That's Outrageous: Examining Fox News Coverage of LGBTQ+ People
Conference Year
2023
Abstract
My research analyzed 20 years of Fox News transcripts to investigate how and when the network uses outrage language when discussing LGBTQ+ people. This resulted in three key findings. One, outrage language is present in only a small proportion of Fox News' LGBTQ+ coverage. Second, outrage language comes in waves; to start, outrage was primarily directed at LGB people but more recently, outrage has been aimed mostly at transgender people. Third, outrage language is paired with other themes, including the sexualization of LGBTQ+ identities, the portrayal of straight and cis people as victims, and the positioning of children as victims.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Ellen Andersen
Status
Undergraduate
Student College
College of Arts and Sciences
Second Student College
Patrick Leahy Honors College
Program/Major
Political Science
Primary Research Category
Social Science
That's Outrageous: Examining Fox News Coverage of LGBTQ+ People
My research analyzed 20 years of Fox News transcripts to investigate how and when the network uses outrage language when discussing LGBTQ+ people. This resulted in three key findings. One, outrage language is present in only a small proportion of Fox News' LGBTQ+ coverage. Second, outrage language comes in waves; to start, outrage was primarily directed at LGB people but more recently, outrage has been aimed mostly at transgender people. Third, outrage language is paired with other themes, including the sexualization of LGBTQ+ identities, the portrayal of straight and cis people as victims, and the positioning of children as victims.