Getting to Queer Joy in Media Written by Kaitlyn Germann Graphic by Christopher Ikonomou
Throughout the past century, media that portrays and represents queerness and queer relationships have changed for the better. When looking at earlier 20th-century queer works, the tone is rather drab, with an understanding that queerness isn’t allowed to be something that is happy or something that leads to happy ends. And, for the majority of situations at the time, there wasn’t happiness in life as a queer person either. Consider the novel, “Mrs. Dalloway” by Virginia Woolf, a renowned lesbian writer of the early 20th century. There is an underlying unhappiness present within the protagonist’s life. This unhappiness of Mrs. Dalloway and her inability to reach her desires throughout the nov-
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el is reminiscent of the way in which queer individuals would often live lives that weren’t lived to their fullest. After all, in the United States, queer individuals weren’t granted the ability to be together until 2015, at least not within a legal marriage. Looking at more present-day media, such as the 2017’s Oscars Best Picture winner, “Moonlight,” there is a happier portrayal of the way in which queer relationships and people can exist. Throughout the film, the protagonist is given the opportunity to live and remain happy, albeit not with their lover. The importance of providing this representation of queer happiness can’t be understated, as it shows the ability to achieve happiness, even as a queer
