CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
People mocked Vice President Joe Biden mercilessly (by people we mean Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart) for saying that Will & Grace helped create the massive change in how America views gays and lesbians. But Jonathan Gottschall, the author of The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human, agrees. He writes in Psychology Today that research shows that regular contact with LGBT friends or family members is a better predictor of gay-friendly attitudes than gender, level of education, age, and even political or religious affiliation -- "and the same seems to be true for the illusory relationships we form with fiction characters."
Gottschall says viewers relate to TV characters (like Modern Family's gay couple, Cam and Mitchell) as though they are our real-life friends. "When we are absorbed in fiction, we form judgments about the characters exactly as we do with real people, and extend those judgments to the generalizations we make about groups. When straight viewers watch likeable gay characters on shows like Will and Grace, Modern Family, Glee, and Six Feet Under they come to root for them, to empathize with them -- and this seems to shape their attitudes toward homosexuality in the real-world. Studies indicate that watching television with gay friendly themes lessens viewer prejudice, with stronger effects for more prejudiced viewers."
The case is the same for race as well (meaning white fans of Everybody Hates Chris and The Cosby Show are actually more tolerant of people of color), leading the author to argue that fictional characters "may have improved the lot of American minorities as much as direct political action has."
According to Psychology Today, fiction in all its forms leaves viewers defenseless and, say psychologists Melanie Green and Tim Brock, "radically alters the way information is processed." Gottschall says, "New research doesn't just suggest that fictitious gays blazed the trail that led to Barack Obama's historic endorsement of gay marriage. It suggests that but for 'fictitious blacks' -- from Kunta Kinte to the powerful African American commander-in-chief on the television show 24 -- we might not have had a President Obama in the first place."
Sadly, Gottschall admits this intense impression by our fictitious "friends" goes both ways: The racist Birth of a Nation inspired KKK members while "Ayn Rand novels like The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged have spread an ethic of hard-core individualism through American culture, inspired the Tea Party, influenced the Federal Reserve (Alan Greenspan was a Rand disciple), and made the rise of politicians like Ron and Rand Paul possible."
deliciousdiane
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Here Are Our 2024 Election Predictions. Will They Come True?
November 07 2023 1:46 PM
17 Celebs Who Are Out & Proud of Their Trans & Nonbinary Kids
November 30 2023 10:41 AM
Here Are the 15 Most LGBTQ-Friendly Cities in the U.S.
November 01 2023 5:09 PM
Which State Is the Queerest? These Are the States With the Most LGBTQ+ People
December 11 2023 10:00 AM
These 27 Senate Hearing Room Gay Sex Jokes Are Truly Exquisite
December 17 2023 3:33 PM
10 Cheeky and Homoerotic Photos From Bob Mizer's Nude Films
November 18 2023 10:05 PM
42 Flaming Hot Photos From 2024's Australian Firefighters Calendar
November 10 2023 6:08 PM
These Are the 5 States With the Smallest Percentage of LGBTQ+ People
December 13 2023 9:15 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
Watch Now: Advocate Channel
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Latest Stories
Sean Cody model and gay adult film actor sentenced for murdering Alaskan surgeon
April 16 2024 10:46 AM
Hillary Clinton and Kelly Clarkson condemn Arizona ruling upholding 1864 abortion ban
April 16 2024 10:33 AM
A Republican mom and her transgender son open up about unconditional love and acceptance
April 16 2024 6:00 AM
Supreme Court lets Idaho enforce law criminalizing gender-affirming care for minors
April 15 2024 8:47 PM
Plus
Yahoo FeedGay fetish artist Rex has died — see some of his sexy work
April 15 2024 8:13 PM
Trending stories
Most Recent
Recommended Stories for You
Diane Anderson-Minshall
Diane Anderson-Minshall is the CEO of Pride Media, and editorial director of The Advocate, Out, and Plus magazine. She's the winner of numerous awards from GLAAD, the NLGJA, WPA, and was named to Folio's Top Women in Media list. She and her co-pilot of 30 years, transgender journalist Jacob Anderson-Minshall penned several books including Queerly Beloved: A Love Across Genders.
Diane Anderson-Minshall is the CEO of Pride Media, and editorial director of The Advocate, Out, and Plus magazine. She's the winner of numerous awards from GLAAD, the NLGJA, WPA, and was named to Folio's Top Women in Media list. She and her co-pilot of 30 years, transgender journalist Jacob Anderson-Minshall penned several books including Queerly Beloved: A Love Across Genders.