Media and the Queer Gesture

This week I explored the concept of how queer media portrays TV characters and how drag queens, specifically Kevin Aviance is discussed in the Munoz reading. Munoz states that, “gestures transmit ephemeral knowledge of lost and queer histories and possibilities within phobic public culture.” The gestures of drag queens tends to be feminine, they sway their hips when they walk and use flowing hand motions. Aviance on the other end defies gender logics within gay spaces by using a combination of masculine hand motions which are strong and abrupt and feminine. In the Keywords reading for queer it was stated that queer media is used as sites of fantasy, play and projection. Media tends to depict characters on TV as gay by having them dress a certain way, talk  a certain way and give off physical gestures by the way they sit, walk and motion their hands. I ended my video with a clip from Modern Family of Mitchell and him showing clips of himself as a child and jokingly saying he does not get how his father thought he was gay. Pictures were shown of him dressed feminine and baking food. This further shows how their is a socially constructed view on what is queer and what is not.

Questions:

1. Munoz states that “Gestures transmit ephemeral knowledge of lost and queer histories and possibilities within a phobic majoritarian public culture.” Why do you think certain gestures historically have been linked to queerness?
2. Kevin Aviance is a drag queen who is seen as a hybrid gender. He is a queer who defies gender logics within a gay spaces by not wearing wigs and combining both masculine and femine movements in his performances. How are queers portrayed in the media? Is it made obvious or subtle that a character is gay in TV shows?
3. Munoz discusses how queers sometimes act masculine in public to hide feminine gestures. What do you think Munoz meant when he said, “We can understand queerness itself as being filled with the intention to be lost.”