
In constructing the conceptual framework of the study, the researchers used a
chart that will represent how the LGBT community is affected by the media necessarily
with the problems encountered by thru people who are involved. The LGBT community
has the problems and the media represents each problem the way they could but not
always the way they should. So the media becomes one of the problems of the LGBT
people instead of helping it and being the solution.

DEFINITION OF TERMS
Discrimination is the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of
people or things, esp. on the grounds of race, age, or sex.
Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and
attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.
Heteronormativity is the belief that people fall into distinct and complementary genders
(man and woman) with natural roles in life.
Heterosexuality is the attraction to the opposite sex.
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward
homosexuality.
Homosexuality refers to the attraction to the same-sex
Inequality is an unfair situation in which some people have more rights or better
opportunities than other people
Media are the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver
information or data. It is often referred to as synonymous with mass media or news
media, but may refer to any means of information communication.

Queer is another term for gay or homosexual.

Sex refers to the anatomy you're born with. It's the biological and physiological
characteristics that define men and women.

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Sexuality or Sexual Orientation refers to the sex of those to whom one is sexually
and romantically attracted.
Chapter II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES
Most of the time media has an impact to how the society sees an individual,
whether it is a celebrity or a whole community. Same with the literature or books
published about the LGBT community. Studies have been done in an attempt to find the
relationship between media consumption and attitudes toward homosexuality. A number
of them may well be replicated in the Philippine setting.
Coming across a man dressed in a womans tank top and skimpy skirt, or a
woman dressed in a mans shirt and rugged pants, is not a big deal for most us,
especially in our culture. We actually embrace tolerate the gay community, but we
have yet to accept them completely. But thats another story to tell. Some may have
gotten used to walking past them, seeing models in magazines dress androgynously, or
have watched television shows that cast in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT)
characters. Yet, some people become or remain homophobic. Homophobia, for one, is
an irrational fear [or rather, hate] towards the [LGBT] community. (Ahmad & Burgan,
2010)

Homophobes may have perceived that gays are immoral, are evil, and are

impractical to have, based on what they see on television and film. Moving images are
proven effective carriers of ideology, especially if it hits mainstream. This becomes
problematic because these representations may cloud their judgment, thus reinforcing
irrational behavior towards the LGBT community.

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Sexuality, as personal as it sounds, is as big a deal as proclaiming to the world

who or what you are. Nowadays, it has become the ideal to tell the world if youre
straight or gay just so to avoid speculation and rumors.
Issues ensue when the almost-always dominating heterosexual society
marginalizes the homosexuals. It has been a long-standing matter of discussion that
homosexuals are discriminated for their way of living, and this could be traced down to
the roots of particular stereotypes perpetuating in our hetero-centric society.
Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase in lesbian, gay, and
bisexual characters in TV shows and they have been portrayed in better light than in
past yearsLGB characters had previously been extremely stereotyped, often lessliked secondary characters. But now, The medias characterization of homosexuals has
changed from effeminate males and butch lesbians to self-loathing men and women to
admirable and complicated individuals (Michael Wang, Youth News Network). It has
been shows like Modern Family, The L-Word, Will & Grace, even House and Friends
that have begun making being gay more ordinary, or even cool. Those things open up
the mind of youngsters that these things exist and someone is like them. The study
concluded that there have been drastic changes in the way the media perceives and
represents the gay. This in turn also shifts the way viewers now real people who
interact with other connect with real life homosexuals, may it be political, social or
cultural. Anti-homosexual attitudes are still visible, and are now more of discrimination
than fearing the homosexual.
Chung (2007) on deconstructing gay and lesbian stereotypes in the media

12

reiterates that the generation today gets most of their social reality from popular culture
mediums like television and films, when in fact they should be learning these things
from their parents or peers. Chung makes a good point that:
The current generation learns about social issues from characters and scenes
depicted in [media]. They are likely to develop false assumptions and prejudiced
attitudes.
These false assumptions may be carried on even after their pre-adolescent
years, which may become harmful once they begin dealing with the real world. The goal
is to help become critical and informed citizens in an increasingly image-saturated
media environment. Chung also introduces to us the value in stereotyping, and how we
should try to lessen the use of negative stereotypes. Instead, we should start using
these stereotypes with a more positive sense, so as not to dehumanize those who are
stereotyped. Chung states that it is impossible to rid of stereotyping altogether, so we
have to be more sensitive and responsible in categorizing or cookie-cutting certain
people. In dealing with gay media types (gay media stereotypes), Chung concluded that
the stereotyping overlooks the unique characteristics of an individual...which may result
in negative social categorisations or prejudice.
Lori Montalbano (2013) stated that Glee has an impact and a power not only to
entertain, but to help define a generation of acceptance. The phenomenon that is Glee
has established an important site of dialogue and contestation that allow multiple
perspectives on life and love relationships that define us as human beings. For
adolescents, Glee offer a message of acceptance that allows important identification

