Kassandra Ferrante

                  Sex, drama, crime… did I mention sex? This all sounds quite common if you’re a fan of Shonda Rhimes and her immensely successful television series’. There is no lack of diversity in her hit TV shows, but one series in particular tackled a focus of representation on one minority group loudly - the LGBT community. Created by Peter Nowalk, and produced by Nowalk, Shonda Rhimes, and Betsy Beers (IMDB), How To Get Away With Murder has captivated young audiences since 2014 with its dramatic murder-mystery feel, with a Shonda Rhimes twist, including emotional plotlines, personal struggles, and lots of sex. I have decided to conduct a critical media analysis on this show because as a big fan, I have been pleasantly surprised with the LGBT representation in this series. The diverse characters, gay storylines, and real world issues tackled in the series make for a compelling story, which has kept me glued to my seat for many Netflix bingeing sessions. Although there are multiple examples of both clear and ambiguous queer characteristics on this show, I will be focusing on the relationship between Connor Walsh and Oliver Hampton, and the queer stereotypes presented or lack thereof.
                   In season 1 of ABC’s How To Get Away With Murder, we meet Connor Walsh, a law school educated, handsome, clean-cut white boy, and one of Annalise Keating’s top students and confidants through her legal cases. He is sexy, sly, and competing for a position at Keating’s firm. A privileged law student, viewers may immediately assume that Walsh is simply a straight, confident, well-dressed young man. That is, until we find out he is gay, using that to lure information out of an IT guy, Oliver, for one of Keating’s legal cases. That young IT professional, Oliver Hampton, who is also gay, becomes another key character in the series, helping Annalise Keating solve her legal cases by breaking into nearly any electronic device that she needs information from. Together, Connor and Oliver soon become a fan favorite couple, and their relationship lies at the forefront of gay representation on the show.
I Mentioned All The Sex Right?
                  Many gay characters that I have seen represented in the media carry with them a sense of insecurity or fear of coming out, or of judgment from others. Though this may be an accurate representation for some, Connor and Oliver are in most cases, anything but insecure. As a gay couple, they are both confident in their sexuality and with each other, taking turns showing dominance, and often engage in steamy - and sometimes almost too graphic for TV sex (unprecedented on TV to this degree). According to a 2014 Vanity Fair article, “ABC’s soapy new legal thriller is unafraid of diversity, strong women, and gay sex. Which makes it pretty important” (Lawson, 2014). In Episode 2 of Season 1, Connor shows up at Oliver’s apartment with food as an apology for using him for information. After turning him away initially, Oliver turns back and confidently states, “Okay, but tonight I do you” (Nowalk, 2014). Cue the natural and steamy gay sex.
                  There is a lack of this sexual content across the media, which can be especially detrimental for young members of the LGBT community who are trying to find a representation of themselves and their identity in the mainstream. According to Deborah A. Fisher from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, “Shows for adolescent audiences often portray an exclusively heterosexual environment, with only occasional brief appearances by adolescent characters who are confused about their sexuality (Kielwasser & Wolf, 1992). This is important because gay adolescents often cannot get information relevant to their sexual orientation” (Fisher, 2007). HTGAWM depicts a functional and socially accepted gay couple, who engage in healthy sexual conduct.
They Are So Gay - But Are They?
Despite their confidence in their homosexuality, neither Connor nor Oliver exude many explicit gay stereotypes. They are both well dressed and take care of their appearance, but as a young professional and privileged East Coast law student, this doesn’t seem out of the norm. At moments, Oliver does seem a bit insecure beside Connor when they are around the other characters, as Connor is more of an extrovert and Oliver, a computer “nerd”. Neither character exudes overt femininity, or masculine dominance over the other. Their homosexuality, as well as their male gender, which they are both accepting of is made quite clear. One queer sexual stereotype that can be seen in Connor, is a slight sense of rebellion and promiscuity. He did after all, seduce Oliver in the pilot episode solely for information for a legal case. Likewise, when he and Oliver take a break in their relationship through the series, Connor quickly finds someone else to fill that sexual void. In Season 3, Episode 4, Connor states to his fellow classmates, “Look, this might be difficult for all of you straight people to understand, but not all sex is a big deal”. When his peer tells him, “You’ve got a problem”, he responds, “No, I’ve got game” (Swafford, E., 2016). The next scene cuts to Walsh engaging in a threesome with two other college-aged males.
One very real issue portrayed in the series however, is Oliver’s experience testing positive for HIV. In a 2016 interview with the Huffington Post, HTGAWM creator, Peter Nowalk stated that he wanted to break the stereotype “that someone who’s HIV-positive is more sexually active than someone who’s not” (Signorile, 2016, Huffington Post). Throughout the series, Oliver is in fact portrayed as much less overtly sexual than Connor. In that interview, Nowalk mentioned that although some praised him for this representation, he did also receive some backlash from the gay community for placing the HIV stereotype on a gay character.
Too Good To Be True: Intersectionality and Positionality
                  Clearly, both Connor and Oliver live in quite a diverse and progressive setting in Philadelphia. Though not much is known about either of their backgrounds, we can assume that Connor, as a white young law student, is privileged and has some financial security (none of these students seem to have jobs outside of school and working for their professor, Annalise). Oliver is a working professional in the IT industry, so has most likely been surrounded by like-minded, educated professionals. Though there is no information on his family background, he does look of Asian descent (a racial stereotype here could be that he has a profession in the technology sector). There is no evidence that this has any affect on his sexual orientation. This is relevant because although their relationship seems to be accepted by every character on the show, this is not always the case in real world low-income communities, strict and traditional families, and in different geographic locations.
Queer Audiences and Reflexivity
                  As we have discussed in class, LGBT representation in the media is incredibly important, but there is also great importance in how queer audiences interpret this media. Historically, gay and lesbian representations have been restrained because media audiences have been, and still are, majority heterosexual (Sender, 2012, p. 210). Following a “of the majority, by the majority, for the majority” distribution cycle, it is clear that major corporations have created a specific kind of content, leaving out minority groups such as the LGBT community. While we progress as a society, the media has also begun to portray more real gay characters such as Connor and Walsh. As this becomes more prevalent, it is fundamental that “various distribution routes demand complementary approaches to the meaning and possibilities of GLBT and queer media” (Sender, 2012, p. 214). Therefore, despite the somewhat stereotypical HIV storyline that did receive criticism, the frame for the plot was intended to break certain perceptions for heterosexual audiences, and offer a model for young gay men struggling with being HIV positive.
                  As noted, historically there has been a lack of homosexual representation on television. In a study analyzing queer audiences and their reactions to queer media, “we can state that our respondents are divided on the issues: they are critical, but they are not as uniformly discontented as certain critical and queer reading of fictional television representations suggest” (Dhoest & Simons, 2012, p. 268). Realistic storylines as depicted on How To Get Away With Murder, can be considered a truly positive platform for young members of the LGBT community to turn to.
Conclusion
                  In truly looking at the relationship between Connor and Oliver in How To Get Away With Murder, I found that as a gay couple, they are breaking molds in mainstream media and entertainment. Though queer audiences may still find aspects of their depiction stereotypical, there is an evident push towards normalizing homosexual behavior in the mainstream. As a straight, cisgender, white woman, it can be difficult to analyze the representation of gay characters in the media. As a consumer of this media, I find Connor and Oliver’s relationship to be an accurate portrayal of the young gay men I know, thriving in the professional world.
Of course, inclusion does not always equal representation. I chose to look deeper into HTGAWM as a media professional to see if that realistic representation was evident. Overall, I found that it was. Hegemonic forces in our society have molded viewership to accept normative sexual behavior, yet through the efforts of creator Peter Nowalk and producer Shonda Rhimes, How To Get Away With Murder has made its mark as a progressive example of doing just the opposite.


