Gay characters in telenovelas

Telenovelas are famous for their love stories, drama, and characters.[1] These TV series tend to revolve around heterosexual couples, however as of late, gay male characters have been more incorporated into telenovelas plot lines.[2] With changing times, queer and gay characters have become more reoccurring in telenovelas.[3]

One of the first appearances of a gay character in a telenovela was in 1999, in the series La Vida en El Espejo, in which the character develops a queer relationship.[4] In 2013, the Mexican telenovela Amores verdaderos featured the first gay wedding in telenovela history.[5] In 2019, the Mexican telenovela El corazón nunca se equivoca became the first to center a gay love story.[5]

History

1990s

There is very little representation of gay male characters in the 1990s. However, there were what many fans call gay "coded" characters.[4] One of the first representations of gay "coded" characters, was in the telenovela Volver a empezar in 1994. Many of the fans felt that the character Paul, played by Radamés de Jesús, was one of the first of many gay “coded” characters in the 1990s.[6] The most notable telenovela from this time period is La Vida en El Espejo.[4]

2000s

In the 2000s, telenovelas had more gay characters that represented stereotypes of gay men within media.[1] Additionally, this time period also created a change in representation in telenovelas.[6] In 2007, the telenovela Yo amo a Juan Querendón designed a gay character who stepped out of the stereotypes. In the telenovela, Gaytán is a wealthy, masculine, man who is open about his homosexuality.[2]

2010s to present

Modernization has changed the way media represents the world. Telenovelas have shifted from the 2000s to modern times. New additions of queer characters have become more apparent in order to appeal to more younger audiences.[3][7] La Casa de las Flores (2018), has become one of the telenovelas to added their own telenovela spin. With characters Julian and Diego. The couple have a secret relationship for five years which is later in the series is revealed when Julian comes out as bisexual.[3]

Character design

Depictions of gay men within telenovelas has always centered on certain stereotypes or tropes.[8] Often they are depicted as effeminate men or girly men and the hairdresser. All of these tropes represent a caricature within telenovelas.[9] Many of these characters are also “sidekick” and or play the villain to the protagonist. Being either the empathic best friend or mean villainous character.[2] Telenovelas from earlier times use these tropes in order to create their gay characters.[9]

In recent times, with the rise of millennial telenovelas there is also more push and representation of queer characters within telenovelas that don't revolve around the typical tropes.[3] Telenovelas have begun creating and developing better designs for their gay characters. Beginning with the 2007 telenovela Yo amo a Juan Querendón where the gay character within the series is created more deeply and complex.[2] A telenovela that portrays these recent ideals, Mi Marido Tiene Más Familia (2017). Two of the characters in the series develop a slow burn relationship.[10]

Influence of Mexican culture in media

Mexico is known for its traditional values in Catholicism and machismo.[11] Machismo values and concepts have connected femininity with homosexuality and masculinity with heterosexuality.[1] Additionally, Catholicism used to keep this construct within Mexican society and culture. These values are especially represented within telenovelas.[11] Due to this homosexuality has become taboo in Mexican culture.[1] The dialog and characters in telenovelas become a reflection of societal ideals within the media.[11] A study from Public Religion Research Institute suggests that 53% of Hispanics get their knowledge of the world through telenovelas.[5] Telenovelas is the place which many Latinos get their understanding of gender identity and sexuality.[1]

Public opinion

The visibility and representation of gay storylines and characters have been both a positive and negative outcome.[12] The more visibility of male gay characters within telenovelas, tolerance and acceptance is more visible within Mexican society and culture. Recent telenovelas have been shifting the ideals of masculinity and representing masculinity in different ways. Many of the telenovelas have received backlash for their representation of gay male characters. Much of the backlash comes from politicians who have made anti-LGBTQIA+ remarks and some from the public.[13] Additionally, TV networks and streaming services wanting to appeal to younger audiences use gay and or queer characters as token devices. Creating storylines that mainly focus on tragic storylines which do not reflect the entire realities of gay males.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Tate, Julee (2013). "Redefining Mexican Masculinity in Twenty-First Century Telenovelas". Hispanic Research Journal. 14 (6): 538–52. doi:10.1179/1468273713Z.00000000068.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Tate, Julee (2011). "From Girly Men to Manly Men: The Evolving Representation of Male Homosexuality in Twenty-First Century Telenovelas". Studies in Latin American Popular Culture. 29 (1): 102–14.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Phann, Eric. “La Casa de Las Flores: A Case Study of Queer Mexican Representation in Millennial Telenovelas.” Thesis, University of Northern Caroline, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Tate, Julee (2014). "Laughing All the Way to Tolerance? Mexican Comedic Telenovelas as Vehicles for Lessons Against Homophobia". The Latin Americanist. 58 (3): 51–65.
  5. 1 2 3 Civita, Alicia. “LGBTQ+ Moments in Latino Telenovelas That Shattered Stereotypes.” We Are Mitú. 100% American & Latino, July 5, 2023. https://wearemitu.com/wearemitu/entertainment/lgbtq-latino-telenovelas/.
  6. 1 2 Escándala. “Presencia LGBT+ en las telenovelas mexicanas.” Escandala, June 24, 2024. https://escandala.com/presencia-lgbt-en-las-telenovelas-mexicanas/.
  7. ↑ Spangler, Todd. “Telemundo, BuzzFeed Want to Reinvent the Telenovela.” Variety, May 11, 2016. https://variety.com/2016/digital/news/telemundo-buzzfeed-telenovela-1201771358/.
  8. ↑ Erlick, June Carolyn. “Gay Love, Gay Kisses.” In Telenovelas in Pan-Latino Context, 1st ed. Routledge, 2017.
  9. 1 2 Junior, Gamba, and Nilton Gonçalves. “GLBT Character Design in Telenovelas: Approaches to the Complex Issue of Inclusion.” DIS (ISSN: 2594-2336), Vol 1, Núm.  1 (2017), Julio - Diciembre, Pp.  114-124, Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México, Departamento de Diseño, 2017. https://ri.ibero.mx/handle/ibero/5651.
  10. ↑ Smith, Paul Julian. “Teen Gay Romance: Two Television Dramas from Juan Osorio.” In Mexican Genders, Mexican Genres, NED-New edition. Cinema, Television, and Streaming Since 2010. Boydell & Brewer, 2021. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1850j3z.9.
  11. 1 2 3 Grimm, Anja. “Los Discursos de Las Telenovelas Mexicanas Como Reflejo de La Sociedad: Un Acercamiento Desde El Análisis Crítico Del Discurso al Tratamiento de La Homosexualidad.” Estudios Interlingüísticos 7 (December 2019): 78–94.
  12. 1 2 Vielma, Jesús Alberto Porras. “Queer Kisses: Love, Sex and Hispanic Representation on Streaming Television.” University of Toronto, 2023.
  13. ↑ “In a First, a New Telenovela Features a Gay Couple as Leading Characters.” Chicago Tribune, August 15, 2019.https://www.chicagotribune.com/2019/08/15/in-a-first-a-new-telenovela-features-a-gay-couple-as-leading-characters/.
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