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and individuation occur. In this statement, Montalbano showed the effect of Glee to a
persons life especially to the life of someone who needs acceptance by the society.
Glee became a way to reach out people and show them that this things arent just
stories, these things actually happen not only inside the premises of a school but also in
our daily lives. Same with the LGBT society that is very well represented by the
characters Kurt, Blaine, Santana and Brittany, it is a way to make it more mainstream
and the success of the certain show produces more impact on someone elses life.
Whether it is by inspiring them or by creating more reasons to say that the whole media
overlooks more facts and issues that gay kids deal with. Nonetheless, the popularity it
gained captured the hearts of many rather than create a worldwide debate of
representation. This is one of the problems that gay kids face. The way that the media
uses itself to put the celebrities on a pedestal and uses them as a marketing strategy
Glee was good and it used to be somehow a programme that shows the real meaning
of being different but then it embraced the stereotypes and spawned story lines that are
far from being different. There are a lot of television shows that has gay characters to
show the people that it is normal in a society to see homosexuals. There is no problem
with that. In fact, it helps people see the way that they should interact when they see
gay kids. Nowadays, kids are more accepting than adults. Being exposed to these kinds
of media showed a great effect on how they should deal with and accept what they see
rather than judge them. It becomes the norm or the tradition for every group to have
than one G.B.F (gay best friend) because the media portrays gay people as sassy,
extremely honest and fun.

14

According to Kitzinger, a psychologist, recent media transformations have not

been as revolutionary as it seems. The recent shift in research and visibility from view of
homosexuals as intrinsically deviant toward liberal-humanistic view of LGBT as just like
heterosexuals was not as positive and progressive as it seemed. Rather she claimed
that this viewpoint reinforced the dominant social order by presenting same-sex
sexuality as a manner of private lifestyle, thereby neutralizing its political challenge to
heterosexuality (Diamond, 2005). So while it might seem that media portrayals of
homosexual men and women have finally given the gay community an opportunity to
expose their real lives, in far the portrayals reflect heterosexual views of the gay world.
Diamond further argues that a close reading of contemporary media depictions reveal
that heteroflexibility is packaged in a manner designed specifically to titillate young me
viewers and presents same-sex experimentation as means of confirming ones essential
heterosexuality.
Most of the time people seem to assume that because media portrayed them that
way, it applies to them. The media already has a lot of representations of what gays or
lesbians look like specifically the feminine gays and the masculine gays or paminta
as they call it or the butch/tomboy or the femme lesbians. It doesnt always mean
that this is a progress and that this is something that someone, as a gay individual,
needs to be proud of. Although yes, they are being magnified and recognized as
someone who is a part of the community, the representation becomes based to how
other people see homosexuals and not as how homosexuals see themselves. It
becomes a platform that the media needs to do in order to gain popularity and support
from the LGBT community which is somewhat very powerful and influential nowadays.

15

The media uses the way it represents the LGBT community to gain their trust and then
change it as to how they see gay people. It does not allow the world to see another side
of being gay; rather it shows the viewers how the media wants the LGBT community to
be perceived. The exposure that the LGBT community, however, has its perks. One of
these perks is the chance to be recognized regardless of how someone identifies as,
whether its outside the acronym of LGBT. Second, it creates some kind of
belongingness and the feeling that a person is not alone. Third, it allows the people see
them as normal human beings and accept them as they are. Fourth is it lessens the fear
of coming out. Someone can jump right out the closet and be accepted. Although
sometimes doing so creates the feeling that the media has some role to how people
accepted someone, it kind of gives the person a sense of freedom. Sometimes, media
creates these representations to give them an idea but rather people take those ideas
and believe them like a full on truth. That creates the minimal fear someone
experiences after coming out. What if Im not accepted? What if they think I was
hitting on him/her? What if they think that once youre gay you have to be like this?
Should I change the way I look? These questions are brought upon by constant
exposure to stereotypes that once a person does not fall under a stereotype; they really
dont belong to that community. It is somehow a bad thing yet being able to say that a
person represents the minority really well is an inspiring thing.
According to Gross (2001), the media are likely to be the most powerful in
cultivating images of events and groups about which we have little firsthand opportunity
for learning. Lacking other sources of information, most people accept even the most