References
Dhoest, A. & Simons, N. (2012). Questions Queer Audiences: Exploring Diversity in Lesbian and Gay Men’s Media Uses and Readings. In The Handbook of Gender, Sex, and Media (1st ed.). John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
 
Fisher, D. A., Hill, D. L., Grube, J. W., & Gruber, E. L. (2007). Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Content on Television. Journal of Homosexuality,52(3-4), 167-188. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2000838/.
 
IMDB, How To Get Away With Murder Full Cast & Crew. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3205802/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ql_1
 
Lawson, R. (2014, October 16). Is How to Get Away With Murder the Most Progressive Show on Television? . Vanity Fair. http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/10/how-to-get-away-with-murder-gay-sex
 
Nowalk, P. (Writer), & D’Elia, B. (Director). (2014). It’s All Her Fault [Television series episode]. In How To Get Away With Murder. ABC Studios.
 
Sender, K. (2012). No Hard Feelings: Reflexivity and Queer Affect in the New Media Landscape. In The Handbook of Gender, Sex, and Media (1st ed.). John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
 
Signorile, M. (2016, March 17). Here's How 'How To Get Away With Murder' Became The Queerest Show On Network TV. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-to-get-away-with-murder-queer-tv_us_56eac3c7e4b0b25c91849584
 
Swafford, E. (Writer), & Sullivan, K. (Director). (2016). Don’t Tell Annalise [Televison series episode]. In How To Get Away With Murder. ABC Studios.
 

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