Date of Award
5-11-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
School Name
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Communication
Major Advisor
Kyle Barnett
Second Advisor
Moira O'Keeffe
Third Advisor
Kathryn West
Abstract
This thesis asks how fans have created their own queer representation on the social media platform TikTok. It looks at the tools afforded by TikTok that fans have used to “ship” non-canon woman-loving-woman couples and to “queer” television show characters. It also examines how fans on TikTok have reacted to television plotlines they were unhappy with, such as the “bury your gays” trope. Four shows, all after the year 2000, are used as case studies. These shows are Wednesday (2022-present), Criminal Minds (2005-present), Stranger Things (2016-present), and Killing Eve (2018-2022). Numerous TikTok videos and comments revolving around each show are also analyzed. This thesis finds that fans have utilized TikTok and its affordances to turn female television characters into positive queer representation through the use of edits, audios, comments, captions, and more.
Recommended Citation
Reel, Greta, "Queering TV in the Age of TikTok" (2024). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones. 185.
https://scholarworks.bellarmine.edu/tdc/185
Included in
Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, Queer Studies Commons, Social Justice Commons, Social Media Commons, Women's Studies Commons