Same-sex marriage and LGBTIQ rights

This report analyzes the impact of online and print media on same-sex marriage and LGBTIQ rights in Australia. It discusses the credibility of media outlets and their contribution to the popularity of the topic. The report utilizes previous studies to link the findings and results obtained over the impacts of the media outlets on the support of the topic. The research question is whether the credibility of online media is sufficient to champion for the rights of the gay community or the print media still holds an upper hand on credibility of the media outlets. The report highlights the limitations of the previous studies.

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Same-sex marriage and LGBTIQ rights
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Same-sex marriage and LGBTIQ rights
Introduction
The analyses of same-sex marriage as published in different media outlets has let to
varied views and opinions across the globe. However, this topic has been claimed to gain
popularity due to the influence of the findings and different related stories posted on the media
outlets. The ease of access to this information has been the key contributor to the emerging
same-sex marriages and the campaigns for the LGBTIQ rights in Australia (Perales, Francisco,
and Gary 2018). In this report, the two media outlets have been chosen for the study are online
and print media due to their extremes in the usage by the people. Furthermore, studies indicate
that the online media are turning out to be dominant over the other outlets while the print media
is the oldest media especially the newspaper although they still attract many readers. The report
will focus on the ways that both the media has contributed towards making the same-sex and
LGBT rights attract the attention of the readers. The report will also highlight how the media has
contributed to the popularity of the topic in Australia.
Background information
In Australia, the gay marriage was brought to parliament in 2004 by the Howard
Government. Since then, there were continual debates and discussions over the subject until in
2013 where the same-sex law was passed by the Capital Territory of Australia but was then
struck down by the Australian High Court basing on the inconsistency with the federal law.
Additionally, the decisions by the courts blocked the possibilities that would lead to the
challenging of the federal laws over the same-sex marriages. Later on 7th December 2017 the

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parliament again passed the law legalizing the same-sex marriages which received the royal
assent on the following day thus making it the law until today.
Reports further claim that between September 2004 when the bill was first brought to
parliament and October 2017, there were reported 22 unsuccessful attempts by the federal
parliament to legalize and recognize the same-sex marriage under the Australian federal laws
(Perales, Francisco, and Gary, 2018). The former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during his
time in office supported the motion when the parliament legalized the same-sex marriages.
Moreover, the Turnbull Government went into the federal elections of 2016 with the policy to
legalize the same-sex marriages among his campaign strategies who was then narrowly re-
elected. However, the issue was a non-constitutional clause and therefore, was rejected by the
Australian Senate in November 2016.
However, between 12th September and 7th November, the Australian Government
conducted a voluntary survey that was postal across the country to collect the views of the
citizens over the legalization of the same-sex marriage. The survey despite being contrary to the
ethics that required the approval of the parliament was conducted against the parliament policies
even though being legally challenged in court by some individuals. The government further
pledged with the high court to uphold and facilitate the legalization of the topic should the
majority of the Australians vote “Yes” in the postal survey. The results of the survey were
announced on 15th November in 2017 whereby 61.6% of the participants had voted for the gay
couples. This led to the legalization and has hit the online and print media among others with
different critics until today.

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Research outline
The research utilizes the previous studies conducted on the gay couples and the rights of
the LGBTIQ community. From the literature reviews, the research will link the findings and the
results obtained over the impacts of the media outlets on the support of the topic. Additionally,
the report will outline the impacts of the print and online and their credibility concerning the
topic in Australia. Concisely, the research report will discuss the research question in the
discussion section and the limitations of the previous studies.
The research question
Is the credibility of online media sufficient to champion for the rights of the gay
community or the print media still holds an upper hand on credibility of the media outlets?
Critical literature review
There have been studies conducted that are related to this topic of research by many
scholars across the world. However, the scholars have elaborated how the media especially the
online and print media have been the key players in attracting the reader’s attention over the
subject. Concisely, while some scholars have critically pointed out and diminished the same-sex
marriages, some have sided with the topic claiming that in democratic states, for instance in the
United States, everyone should have their own will and the ability to exercise the freedom of
expression (Schulman, 2018). Additionally, some churches in the US have approved the same-
sex marriages and advocated for the rights of the LGBT community after the legalization of the
same-sex marriages by the US government. This was after the US Supreme Court struck down
all the bans on the same-sex marriages on 26th June 2015 in all the 50 states (Lannutti, 2018,
pp.85-100). After this step was taken by the American governance, the media outlets all over the

