From TV to Instagram, queer media has shifted Gen Z’s social psyche
BY SCARLETT COUGHLAN, IMAGE BY PRIDE COLLECTION
In 1997, Ellen – Ellen DeGeners’s character in her eponymous sitcom – uttered the words, “I’m gay”. Though just two syllables, those words became the most explicit declaration of queerness in mainstream TV, widening possibilities for new representation in the media. That same year, the generation colloquially described as Gen Z began to be born. While these turn-of-the-millenium babies played with Bratz Dolls and Tamagotchis, somewhere in the background, shows like The L Word and Buffy The Vampire Slayer began to lay the foundations for the Orange Is The New Black-tinged mediascape that would begin to define Gen Z’s perspective on queerness. These were the humble beginnings of the most bisexual generation yet.
As Generation Z grew into teenagers, the emergence of social platforms like Instagram and Twitter offered a new form of media that permitted the decentralised sharing of narratives in an unprecedented way. Amid the endless Pepe the Frog and Doge memes that characterised early social media, young people forged communities, meanwhile an increasingly diverse population of public figures and artists used the platforms to promote burgeoning queer narratives in music, film and television. Amongst these were cultural icons like Lady Gaga – who came out as bisexual in 2010 – as well as figures who Gen Z had known since their childhoods, such as Disney Channel stars Miley Cyrus and Raven-Symoné.
With this new access to queer representation, it is unsurprising that more Gen Zers than any other generation identify as LGBTQIA. According to the Ipsos Pride Survey 2024, 17 percent of Gen Z identify as LGBTQIA compared with 11 percent of Millennials, six percent of Generation X and a mere five percent of Baby Boomers. What is more, a US-based study found that bisexuality was by far the most common queer identity, pertaining to 15% of Gen Zers as opposed to those who identify as queer of lesbian (five percent) or something else (eight percent).
Relationship expert and Women’s Health columnist, Dr Tara Suwinyattichaiporn (who is also ranked as the number-one sex educator on TikTok) confirms that this surge in bisexuality amongst Gen Z corresponds with the shift in media during their developing years. Asked why there seem to be so many bisexual members of Gen Z, Dr Suwinyattichaiporn responds: “I believe it’s because Gen Z grew up with so much more information about various sexual orientations on social media as well as normalisation of bisexuals as portrayed in mass media, including movies and TV shows.”
She continues: “Also, there has been a higher overall acceptance towards bisexuals in modern society. All of these combined help Gen Zs feel more comfortable to identify with and come out as bi.”
Here, Dr Suwinyattichaiporn makes a good point. Feeling liberated in one’s queerness within the two-dimenal confines of a computer screen is one thing. Being able to act on it in public is another. Throughout history, sexual behaviours have aligned with prevailing socio-political attitudes. It is understandable, therefore, that the “bisexual generation” came of age amid a backdrop of gay marriage being legalised – which, in the UK, occurred in 2013 – as well as a shift between the majority of British people identifying as Christian in 2010 to non-religious in 2016. It is undeniable, then, that the perceived freedom offered by social media holds little ground without actual freedom in the real world. And, as Gen Z’s queer generation becomes the nation’s leaders and parents, this freedom will, with any luck, not only persist, but evolve.
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