Mtv__True_Life_Analysis

True Life: Actual Reality It’s as if you landed the main role of this year’s soon to be most popular movie, the spotlight shining down on you everywhere you go. Bad thing though, it’s not what you wanted. Millions of people go and watch this movie of yours, only to make assumptions about the person they think you are based on pure generalizations. Being a homosexual at times can have the same amount of pressure as having a main role in a popular movie and the audience judging you can become all of society. Trying to carry on normal lives along with the rest of America, the homosexual community has been aided by the media in many different ways, one being reality television. With it’s ample diversity of episodes, True Life is able to publicize the reality of average people (mainly young adults) in their everyday lives. Revealing the struggles and hardships of the gay and lesbian community, True Life shows Americans worldwide the daily battle these individuals face trying to get society to accept them for who they are. Created in 1998, True Life consists of a mini documentary series following two to three unique individuals in their daily lives. Each episode is centered around a common theme that these different people share, whether it be “True Life:I’m Bisexual”(2009) or something impacting a person’s health such as “True Life:I Have a Traumatic Brain Injury”(2010). The shows viewers are exposed to the lifestyles and encounters of these different people. Affecting a broad range of people, the show was first mostly viewed by teenagers and young adults. After over 200 episodes since it aired, True Life is now watched by people of all different ages and is one of the few reality television shows that the average American can actually relate to. The first episode ever containing the hardships of homosexuality and society’s acceptance to them was aired in 2002 and was titled, “True Life: I’m Coming Out”. At first being extremely difficult to expose their true selves in public, these three individuals represented the struggles of the gay community in their goal to be accepted by the rest of society. From hoping for their parent’s approval to being mistreated in places such as restaurants, homosexuals have had a constant battle against society and its traditional views on life. With the help of True Life, the exposure to these circumstances has aided the homosexual community in which many of the viewers now accept them for their personal life decisions. Coming out is one of the hardest steps a homosexual can ever do, according to a blog by Veronica titled “I’m Gay! Advice on Coming Out”. It doesn’t necessarily mean one is ready to tell people something they might already know, it means “you’re ready to talk about it”.Furthermore, the show reveals the difference in lifestyles between homosexual couples and heterosexual ones. In an interview, Mcvinney, a social worker of gay male couples, stated that “Male couples differ from opposite sex couples in two ways. The first is that male couples have to grapple with the issue of how open each is to his family about being gay and the precise nature of the rela- tionship with his partner. The second is the degree of support and recognition that their (same-sex) relationship receives from families and other institutions.”(1989), not only does True Life bring such issues to light but it also unveils the hardships same sex couples deal with while in public. With today’s society moving at an extremely fast pace, children are now being exposed to what was once hidden and frowned upon to partake in: homosexuality. Not only does the show reveal the battles, both internal and external of these individuals, but it also shows that there are no borders within age, sex, or race. In “School’s Out: The Life of a Gay High School in Texas”(2003), Walt Whitman high is shown to be an all-gay high school. Episodes like these reveal that one can now be together with others they share similarities with and it shows that there is such thing as a judge free zone in comparison to many places. The fact that it is a high school also shows the audience that it is never truly too early to come out to the public as being a homosexual. True Life expose the average American to a circumstance they can relate to, it also shows less popular situations in which many don’t know how to cope with what is going on. In “True Life: I’m Polyamorous”(2009), MTV airs the relationship of three gay men living in one house, all in one relationship. Although polyamory is not as common, it’s quickly rising as the “next sexual revolution in America”. In the article Negotiated Nonmonogamy and Male Couples, Michael Shernoff describes polyamory as “...a well-accepted part of gay subculture often viewed by some therapists as problematic. Somewhere between 30% and 67% of men in male couples report being in a sexually non-monogamous relationship”. Reality television shows such as True Life help expose these different lifestyles. It is common for many traditional Americans not to accept such ways of living, but it is necessary for them to acknowledge and be aware of the new subcultures within the gay and lesbian community. Another uprising subculture is that of being transgender, where according to Merriam-Webster dictionary it is defined as “being a person who identifies with or expressed a gender identity that differs from the one which corresponds to the person’s sex at birth”. Homosexuals are now cross dressing, changing sexes, becoming transsexuals, etc. Meaning that it is no longer a barrier or being a homosexual or a heterosexual, but that the gay and lesbian community is constantly expanding in a way that many people are becoming comfortable with who they are. Without church bells or a fancy ceremony, it is now possible for homosexual couples to legalize their love for each other in five states. Although it is not a nation wide law yet, slowly but surely there is a positive change going on for the gay community. In “True Life:I’m Gay and I’m Getting Married”, two couples living in Massachusetts show their experience undergoing the whole process of obtaining a marriage license. Not only do they show the excitement of these couples once the law passed, but MTV also airs the internal issues they dealt with as homosexual newlyweds. During the episode, while watching TV the couple begins to break down in tears due to the protests against gay marriages. In Gay Marriage: The Arguments and the Motives, Scott Bidstrup states that “Nearly seventy percent of people in the U.S. oppose gay marriage...”, further proving my point of the struggles of being a homosexual individual in such a society as ours. Due to this reality show, America sees not only that these people deserve happiness just like everyone else but that they too demand for equality and it’s unfair that only certain states give it to them. From a “straight club to a gay club every night”, Tom struggles to hide his true identity from his family and friends in “True Life:I Live a Double Life”. Constantly worried that someone will recognize him, he walks the streets paranoid of seeing his family or friends. Not only is it completely unnecessary for individuals to feel the need to conform to the majority of society’s opinions, but it’s unfair to have to be terrified of showing their true selves to those they love the most. Helping influence the coming out of gays, True Life’s success has encouraged many homosexuals to openly admit their orientation so much that according to the 2000 Census Bureau, “10% of America’s population admitted they were gay”, compared to the decades before this is a huge step for the homosexual community. Compared to sitcoms and comedy shows where the gay guy is always loud and obnoxious and the lesbian always dresses like a male, True Life shows that yes, such assumptions are in fact true but that most gays and lesbians dress and act like everyday people. Reality television does not consist of overpriced lifestyles in shows such as The Hills but of people’s daily struggles. Without being scripted or told to act in a certain manner, the 11 different topics aimed to expose and reveal the everyday lives of the homosexual community is what a show like this has done to impact society. By giving gays a voice, the rest of society is now able to sit back and open their eyes to what being a homosexual really is like because of True Life.