16

inaccurate or derogatory information about a particular group. Furthermore, minorities

share a common media fate of relative invisibility and demeaning stereotypes.
Therefore, it is important to know what stereotypes are being presented so that
the gay community can support or defend these labels, as needed. To argue that Perrys
bi-curious lyrics plays into the societal expectation of heteronormativity. That being said,
the way that someone represents the community helps questioning teens to be what
they are and the way that the lyrics were presented were as if the way of
experimentation could be done without the risk of tampering someones perception on
someones identity. Although it creates the open mindedness and introduces the idea of
sexual fluidity, most gay individuals are more inclined into believing that they are born
gay and no one can be turned or be gay for a person. However, the Philippine
representation of the gay relationship can be very different. It has this perception that
one has to be gay and the other one straight. It can be quite confusing for people who
are misinformed. But right now, with access to media and internet, people became more
open to changing the way they view things and help teens and younger individual with
the experimentation process. I cannot say that the experimentation is a completely bad
thing; someone has to be able to be sure of what he/ she really feel rather than trust the
way people see it. There is no doubt the media has a huge effect on the mindsets and
beliefs of people exposed to it. From advertisements trying to persuade you of the
superiority of their product to kids wanting to be like their favorite fictional characters,
the media has an enormous influence on people of all ages. While the magnitude of this
influence varies among countries, it is present nonetheless. This makes it a vital
component in societys perception of many controversial issues, including focus.

17

The danger with stereotyping is the over-generalisation that comes along with it.
Stereotypes, therefore, carry with them negative connotations and attitudes perceived
by those who labeled them as such. These cultural elites use this type of segregating
to dehumanize cultural groups who stand lower than their ground.

Upon us are a countless of representations gender and sexuality, stereotyping

a discriminated community, effects culture and we are forced to grapple on what we
can, while we can because as images, they move and shift before we can even
comprehend the idea.
Chances are people will meet and see more homosexuals than they can
imagine. All of them different from each other. Unique in a sense. But thats the beauty
of it. Whether or not the media can represent someone correctly, LGBT exists and they
are not just a minority now. They have a voice to say what is wrong or right. Who they
are and who they love. That of course does not change the person within. If the media
says this and that about them. So be it. It will not end but thats fine. It gets better.
People will accept. Peoples views will change. But what wouldnt is the fact that people
did good stuff for this community. Whether they are a part of it or not.

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CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
The methodology and research procedures used in the study are presented in
this chapter. The primary purpose of this study is to assess the problems encountered
by the LGBT society and the significant relationship it has with the media. The study
focused on the way that media helps build or destroy the community by representation
and proper information. The following sections are included in this chapter a.) Methods
of research used, b.) Respondents of the study, c.) Sample and sampling design d.)
Research instruments and techniques and e.) Statistical treatment of data.
Method of Research Used
The research is about the LGBT Society, the problem that the members face and
its connection to media. The research wood use a variety of ways to ask questions but
most likely it would be using a Fixed-Response Questionnaire, Open ended questions
and a rating scale. The said methods used would help the researcher evaluate the
responses and opinions easily and accurately.
The Respondents

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The chosen respondents are the people who use social media, specifically
Tumbler, and the people who go to online message boards and chartrooms, especially
those who are actively campaigning for LGBT rights. The respondents doesn't
necessary limit to the members of LGBT, the survey can also be answered by straight
individuals or allies.
The researchers used random sampling method to have an equal representation
of dates. We distributed it online to approximately 100 people especially with our
respective friends or classmates that are from different age groups, sexualities and
views of the LGBT Society.

