Written by Willow Kang
Despite improving awareness of LGBTQ+ issues around the world and in popular culture, queer erasure continue to occur frequently, either in media or in social conversations. Queer erasure refers to the tendency to remove queer people intentionally or unintentionally from record, or to dismiss or downplay their significance. In Hollywood, few movies feature queer people. When producers do make attempts at LGBTQ+ representation, most fail terribly, or receive excessively negative reviews from critics. Furthermore, queer representation in the media is also censored even in progressive or developed countries like Singapore, South Korea, and, on occasion, the US. An example of this is the removal of a Samsung advertisement featuring a drag queen on Singapore television. While there is increased engagements with LGBTQ+ groups in popular culture, queer erasure persists in scholarly academia, and particularly in History. Biographers have generally agreed that the famous composer of the Romantic era, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, was homosexual. Yet, Russian censors regularly deny and hide this fact from the public. Nonetheless, social media is a burgeoning force for the recognition and promotion of LGBTQ+ rights and representation. In 2020, 700 million people used TikTok; 1 billion on Instagram; and 217 million on Twitter. Given that many LGBTQ+ activists or rights groups use those same social media platform to amplify their work, it is very possible that this exposure assures the continued development and progress of queer awareness among Milennials and Gen-Zs, who are set to become leaders of the future world. A revolution is flourishing, and it is doubtful that conservative politicians can control what their people see on social media. Hence, we can trust that there will be greater acceptance and recognition of queer people in future popular culture and media. Meanwhile, it is crucial that activists continue speaking up, in spite of growing opposition from conservative groups.
Written by Willow,
@oldmanheart on Instagram.