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world were hit by the headlines that promoted the practice and the licensing of the same-sex
marriages, which caught the attention of many people from all lifestyles. In this section, the
literature reviews will focus mainly on the print and online media outlets.
The print media
Different scholars have shed a lot of light on same-sex marriages and the LGBTQ rights
in the different media outlets since the topic first hit the headlines. (Gibson, 2018) laments that
over the years, from its mass acceptance and its violent rejection and oppositions, the print media
had encountered a reputable influence. (Vecho et al., 2018, pp.1-14) ascertained from his
findings that the lesbians and the gays were represented in a stereotype and prejudiced ways in
the 20th century. He further claims that the readers’ views have changed over time and are quite
different and more welcoming in the 21st century. The scholars further attribute this to the
rampant and consistency in the publications of the gays and the lesbians’ stories in different print
media outlets. It is also revealed that the print media had a great influence on the minds and the
reader’s views over the representation of the LGBTG community that has attracted many
comments in support of the protection of the rights of the gay and the lesbians through the print
media.
(Strand, 2018, pp.125-127) in his findings on the analysis of the print media regarding the
rights of the LGBTQ community established that the big newspapers such as the Chicago
Tribune and The New York Times despite showing the support for the same-sex and the rights of
the LGBTQ community, they had varied ideological reasons. While the Chicago Tribune
attributed its support on the principles of that govern the human morality, the New York Times
laid its support on the grounds of human equality in the United States. Concisely, (Lasorsa,
Dominic, and Jiyoun, 2018, p.73) further studied the twist and the change in the attitudes

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portrayed in the leading print outlets such as The New York Times and The New York Post
established that morality framing was dominant in the past especially from 1999-2004, while the
equality framing took rise in the period from 2010 to 2015.
The online media
(Garretson, 2018) ascertain that the advent and the dominance of the online platform
among all the other media outlets achieved the peak support of the same-sex marriages and the
campaign for the rights of the gay and lesbians’ community. Furthermore, (Gillig et al., 2018,
pp.515-527) analyzed the impacts on of the online media concerning the shaping of the people’s
minds on same-sex marriage. While the American public was divided according to the opinion
polls, the media users across the country demonstrated unanimous support with less concern on
the issue. The reports of the analysis indicated that most online internet users have been noted to
lament that the issue is acceptable as long as the participants have their own agreement without
the interference of the public or other public operations.
In light with the subject, (Eisenberg et al., 2018, pp.969-989) in their qualitative and
quantitative study on the influence of the media, set the interview of the former US president,
Barrack Obama on the gay rights and same-sex marriages on online media as a dimension upon
which the peoples responses were analyzed. This study was conducted right after the former
president had welcomed the decision of the US Supreme Court to legalize the same-sex
marriages and gay rights. Surprisingly, the results from the findings of the analysis of the
responses indicated that 80% of the users on Twitter and on blogs were in support of the matter.
This was a clear indication of the influence of the online media for dragging more citizens into
the support of the idea and minimizing the power of the resistance group.

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Another study carried out by (Chang, 2018, pp.57-68) focused on the campaigns
launched by the online platforms such as Facebook and Twitter found out these campaigns had
the massive influence on garnering of the support for the gay rights and the same-sex marriages.
The online media being extremely used by the youth in the 20s and the 30s gives the subject
matter an added advantage as the demographics of many nations indicate that this group is the
most reported on the usage of the internet and surfing. Additionally, reports indicate that the
youths in the 20s and 30s are the most active groups in invoking the changes and world trends
thus granting more support to the same-sex marriages and the gay rights (Sunstein, 2018). The
findings of (Forest, 2018, pp.127-148) attribute that the support of the same-sex marriage lost to
the resistant group with 49% votes in the favour. The low tallying was attributed to the under-
representation of the online users of 55 years of age and above who are reported to form only
15% of the tweets sent for the votes.
Limitations of the studies
From the literature reviews of the researches carried out on the impact of the online and
print media over the support of the gay marriages and the LGBTG community, it is evident that
the studies are limited. This is because the credibility that is sought on the online platforms is
said to be the least and therefore cannot be conclusively used in the shaping of the viewer’s
opinion (Lebert, 2018, pp.19-36). The online platform is cheap and easily accessible thus could
lead to biases towards the opinions on gay marriages. These fast-circulated pieces of information
could wrongly give a negative view of the topic of study. According to (Dzurick, 2018, p.185)
the major shortcoming of the representation of gay rights is that the online media brings out the
ambiguous view of the issue. This is due to the differences in results conducted by the
newspapers and those from the research conducted through online media. Furthermore, there has

