On Shameless, a TV show on Showtime, one of the characters that is apart of the Gallagher clan, Ian, is gay. In the first couple of season we watch as Ian lets out his secret, dates, and we watch as he becomes more and more comfortable with his own sexuality. Throughout the series his character grows, faces many challenges, and is faced with some of his own challenges regarding Queer theory. In season 7 Ian meets a boy named Trevor, he learns that Trevor is trans and at first he was very confused. Ian accused Trevor of being a girl, and through patience and understanding Trevor explains that he was born a girl, and is now boy. Trevor takes hormones that allow him to grow facial hair and he had had his breasts removed. Although it took Ian a bit to understand the situation, after Trevor introduced him to a group of friends that all identified differently Ian began to have more of an open mind.This part of the series was especially interesting because it took Shameless, Ian in particular, back to its roots. In the first few seasons Ian had to deal with people who did not understand his sexuality and some were even mean to him for his sexual preference. In season 7 the audience saw Ian on the other side of the fence and he had to learn to be open minded and had to educate himself just like a lot of the characters on this show had to do when he came out of the closet.
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ReplyDeleteI've watched Shameless before, but I haven't made it to this season yet. I always really liked Ian's character because I think his story is one you don't hear a lot. But more than that, a story like Trevor's is told even less often. Those stories are often brushed aside and not focused on. I think that this was a great analysis because it really shows how even those who are struggling to have their stories heard, theirs are not the only stories out there either. I think its great that this story line chose to have one underrepresented group focus on another underrepresented group to show the importance of supporting each other in life. Great post :)
ReplyDeleteI've watched shameless and absolutely love it. I like that shameless does push boundaries and is a show that leaves it all out there for the world to process which is more of what we need. I think this is great representation of queer theory!
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head with this one! Shameless is one of my favorite TV shows and it is because they do what a lot of shows are scared to do. I think that by having Ian be a homosexual while living in a place and a neighborhood where it was not particularly excepted made it even better and really showed the true struggle that people are having all over the world
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