Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

5-1997

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Communication

Major Professor

Dhyana Ziegler

Committee Members

Ron Taylor, Herbert Howard, Barbara Moore, Thomas Hood

Abstract

Among the many different mass media audiences studied, knowledge about the gay and lesbian audience was lacking. This project's goal was to provide a study of mass media use among gay males. The group studied. consisted of gay male college students and non-students.

The uses and gratifications research approach to mass media audiences consists of several theoretical paradigms. Lazarsfeld's paradigm for audience studies was primarily used. Lazarsfeld's first step that required a description of the audience based on frequency tables was used. Other literature reviewed included: gay and lesbian images shown in media over the past five years. Over time, these images gradually became less stereotypical. There was literature on queer theory and gay and lesbian audiences and their relationship to this project.

A diary/survey instrument was used to gather the data. The original sample was composed of members of lesbian, bisexual and gay student groups from universities around the country. Due to a low instrument return rate the sample population was expanded to include members of a gay male social group in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Results of this diary/survey of media use indicated a group who primarily used media in the privacy of their home or car. Media use among the group participants was fairly equal across days of the week. Entertainment was the primary reason this group used electronic media such as broadcasting and radio. Print media was used primarily for information.

As an exploratory study of gay and lesbian media audiences this project raised more questions than it answered. The use of individual media by this group needed more in-depth study. Particularly why the media was used. Other studies proposed included comparing media use between gays and lesbians and other groups. A study needed to be done exclusively on lesbian media use. Gay and lesbian audiences were difficult to study due to their invisibility, but there is a great deal of knowledge to learn about this audience subgroup. Future researchers. may make use of this study as a first step in building a body of knowledge about gay and lesbian media audiences.

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