Cultivation theory and media normalisation michael a

Cultivation theory and Media Normalisation
Michael, a recent gender studies postgraduate, expressed the following:
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“I’d just like to see it a bit more normalised… But you know there’s the flip side of
that where you don’t want to belittle people’s struggles, because obviously there are
still massive impacts of transitions, especially with young people, some of them get
disowned by their families, it’s a real situation. So you have to have a healthy
balance, I think, of representation of people’s struggles, but also of those who have
been able to lead successful lives without the main focus being on a “sex change”,
or experiencing negative shit as well. So I’d like to see more of a balance I think.”
Cameron added:
“It’d just be nice to see some positivity and pride. And I think that’s unfortunately
what a lot of trans movies are missing. It’s all about “it sucks for us”, and there’s a
lot of pity, and awkward stuff. It’d be nice to see some pride and some happiness
and some good stories. Because then I think people will be more inclined and more
encouraged to be more positive to trans people because they can see other people
behaving that way.”
I believe both Michael and Cameron have touched on important points here, which
correlate to The cyclical influence of trans violence in relation to media representation
graph, the results of the Trans Media Watch survey, and also to Carter and Weaver’s
cultivation theory research. While the pervasive image of the trans person as a victim may
not necessarily have a direct influence over real life violence against trans people, the
normalisation of fictional trans character as victims places trans people in a social category
of “otherness”. And while we don’t want to, as Michael said, “belittle people’s struggles,”
the introduction of the normalisation of trans characters (whose gender identity is a smaller
part of their much broader narrative function) can help eradicate the social “otherness”
trans people feel in real life. In this sense, the victimisation and vilification of trans
characters can have dual negative functions within the context of cultivation theory. The
frequent vilification of trans characters can contribute to a sense of insecurity and
venerability felt by cisgender audience members, wherein the trans person represents a
threat that can translate into the real life deviant sectors of society. In addition, the
victimisation of trans character can, as most of my interviewees expressed, contribute to
feelings of depression, otherness, fear, and social exclusion, especially in young trans
people who have not yet built up a supportive social structure and subsequently obtain
much of their impressions of their identity from the media. James revealed:
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