It has been said that media representations often reflect the social and political concerns of the age in which they are created. Discuss.

There are many constructions towards gay people in soaps due to society becoming more fragmented and diverse. In todays generation people are becoming more accepting towards people gay people due to there being less social disapproval.

Furthermore the rise of secularization lead people to becoming more accepting and open to other attitudes towards sexuality : homosexual and bisexual (before being closeted). Although there are still concerns towards gay men as they are seen as promiscuous. The include sexual problems like AIDS, HIV and so on. This can lead to moral panics as those who hate gays can be vicimtimised which is the seen in Eastenders when Christian gets beaten up by a man posing as a potential boyfriend. When this episode was featured, the BBC had their helpline number displayed at the end of the programme to show sympathy towards those this sensitive issue of homophobic attacks.

In addition the Christian & Syed storyline might have caused different reactions amongst different cultures, as Syed's character is from a Muslim background. This leads to difference in audience reception which cultural theorist Stuart Hall talks about. The culture clash is seen as a problem for Syed as hes drawn to Christian but wants to follow his religion which would cause conflicts and some people may find it restricting whereas other religious ethnic groups may see it as sinful.

Stereotypical male homosexuals are portrayed in touch with their feminine side, happy go lucky people. One possible reason why men are gay could be down to misogyny. Although a similar reaction can be provoked by radical feminists wanting to separate themselves from men so actively choose to become lesbians. Both factors can suggest that the male & female species cannot be content with each other therefore resort to lesbianism & being gay, or if they're bisexual then its more curiosity especially whilst feeling vulnerable.

The vulnerability is portrayed through Desperate housewives character Katherine Mayfair who went psychotic over getting her ex lover Mike. Freshly out of the mental institute she began to experiment with her sexuality. This is also seen in Home & away where Charlie splits up from her boyfriend and is drawn to Joey. As a response from feminism Judith Butler says that 'perhaps the phallus is always dissatisfying in the same way' which she states in her book. (The lesbian phallus and morphological imaginary).

Political laws that have benefited gays is the civil partnership act in 2004 which allows gay people to be married. Celebrities who embraced this were Elton John and partner David Furnish. In addition gay couples can now adopt children too which was also followed through be Elton John.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1342092/Elton-John-David-Furnish-welcome-son-Zachary-help-surrogate-mother.html-welcome-son-Zachary-help-surrogate-mother.html

Another example of people becoming less coveted towards their sexuality is Megan fox who in 2008 admitted to being bisexual to 'GQ' magazine.

Also Gaypride celebrates all the differences ( lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender). The movement has three main focuses: that people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity, that diversity is a gift, and that sexual orientation and gender identity are inherent and cannot be intentionally altered.

Overall, although we are in a changing society where there is more consensus, media representations can be interpreted differently by different people as they are some people in society that still might be old fashioned whereas others accepting views will cause conflict.