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been a lot of contradiction in news items posted on the online media and the print media
regarding the same subject.
(Clark et al., 2018, pp.93-126) mentioned that the online media have been reported to
provide platforms over which the proponents of the same-sex marriage and the gay rights could
air their opinions and ideas contrary to the print media which has no such platforms. He further
stipulates that before the storming of the online media, the gay and lesbian community faced a
great trouble due to rampant misinterpretations of their concerns and voices in the newspapers.
However, with the emergence of the online media, the younger and elderly generations have
been privileged with a chance to participate in debates over the issue and form a public opinion
that has revolutionized the support for the gay rights. This has shifted the power to the common
masses to focus on gay rights thus promoting same-sex relationships among the youth.
Discussion
From the literature reviews of the previous studies, it can be deduced that the online
media is an easy way to put forward the voices and the better campaign platform for advocating
for the gay rights in the society. However, the print media, although less popular, have been
applauded for being the better choice when it comes to credibility (Campbell, Richard, and
Christopher, 2018). The online media having been reported to have a greater number of the
readers and the views are perceived to be the fastest in terms of relaying information concerning
the support of the same-sex marriages and the gay rights than the print media. Furthermore, the
antecedent studies have also proven that the print media is mostly based on extensive and
analytic research before the publishing the related articles and other pieces of information
regarding the gay views. This is contrary to the online media such as on Facebook and Twitter
where everyone posts their opinions without conducting any form of research on the subject.

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Such factors have given an upper hand to the print media due to the edibility and reliability of the
information provided (Tandoc Jr, 2018, pp.1-13). Additionally, these factors have made it
impossible for the online media to replace the print media entirely despite its dominance among
the readers.
In Australia, it has been reported in the print media through the surveys conducted that
there has been an increase in the rate of support for same-sex couples having the same rights as
the different-sex couple. The reports published by the HILDA survey are shown below.

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The HILDA survey also published the reports on the support for equal rights for gay
couples basing on the religious grounds of the Australian people. These results were tabulated in
form of a graph as shown below.
The figures from the HILDA survey reveal an overwhelming tide of support towards the
rights of the same-sex couples within the society of Australia. The reports indicate that certain
groups of the Australian population are clearly lagging in offering their support to the gay
couples. These groups were identified as the older, male, religious, and those from the non-
English speaking backgrounds (Bernstein, Mary, and Brenna, 2018, pp.30-52.). However, the
same traits can also be predicted to be undecided on the issue implying that the campaigners
should put in more efforts in forwarding their arguments that appeal to these groups. With the
favourable outcome from the results of the survey, there is still the moral scrutiny subjected to
the LGBT community that is likely to have long-term negative consequences.

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Conclusion
The media at large is portrayed to have a big influence on sensitizing the support of gay
marriages and the LGBT rights. Both the print and the online media are very vital media outlets
that are claimed to have promoted the campaign for the gay rights in Australia. However, the
print media is depicted to provide more scientific views and opinions of the overall population.
This has made it very effective for the readers who are interested in facts and scientific findings
of the opinions of the Australian population. On the other hand, (Jenkins, Henry, and Sam, 2018)
affirms that the online media is critical in the fast circulation of information although the online
platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are centred to individual opinions concerning the
support of the gay rights and the same-sex couples. However, the combination of the two media
outlets gives a broader view thus are projected to have a greater impact to the support of the gay
rights to the people. Therefore, the online media is not credible enough to put forward the
grievances of the gay community thus making the print media continuously viable when it comes
to credibility.

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References
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