I have always been a huge Ellen fan and decided to share a clip that shows Ellen and Portia on their wedding day.
The reason I wanted to show this clip is because it doesn't show any clips or photos of the two kissing or even coming close to kissing. Why do you think this is? Was it intentional? If so, why would Ellen, on her own talk show, show clips of her and her new wife not sharing a kiss together? Is this a societal restriction or possibly a network restriction? Thoughts?
What's sex got to do with....PDA?
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This could be just me, but I think there are plenty of same sex couples who also wouldn't want to show their intimate relationship publicly. Maybe Ellen and Portia are one of those couples who like to keep their intimate relationship private. In dealing with the "politics of sex" this is kind of a reverse since they are holding back sex or intimacy from the public. Though they still show intimacy through hugging, smiling, and holding hands, a kiss though is sometimes considered more private. It's kind of like you wouldn't kiss your boyfriend in front of you friends, but you wouldn't mind hugging him. This is just my opinion though, so I do think it's intentional and doesn't really have to do with restriction since you see girls kiss all the time in TV shows such as "South of Nowhere" or "Pretty Little Liars"
I think that leaving out the PDA was intentionally. Not necessarily that they were trying to make society feel more comfortable with their marriage, but to prove their deep, serious affection for one another. They wanted to be taken seriously as a couple so they took very professional, thoughtful pictures. They may have also left it out intentionally, but for the fact that it was going to be aired on national television and they did not want to lose viewers that may be homophobic and sexist.
In the essay "Ways of Talking," the author states that the SOED defines heterosexuality as "pertaining to or characterized by the normal relations between the sexes." By simply using this definition, the author writes "for those who do not conform to its demands, compulsory heterosexuality acts as a mechanism of exclusion and oppression because it consistently constructs them as outsiders, aberrant and bad." I hope Ellen didn't feel like an outsider when she constructed this video about her wedding day because it is something she should truly proud of and appreciate.