Instruments of Research
This research is done using an internet website called http://questionpro.com that helps
us create a survey and embeds a link so we can distribute it online. We made the
questions but the website will generate the answers. The information from the books
that we've read and the information we gathered from the survey will help us finish our
research. The survey also helped gather different opinions from people that live in
countries that LGBT visibility is really needed.
Treatment of Data
The dates that we will gather from our online respondents and our read will be compiled
and will be automatically counted by the website giving us a complete summary of
where the respondents are from, their ages and their sexuality. It will be compiled and

20

tallied to get the exact count of respondents and their answers to the questions would
be the answers to the questions the research questions that were given. The data would
be analyzed and compared based on how different they are from each other and the
area of their knowledge about LGBT Society. The data would be analyzed using a pie
graph and a bar graph to give the reader an orderly result. It will also help the
researcher organize the data fast and error free. It will give a correct, truthful and clear
result that will help the reader see what the survey is all about and for the research to
be effective and valid.
Data Gathering Procedure
The Formula that the researchers would use would be:
n
P= x 100
r

Where:
P = Percentage
n = number of answers
r = number of respondents

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CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS AND TREATMENT OF DATA

Age/ Sexuality
5%

Below 18/ Straight

5% 3% 3%

Below 18/ LGB

18-25 / Straight

30%

54%

18-25/ LGB
18-25/Trans
Others

Figure 4.1

Figure 4.1 shows that out of our 37 respondents, 20 are below 18 and straight, 11 are
below 18 and a part of the LGB community, 2 are 18-25 straight another 2 from 18-25
LGB, 1 from 18-25 transgender community and another one answered other.

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HOW MANY PEOPLE IN THE LGBT COMMUNITY DO YOU KNOW?

5%
14%

30%

NONE
LESS THAN 100
MORE THAN 10
I'VE LOST COUNT

51%

FIGURE 4.2

Figure 4.2 shows that out of our 37 respondents, 2 people knows no one from the LGBT
community, 5 knows less than 10 people that are LGBT, 19 know more than 10 LGBT
individuals and 11 lost count on how many LGBT people theyve encountered.

IS IT NECESSARY TO COME OUT?

YES
NO

35%
65%

DEPENDS ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
DEPENDS ON THE PERSON

Figure 4.3

Figure 4.3 shows that out of our 37 respondents, 15 believes that it is necessary to
come out, 8 believes it is not While 10 said it depends on the environment and 4 said it

23

is up to the person.

CAN YOU SAY THAT THE LGBT SOCIETY IS FULLY ACCEPTED OR JUST TOLERATED?

38%

ACCEPTED
TOLERATED

62%

FIGURE 4.4

Figure 4.4 shows that out of our 37 respondents, 14 said that the LGBT community is
fully accepted while 23 respondents said that they are just tolerated by the society.

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DO YOU THINK MEDIA VISIBLITY OF LGBT IS STILL NEEDED?

19%
YES
NO
81%

FIGURE 4.5

Figure 4.5 shows that out of our 37 respondents, 30 said that media visibility of LGBT
society is not enough and still needed. On the other hand, 7 said that it is no longer
needed.

DO YOU THINK MEDIA IS PORTRAYING LGBT THE RIGHT WAY?

14%
11%

YES
NO
PARTLY

76%

Figure 4.6 shows that out of our 37 respondents, 5 answered that the media portrayal is
accurate, 4 answered it is not and 28 respondents answered that it is only partially
correct.

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DOES MEDIA VISIBILITY HELPS LESSEN DISCRIMINATION?

27%
MAKES IT WORSE
LESSENS IT
73%

FIG
URE 4.7

26

Figure 4.7 shows that out of our 37 respondents, 27 answered that the media visibility
makes discrimination worse for the LGBT community, 10 answered that lessens it.

How important is it that people are aware of the LGBT?

27.03
Very Important
Not that Important
72.97

FIGURE 4.8
Figure 4.8 shows that out of our 37 respondents, 27 answered that the awareness is
very important, 10 answered it is not that important and 0 respondents answered that it
is not important.

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What are the problems of the LGBT Society?

Discrimination

16.21

Bullying
5.41

37.84

Intolerance
Unequal right
Others

10.81

Figure 4.9
Figure 4.9 shows that out of our 37 respondents, 14 answered that discrimination is the
problem, 4 answered bullying, 2 answered intolerance, 6 answered unequal right and 11
answered others.
If you see some of the ff. how would you react? (5 being I wouldnt care and 1 being
Appalled)

Cross dressers

Total:

1
2
3
4
5

8
6
8
2
11
35 respondents
Table 4.1

22.86%
17.14%
22.86%
5.71%
31.43%
100%

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Table 4.1 shows that out of our 35 respondents, 8 answered 1, 6 answered 2, 8 answered

3, 2 answered 4 and 11 answered 5.

