Media Vs. Me: A Gay Teen’s Journey To Self-Actualization

|

May 8th, 2019

“When I came out, I certainly didn’t fit into the box TV offered me,” writes VOX ATL staff writer Jabari Courtney. “Coming out felt like I had to take bits and pieces of my identity and throw away the parts that didn’t fit in the gay black teen box.”

Courtesy of VOX ATL

By Jabari Courtney 

The first gay character I remember seeing on TV was Brian’s cousin, Jasper, on the television show “Family Guy.”

Jasper was a flamboyant and sassy dog who always wore short shorts and constantly went out clubbing. I was too young to make sense of the jokes that “Family Guy” made, but I eventually realized that Jasper, like many other characters on the show, was a stereotype of gay people.

Top Stories