Class positionality of queer audiences : how Filipino queer men decode their representations in a queer Filipino TV drama series

• Main Author: BRAGADO, MAY SHERYL
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2017
• Subjects: Homosexuality on television; Sexual minorities on television; Sexual minorities in mass media; Queer theory; Television programs > Social aspects > Philippines; Sex role in mass media.
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/theses-dissertations/216; http://rizalls.lib.admu.edu.ph/#section=resource&resourceid=1505437657&currentIndex=0&view=fullDetailsDetailsTab
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

Several studies about queer media have questioned stereotypical roles and portrayals of queer people. But how queer audiences respond to media content that attempts to queer portrayals of people is rarely investigated. Hence, the study explores an attempt to queer Philippine mainstream television by examining how queer Filipino men are represented in My Husband's Lover, the first prime time drama series to feature LGBTQ people as lead characters. The researcher used indepth interviews with purposively selected queer viewers and the shows producer and writers to gather data, which are analyzed using thematic analysis based on protocols by Harden and Thomas (2005). The researcher finds that viewers interpret the texts or images created by queer producers based on their class positionalities.Moreover, as they interpret My Husband's Lover, they draw upon personal experiences that resonate with LGBTQ issues that the television series tackles. In this attempt to queer mainstream Filipino television, producers are still constrained by the parameters set by a TV ratings system that is sensitive to heteronormative audiences and the conservative Catholic church and media regulatory board (Movie Televisonand Ratings Classification Board).