Globalized Queerness: Identities and Commodities in Queer Popular Culture

✍ Scribed by Helton Levy

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Year: 2023
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 233
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Has a global queer popular culture emerged at the expense of local queer artists? In this book, Helton Levy argues that global queer culture is indebted to specific, local references that artists carry from their early experiences in life, which then become homogenized by contemporary media markets. The assumption that queer publics live and consume only through a global set of references, including gay parades and rainbow flags, for example, erases many personal complexities. Levy revisits media characters that have caught the attention of the broader public – such as Calamity Jane (1953), the Daffyd Thomas character from the BBC comedy Little Britain (2003-2007), Brazilian drag queen Pabblo Vittar, French singer Christine and the Queens, and the Italian-Egyptian rapper Mahmood – and argues that they have gradually blended in the public's perception. This has often obscured the individual struggles faced by these characters, such as immigration, homophobia, poverty and societal exclusion. Levy also questions what happens when global media flows take queer culture to regions wherein the notion of LGBTQ+ rights are not entirely acceptable. Utilizing insights from media reports published across the world's ten biggest media markets, Levy argues that there are a series of conditions which artists and cultural actors negotiate once they achieve any kind of success in mainstream media, while local queer references remain unseen in the wider media world. For that reason, he argues for stronger incentives for communities to accept and acknowledge the work of queer people before and after commoditization.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover
Halftitle page
Series page
Title page
Copyright page
CONTENTS
ILLUSTRATIONS AND TABLES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
SERIES EDITORS’ INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION GLOBALLY QUEER? A TALE OF TWO WORLDS
The global and the local in queer media and culture
Queer mediatization and the issue of knowledge
Globalization as reproduction and rejection
Localizing queerness and its culture
A few hypotheses on globalized queerness
Main concepts, methods, and summary of the book
References
Chapter 1 COMMODIFYING QUEER CULTURE
The community, the nation, and the culture: In search of queer territories
Genealogizing queer commodities
Commodifying, de-commodifying, localizing
Sincerity, authenticity, and the queer commodity
Surveying local and global aspects in queer commodities
Conclusion
References
Chapter 2 QUEER NEWS
Queer culture and digital journalism
Queer appearances as global news
Queer appearances as local news
Quantifying queer cultural news across media markets
Direct mentions to queer artists around the world
Main topics covered
People and characters
Locations
Conclusion
References
Chapter 3 QUEER ARTISTS
Queer artists and where they come from: a brief ontological overview
Queer cosmopolitanism and the local artist
The queer national treasure: Phia Ménard and Cristiano Malgioglio
From the periphery to the nation: Pabllo Vittar and Linn da Quebrada
The cosmetics of transculturation: Harisu, Siufung Law, Zanele Muholi, and Mahmood
Conclusion
References
Chapter 4 TRANS CONTENT CREATORS
In search of trans themes on YouTube
Investing in trans topics
Vocabularies of trans YouTube
Analysing trans topics in trans YouTube
Local and global standards in trans YouTube
Conclusion
References
Chapter 5 GLOBAL PLATFORMS, LOCAL CHARACTERS
Navigating layers of queer prominence
Searching for local characters on global platforms
Social media, queerness, and facework
‘I haven’t seen any local queer artists in mainstream media’
‘You get a boost after you appear naked’
‘Narcissism, vanity: That was initially a game’
Global and local attachments: Avoidance, correction, and making points
Conclusion
References
CONCLUSION FROM GLOBALIZED QUEERNESS TO POSSIBLE HOMECOMINGS
Summary of the book and next steps
Re-enacting creative liberation: Defending local connections
Contemporary media and the tiktokization of gender
We are everywhere! Or are we?
Possible homecomings
Limitations of the book
References
INDEX