Kerrigan, Páraic and Pramaggiore, Maria
(2021)
Homoheroic or homophobic? Leo Varadkar, LGBTQ politics and contemporary news narratives.
Critical Studies in Media Communication, 38 (2).
pp. 107-126.
ISSN 1529-5036
Abstract
This article explores Irish and international news reporting on the gay Irish politician Leo Varadkar during his term as Irish Prime Minister (2017–2020). Focusing on two media events occurring in 2019 – first, the outing of Varadkar as a Kylie Minogue fan in the Kylie Gate scandal and, second, his St. Patrick’s Day meeting with then U.S.Vice President Mike Pence – the article argues that the Irish and
international media differentially employed both homoheroic and homophobic narratives in their accounts. The article introduces the concept of homoheroism, which exists in tension with lingering homophobic scripts, as a structuring dynamic for understanding the contemporary media’s affirmative rendering of the cultural capital
associated with being an out-LGBTQ politician. Whereas the
international press hailed Varadkar as a homoheroic intersectional leader capable of challenging homophobia internationally and forging a progressive internationally respected identity for Ireland, the Irish press treated Varadkar’s gay, Indian-Irish identities as evidence of political illegitimacy in coverage laced with anti-gay
stereotypes. The Varadkar case speaks more broadly to the
emergence of a generation of global political leaders whose LGBTQ status poses challenges for media representation, may raise expectations around homonationalism, and carries geopolitical implications for the branding of the politicians and their countries.
Item Type: |
Article
|
Additional Information: |
Cite as: Kerrigan, P. and Pramaggiore, M., 2021. Homoheroic or homophobic? Leo Varadkar, LGBTQ politics and contemporary news narratives. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 38(2), pp.107-126.
Copyright: 18 months |
Keywords: |
Homophobia; homoheroic; news narratives; LGBTQ
politics; Leo Varadkar; |
Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Arts & Humanities > School of English, Media & Theatre Studies > Media Studies |
Item ID: |
16688 |
Identification Number: |
https://doi.org/10.1080/15295036.2021.1876898 |
Depositing User: |
Maria Pramaggiore
|
Date Deposited: |
10 Nov 2022 11:48 |
Journal or Publication Title: |
Critical Studies in Media Communication |
Publisher: |
Taylor & Francis online |
Refereed: |
Yes |
URI: |
|
Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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