How is the white wedding constructed in American Culture?

Part 1: write a post (300-400 words) that answers the following questions that posted by the

professor, your answers be based on opinions not just stating facts or summarizing the lecture

or any provided reading material.

How is the white wedding (think of the dress and so much more) constructed in American

Culture? What does it mean- what does this wedding symbolize? How does the construction of

the wedding differ for men and women? For same sex couples?

To answer those questions, you should read the following materials:

Lecture: Sex & the City in the 90’s

The 90’s welcomed new TV’s shows and representations of sexuality. From Ellen to Sex & the

City these new images challenged conventional norms. However, as you can see some messages

remained the same. 

Ellen was the first gay character to come out on TV. A controversial show that received protests,

bomb threats, tv stations refusing to air the coming out episode, this show goes down in pop

culture history. The episode was named the Puppy Episode and was a huge success- many people

tuned in to watch Ellen come out in 1997. However, after the next season began the show was

cancelled due to a drop in ratings. 

Right after Ellen came Will & Grace. Will was the first gay male character in a lead role. On this

show, Will is a successful Manhattan lawyer who just ended a 7 year relationship with a man and

now lives with his best friend Grace after her failed relationships. Paired as a couple, the only

thing that separates these two is their sexual orientation and upon first glance even Will has no

common “stereotypical” gay behavior as usally portrayed in the popular discourse (and as we see

with Jack- his flamboyant best friend). In fact, in the pilot episode, one could question if Will

was even gay. At the end of the pilot, Will and Grace kiss in a bar (after Grace leaves her fiancé

at the alter). While it is not a romantic kiss- the bar still assumes they are a couple. 

As one review quoted: “While GLAAD applauded the representations of Will and his sidekick

Jack – as “different types of gay men- both of which are valued in the community” they are also

positioned in a space, a narrative space, which relies on comedy for addressing homosexuality –

fails to challenge the idea that gay men aren’t masculine and almost enough for viewers to read

Will as straight- as we see in the first episode.” 

This is a “safe” comedy. While there are two openly gay male characters on the show, they are

often paired with females (as though couples)- Will with Grace and Jack with Karen; also more

focus is put on Graces’ relationships throughout the seasons than Wills; (though we do see him in

some relationships). Critics and scholars have argued that these are the reasons why Will &

Grace was more successful and less threatening to audiences than the Ellen Show.

We continue to see more and more representations of LGBTQ characters on TV, however many

critics argue the same stereotypes are perpetuated over and over again. Prime time images of gay

characters usually appear in comedy shows and while we do see what some consider more

“realistic” representations of LGBTQ characters (such as on reality shows-though many argue

these really aren’t any more realistic because people are cast for specific roles) many are on cable

shows not everyone has access to. The L word and Queer as Folk are two examples that later

followed.

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