Representation of minorities in the media is super important as you can see from my research and analysis through each blog post. I thought I would dedicate my personal significance to the subject matter as this is for my capstone project and I want to make sure it holds pure and full meaning. You see, as a bisexual cis male growing up in a conservative society has always made me feel out of place. My actions were limited, voice was low, and representing myself was not for discussion. As I began my journey from adolescence to adulthood I found pieces of me coming back together. After years of hiding who I truly was after all the shame and heartache I put myself through I finally became accepting of myself and thus leading me to ‘come out’ in college. At that moment a huge weight was lifted off my chest and it was through all of those years of self torcher as I struggled with my identity just vanished. I remember before ever coming to terms with myself, looking for people who looked and lived like me, but the selections were limited. The time came during senior year where I wanted to venture out and ‘see the world’ I wanted to continue my education in an area where my identity was accepted by law and I had protection rights to start the next chapter of my life. Little behold I ended up at Worcester State University which was led by romantic drive if I am being honest. Besides that I knew that there were more opportunities towards a big city rather than a small conservative town with a smallish city. The abundance of love and support that I have received from attending Worcester State made it without a doubt a home in my heart and a safe and inclusive place. As I continued with my major it allowed me to further unpack and realize the importance of diversity, representation, expression, and all the other things that I was held back from back home. Being so indecisive regarding what I wanted to do for a career I found out taking Media Criticism with professor Julie Frechette. Once realizing my interest and viewing the material from a different perspective, I was able to see that the media does not have nearly as much representation as it should. We learned that the reason was because the hegemonic elites dictate and control the media and only allow what they want to share. You see the importance of representation of minorities in the media is important because it allowed me to be me and I also believe that this representation would make others feel seen, heard, and accounted for (Campbell et al., 2014, p. 221-224). These are peoples lives that are affected by being misrepresented or not represented at all as I discussed in consequences of no representation tab. I thought that I would add this article produced by my high school classmate and dear friend Chelsey Johnstone. I had the pleasure of being interviewed for her article that discussed LGBTQ+ and the election. The questions she asked were well throughout and really made me think about the society that I would be comfortable living in as part of the LGBTQIA community. Not only am I in the article, but others as well from all over(Johnstone). Chelsey Is also demonstrating the importance of representation of minorities by giving us a platform where we can fully express how we feel about who should lead the United States and the legal issues surrounding the LGBTQIA community, to her I give my thanks along with the others who have supported me in my research. You can click the links below for other works by Chelsey. https://www.trentondaily.com/ https://chelseyjohnstone.wixsite.com/mysite To say that the need for equality, diversity, and representation in the media is not important is a huge understatement. Not only in our media, but society as a whole. For centuries the need for equality, diversity, and representation has been crucial. Without it one questions their belonging in the world. Today, for those of us who identify as white, we are used to seeing people with the same skin tone, some same sexuality, and most of these white figures being male. We fail to realize how this impacts other races, sexualities, and cultures in the media. We are so used to this it has become subconscious. Whether we like it or not the media is in urgent need of equal opportunity and equal representation growth. We cannot limit the minorities, but instead shine light on brilliant minds and differences. Resources: Campbell, R., Fabos, B., Frechette, J., Gomery, D., & Jensen, J. (2014). Media in society.Boston: Bedford/St. Martins. Johnstone, C. (n.d.). Personal site. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://chelseyjohnstone.wixsite.com/mysite Evans, B., & Johnstone, C. (2020, December 09). Trenton Daily. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.trentondaily.com/
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