Two guys in a

15.15%

relationship
2
3
4
5
Total:

4
7
6
11
33 respondents
Table 4.2

12.12%
21.21%
18.12%
18.12%
100%

Table 4.2 shows that out of our 33 respondents, 5 answered 1, 4 answered 2, 7 answered

3, 6 answered 4 and 11 answered 5.

Two girls in a

12.12%

2
3
4
5

4
10
6
9
33 respondents

12.12%
30.30%
18.12%
27.27%
100%

relationship

Total:

Table 4.3
Table 4.3 shows that out of our 33 respondents, 4 answered 1, 4 answered 2, 10

answered 3, 6 answered 4 and 9 answered 5.

Two members of the
same gender in

21.88%

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Public Display of
Affection
2
3
4
5
Total:

8
5
4
8
32 respondents

25%
15.62%
12.50%
25%
100%

Table 4.4
Table 4.4 shows that out of our 32 respondents, 7 answered 1, 8 answered 2, 5 answered

3, 4 answered 4 and 8 answered 5.

CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATION
Summary
Media has a great effect on the perception an individual has on the LGBT society
especially now that they are gaining so much visibility. It is important that people are
represented correctly and that they are treated with respect as to their identity and their
choices. The sensitivity that the media should have on its members should be at its best
because the people are selective when it comes to how the media and the people who
watches media use the information. The media should be able to help the people of the
LGBT society have their voice rather than drown it out with the stereotypes that they are
creating.
Conclusion

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Media has a great influence to the way that people can see something. It can help
progress or regress. The media can be a way for new stereotypes to be formed or for
stereotypes to be debunked. It is not a new thing for people to see LGBT members in
the media; in fact they have grown accustomed to it. They notice them and they ignore
them. That is because they are used to it. They can do something about it but they
choose not to. They are criticized for what they can do, saying that they are using LGBT
as a marketing strategy of the media but if they don't use the power of the media, they
would still be criticized for discrimination which isn't the case. Most people still believe
that the LGBT people are still discriminated when in fact they are just being ignored.
The media represents them, especially, in television that they are the new norm of the
society. They exist and it is okay for them to exist. That alone is progress, the moment
that people acknowledge that they can be there without people treating them differently.
However, the LGBT individuals are the ones looking for attention, special treatment as
they say, In fact they are not looking for attention, just acceptance and not just tolerance
that they are there, they exist and that their "safe places" can even be safer. The
assurance that no one would be kicked out of their homes, the assurance that no one
will be bullied for being gay, the assurance that they are respected are the things that
the media can show. Just the right way to show them.
Recommendation
The current research formed the following recommendations
1. The LGBT Society should learn to accept the help of the straight community. They
should not shut them out in order for them to have an ownership to their own

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community. They should remember that unity can result to a lot of greatness. Without
the help of the straight community, media visibility is impossible. They can have a voice
that can change something. They didnt hate. They were just showing what they think of
the LGBT and what should change. It is for the LGBT people to respect their opinions
rather than defy them.
2. If the LGBT people want to fix the problem in their community, they shouldn't be
pointing fingers at the straight individuals. They should pinpoint the problems inside
their community and fix it rather than finding a way to put the blame on discrimination.
They should fix the way that LGBT individuals deal with themselves and their
11200community rather than try to change other because change comes from within.
3. Media should have taken the liberty to represent the LGBT society the way they want
it and be a platform because visibility is necessary. There is no bad publicity. People
choose how things are to be interpreted.
4. LGBT people should be less offended to what they see because it is not just them
that are being bullied and sometimes bullying isn't even because of their sexuality but
because of their actions.
5. People should respect to be respected. Equality isn't the issue here but the respect
that the media gives the LGBT community. They are being treated right and they are
given the same opportunities as a straight individual gets. They are treated fairly.
6. Media, however, should be careful in the representation of an LGBT member
because people have different opinions and their opinions matter. Information can be
misleading and most of the time, the people who uses information from media are the

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ones who need education so educate them right. It will help them deal with the society
much more than when all they know are the stereotypes.
7. The media doesnt always need to include an LGBT character yet nowadays it is the
way that a television show or a movie attracts audience so make the character as
visible as he/she can get.