This document discusses representations of gay characters in several British TV dramas. It provides examples of both typical and atypical portrayals. Sophie and Sian in Coronation Street are presented as atypical lesbians in that they are young, pretty and feminine rather than butch. Christian in EastEnders is also atypical in some ways, though campy behavior is typical; he dresses more normally. Aaron in Emmerdale hides his sexuality and does not fit stereotypes. Norma in Shameless is a clearly stereotypical lesbian in appearance, behavior and mannerisms. The document examines how various technical techniques like shots, editing and costuming are used to develop these diverse gay characters on screen.

1. There are manywaysgay menand womenare representedinTV dramaswiththe use of technical
codes.Theycan be stereotypedinthe waytheyact or lookor completelydon’tresemblethe typical
gay figure atall.TV dramas suchas EastEnders,Hollyoaks,Emmerdale,CoronationStreetetc.
containcharacters of gay sexualityandare representedinavarietyof way.
Two charactersthat are currentlybeingrepresentedasgaypeople inapopularBritishsoapare
Sophie andSianinCoronationStreet.These twocharactersare not howeveryourtypical
representationof gaypeople.The waytheylookisdifferentasmanywouldthinkthatlesbians
wouldbe butchlookingyetthese twogirls are yournormal prettyface young teens.Theydon’t
dressdifferentlylike youwouldexpectandact inno differentway.Audiencestuninginnotknowing
aboutthe currentstoryline wouldn’tsuspectthattheywere gay.A lot of mediumshotsare usedin
scenesof Sophie andSianto showtheir attractivenessof theirfigures.Sometimesclose upshotsare
usedto focuson theirfeelingstowardsone another.Everyscene theyare intheyare always
glamouredupwithmake-upandtheirhairisalwaysdone up.Somethingyouwouldn’t expectif they
were a lesbian asmanyhave shorthair. Eye-linematchismostlyusedwhentheyare togetheron
shotto give the realismthatare havinga conversationandthattheyare generally inlove. Theyact
ina waythat theyare happyinwho theyare and hopeseveryoneonthatstreetacceptsit.
A character that represents atypical gayperson butalsocan be slightly differentisChristianinthe
soap EastEnders. The wayhe acts wouldportraya typical gaypersonbecause he isenergetic,fun,
quite camp,kindand loud.Mediumshotsare usedonhimto show audiencesthe attractivenessof
hisbodylike Sophie andSianinCoronationStreet. Howeverthere are certainelementstohimthat
doesn’tstereotype himasa gay like the wayhe dresses.Usuallygaymenwouldwear brightermore
unusual coloursbutChristianseemstodressmore normallyandusuallydarkercoloursare usedon
him. Costumeslike jacketsand blue jeansare oftenusedonthischaracter. Goingback to hisacting
and yeshe can act sometimescampandloud butothertimeshe can be quite toughwheninvolved
inproblems,anotherfactorpeople wouldn’t usuallyassociate with gaypeople. Continuityeditingis
usedon scenesof himas it’sa soapso shouldbe creatingsome sense of realityintime.
Anotherrecentstorylineinasoap that focusesona gay personischaracter Aaronin Emmerdale. He
doesn’trepresentthe typical gaypersoninthe wayhe acts as he triesto hide whohe is. He doesn’t
dressany differently, hisfacial expressionsinsome scenesportrayhimasa strong,straightacting
character but lateronin sceneshisemotionsgetthe betterof himandwhenhe criesit’ssomething
youwouldn’treallyexpectfromamale to do. Close upshotsare usedon himto expresshis
emotionsandthe wayhe is dealingwithbeinggay.A lotof freeze frame isusedonthischaracter
throughoutthisdramaas itfocusesonhisproblemsandwhathe isgoingthroughand how he
overcomesit.Obviouslythe mainwayhe representsthe gayfigure inthisprogramme ishow he
comeson to a certainmale and wantsto go further insome sortof relationship.
In the TV drama Shameless,there are manygaycharacters representedindifferentways.Backinthe
earlierseriesof thisBritishTV showwe are introducedtotwomiddle agedlesbians.One of them
mostcertainlyisstereotypedasalesbian.Thischaracter calledNormaactsverybutch and comes

2. across as a personyouwouldn’twanttomesswithyet whenyouknow the character bettershe
seemsakindand helpful person.She dressesindarkcoloursandher tone of voice isverylow like a
masculine voice.Thischaracterwearschainsaroundhernecklike whata man wouldwearaswell.
She’sa bigcharacter insize so the camera doesn’talwaysfocusonherbodyso close upshots are
mostlyusedunlessanothercharacterisonshot. Norma mostcertainlyrepresents atypical lesbian.