ABSTRACT
Media Misrepresentation The complexity and diversity of contemporary media make it one of the more challenging areas of academic research. The depiction of men, in particular, has blossomed into a multifaceted and diverse mosaic of masculine expression and identities. In the past, however, male representation in television and film was more limited, narrow, and stereotypical in nature. While media generalizations about men and masculine expression remain prevalent, there was a time, for instance, when gay, male characters were nonexistent, or when the suggestion that a male character might be gay was presented overwhelmingly in tones of either suspicion or comedy. Men in drag were a routine part
of television comedy shtick, which no doubt had an alienating effect on transgender women who were essentially mocked or feared, while emphasizing to boys and men the notion that exploring any feminine part of yourself was completely out-of-bounds and subject to derision.
