Rainbow Washing on Screen: Media Representation and Framing of LGBTQ+ in South Korean Television Dramas

• In Event: 41059 - Gender, Representation, and Identity in Digital Media

Abstract

This article questions the true meaning beyond visibility in media and its connection to genuine improvement of sexual minority rights, with South Korean television dramas as its research subject. Employing McRuer’s Crip Theory as the main theoretical framework, it explores how the dramas represent the LGBTQ+ community, including recent changes and limitations. 25 television dramas with queer characters and narratives are selected to comprise the corpus, with Critical Discourse Analysis as the main Methodology. The analyses of framed representations, focused on themes of heteronormativity, stereotyped characteristics, and romance and intimacy, constitute the central chapters. They are investigated through the crip lens to determine whether there are queer characters on screen, and if so, who they are, how they are displayed, why they appear in narratives, and for whom the visibility serves. Through its discourse analysis, the article unveils the illusion the increased visibility offers and asserts that it instead functions to reinforce the dominant system. By compressing the queer characters and narratives into the mold of heteronormativity, the media industry obscures their true sexualities or identities and justifies the power relations between the able-bodied heterosexual audience and the marginalized cripped others. The findings become essential evidence in revealing the power dynamics and examining the realities of Korean society.

Author

• Jiyoung Bae, Yale University