Queer Culture Has Long Been K.d. Lang, Ellen Degeneres,...

The faces of Queer Culture has long been K.D. Lang, Ellen Degeneres, and Elton John. While these icons represent the queer community in that they are gay individuals, they are not wholly representative of the community because there is no one queer story. However, these icons all have cisgender, white privilege which results in a great dearth of representation for transgender, non-binary, and people of color in the media. Another issue with queer representation in the media is the differentiation between gender expression and sexual orientation. Gender expression associated with masculinity such as short hair, loose clothing, and rough materials such as denim when worn by a woman is seen as a demarcation of alternative sexualities. However, those assumptions neglect to recognize the diversity of gender expression. Gender expression among heterosexuals varies greatly with some men presenting as metrosexual and some women presenting as tomboys. Similarly, this type of variation exist s within the LGBTQ+ community as members can range from femme to butch to androgynous. Portia de Rossi would be a classic example of a femme lesbian in terms of her long hair and frequent wearing of dresses. Often times these feminine lesbians, if they are portrayed at all, are often used to attract male audiences. However, Orange is the New Black challenges these conventions through the genres of Sophia Burset, Piper Chapman, and Big Boo. Sophia Burset breaks the cisgender, white