Queer Cinema/Theory

Within this document I'll explore queer theory within cinema, particularly within the film "Mean Girls" I've watched the first 20 minutes of the film where we are introduced to multiple characters, some of which are stereo-typically portrayed as being gay.

The first character that we can identify as being gay is Damian, we are first introduced to Damian when he leans over and talks to Cady as seen in the image below. His first line is "is that your natural hair colour?" This is typically a girly thing to say as usually girls have an interest in "hair and beauty". He then goes on to tell her that her hair is gorgeous and that he wants that colour hair. His overall mannerisms and character suggests that he is camp. His friend to the left "Janis" then tells cady that "He's almost too gay to function" this pretty much confirms the picture we were slowly building of Damian.

We can identify Damian's character as being "The gay best friend" we also stereo-typically assume that Damian and Janice are friends because they share the trait of being homosexual. We know from past portrays of gay characters within films that this assumption is likely to be right. Other clues include their body language, tone of voice and the clothes they wear.

Janice's character is more interesting to discuss as we later find out that she in fact ins't actually gay, another character within the film spread a rumour about her being a lesbain which is why other characters within the film treat her as such. She admits later on that the way she looks is just her personal choice.

We can identify Janice as being a "butch lesbian" this is stereo-typically attributed to her because of the clothing she wears and the way she acts. She's not typically girl like and conscious of her appearance. Her body language matches that of a male, as you can see above she is chilling leaning back. Janice rarely wears feminine clothing, nor do we ever see her hanging around with the typical girly girls. There's a moment where someone asks Janice what her wig is made of, she shouts back instantly stating that it's made of his "Mums chest hair". This also seems out of character for a girl to say, we'd usually expect a guy to respond in this way. Janice and Damians characters contrast greatly within this scene however they're both similar in how the viewer perceives them. 

Films can often portray people in a negative way, especially when stepping on the subject of sexuality. They are often portrayed inaccurately over overemphasized, I would say that this film doesn't portray these characters negatively, especially with the lesson we learn from finding out that Janice isn't actually a lesbian. This discovery sort of hints at a potential moral which underlines the entire film, that being to accept people as they are. It's quite funny in that respect as it essentially makes you the viewer a "mean girl".