Wong, Y.N. orcid.org/0000-0003-1776-5221 (2024) LGBT+ mainstreaming on strictly come dancing: Queering the norms of ballroom dancing. Media Culture & Society, 46 (4). pp. 816-833. ISSN 0163-4437
Abstract
This paper proposes that LGBT+ mainstreaming on reality television programme Strictly Come Dancing creates space for audience demand for radical, authentic representations of same-sex desire and intimacy, both of which challenges normative representations of ballroom dancing. Integrating concepts of normativity and authenticity explored in existing scholarship, I argue against the encountering through a defensive stance, of reality TV’s normalization of queer narratives to promote authentic, inclusive representation. Focusing on dance-themed British reality TV programme for family entertainment, I draw on a queer reading of 285 newspaper articles on Strictly Come Dancing’s same-sex dance partnerships and 35 interviews with LGBT+ equality dancers in the United Kingdom, to conclude that active engagement with mechanisms of normalization can open up spaces for a reclamation of queer representation in its authenticity. The article makes a contribution to media and cultural studies and queer television scholarship through a troubling of anti-normativity, proposing a working with normativity to achieve queer inclusivity.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2023. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). |
Keywords: | anti-normativity; authenticity; ballroom dance; LGBT+; reality TV; same-sex strictly come dancing; sexuality; queer intimacy; equality dancing |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law (Leeds) > School of Sociology and Social Policy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 26 Jul 2024 16:09 |
Last Modified: | 26 Jul 2024 16:09 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/01634437231219141 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:215215 |