David Gauntlett

“Contemporary media practices mean that heteronormatitvity does not completely dominate” – Heterosexuality doesn’t have full control of modern media.

“Gender is socially constructed” –  As a social construct, gender can vary in different societies and is liable to change over time.

“Audiences realise they can change their identities” – They can be whoever they choose to be and they cannot be held back by society.

“Audiences are active. They control the representations they want to engage with and can actively reject those that do not appeal.” – An active audience will engage and respond to forms of media in different ways and are capable of challenging the ideas within it.

“The media provides a range of products in which a huge diversity of identities is portrayed.” – In society, there are many people who choose to present themselves with a variety of identities.

Judith Butler

“Society constructs a binary view of gender” – A binary view is a social construct made up of two parts that are framed as complete opposites (e.g. male and female).

“Society also presents male/female relationships as the norm” – The world view is that heterosexuality is the normal or preferred sexual orientation.

“Audiences learn how to perform gender via the media.” – The media in today’s society constructs our own gender identity for us.

“Alternatives to the gender binary exist but are presented as subversive.” – Genders other than male and female exist but are seen as disruptive.

“The media reinforces heteronormativity through heteronormative representations” – The current media supports heterosexuality as the norm by only representing heterosexual relationships.