Laugh away, he is gay! Heteronormativity and children’s television in Denmark

Abstract

This article examines the representation of sexuality on Danish public service children’s television. Previous research demonstrates that the worldview presented to children on television is extremely heteronormative, but no existing research has examined the issue in a Danish context. The analysis is conducted on two levels: a content analysis of 545 television programs, and interviews with stakeholders in Danish society on the issue “children and sexuality” to examine what the dominant ideas about children and childhood are in today’s society, and how those influence what is considered appropriate for children. We found that representations of sexuality in the programs served to enforce heteronormativity, and failure to behave in a heteronormative way often served as comic relief. None of the stakeholders had considered LGBT children in their work, and it is proposed that the association of homosexuality with sexual activity constructs non-heterosexuality as incompatible with “innocent” childhood, rendering non-heterosexual childhood invisible.

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