compulsory heterosexuality

Fresh Prince is a very heterosexual show in almost every sense from the characters to the shows themes. It appears as natural and inevitable as the definition illustrates. The times the show might mention homosexuality is in the form of a joke. One instance is when Will dresses Carlton up in womens clothing and has him prance around the clothes like a feminine female model. It is supposed to imitate homosexual characteristics but it is dressed up obviously as a joke to be funny instead of ever being a serious issue. There are not many mentions of homosexuality otherwise in the show because it would not fit within the shows identity.

Vinh Nguyen

Compulsory Heterosexuality

We see a leaning towards heterosexuality in the Fresh Prince from its inception. Anything that might stray from that path would cause for confusion and would take away from the strong importance made about African American presence and issues at hand within that community. Perhaps adding to the complexity would be detrimental and would revert the audiences attention, so perhaps, even if the characters asked for more diverse representation, it would be denied because of the intended purpose of the show or the intended identity of the show.

 ASLI OMUR

Heteronormativity

Compulsory heterosexuality is an important part of Fresh Prince. All the characters portrayed are heterosexual, and there is no discussion of other options/lifestyles. When the show first started, the characters were are rather young. Even at that time, teenage Will and teenage Hilary are completely crazy about the opposite sex. Hilary constantly has dates, and Will varies between having girls and trying to get them. Carlton – roughly the same age as Will, struggles with getting the attention of women. He is constantly teased by his siblings, and this perceived inadequacy is intertwined in his character. Carlton’s inability to get women puts him in a more vulnerable position, and he is consistently being teased or overtly questioned about his sexuality. Interestingly enough, Geoffrey, the butler (who is rarely seen with a woman and cooks, cleans, and even wears an apron) is not the subject of any sexual humor. Additionally, Ashley (the youngest) comes of age on the show, and as part of the “inevitable and natural cycle” she is attracted to boys. There is never any question she will be just like the rest of her heterosexual family.

Laura Oxford

Straightness in Bel-Air

Heterosexuality is normative in the Fresh-Prince of Bel-Air. Though homosexuals make up only a small part of the American population, that percentage is not even reflected in the show. Everyone is heterosexual, such as Will, the most prominent character. He is also the most misogynistic and “heterosexual” of the characters on the show. His preoccupation in flirting with attractive women is an example of “heteronormativity,” and appears as natural and normal. Hillary is obsessed with her appearance and status – likely to impress the right man when he comes along. The adults, Phil and Vivian, are married – an institution traditionally reserved for heterosexuals. Finally, Carlton is often ostracized for somewhat effeminate acts. His “Carlton Dance” evokes laughter from the audience for this very reason, and could be the object of homophobia.

Andrew Mundt

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Compulsory Heterosexuality

In the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air all the characters are very heterosexual. The main characters consists of Phil and Vivian Banks who are married, their 3 heterosexual children, and Will who is a stereotypical man, chasing girls in almost every episode. Phil and Vivian are obviously heterosexual in their “one man, one woman” marriage. Their conversations consists of Phils job, the kids, and their relationship. I have seen some episodes where Vivian is enticing Phil to bed which is very heterosexual but also a role reversal because the wife is asking for sex, not the husband. The kids all talk about the opposite sex and how to attract them which reinforces the heterosexuality of the show. I even feel that Will sometimes talks excessively about the opposite sex, making it sound like thats his only goal for the day. I’ve seen one episode where he married a girl who was his girlfriend at the time who didn’t believe in sex before marriage for just a couple of minutes so he could try to have sex with her (which he never did). I feel like this show is overly herteosexually represented that I don’t think any one would ever think of the show being homosexual in anyway, except as some of us already pointed out, Carlton and his silly dance. But even then, the show’s heterosexuality is pretty solid. Making even the thought of homosexuality absent in the minds of audiences. But I guess since this is a show about a minority group, they don’t want to make the show “homosexual” or “abnormal” since there are not that many representations of African Americans on television.

Cody Nunn

Compulsory Heterosexuality

In The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, all of the characters are heterosexual. They are part of a large family comprised of a mother and father, several children, and their nephew.  They all live together in the upscale LA neighborhood of Bel Air. There is a lot of heterosexuality in this text because there is always a relationship being discussed. Sometimes the relationship revolves around Phil and Vivian’s marriage. Other times, the topic of discussion is which girl Will is dating or which guy Hillary is trying to impress. Whomever the story is about, it is always a heterosexual story line. The only discrepancy to this would be that Carlton often displays feminine characteristics. He does his “Carlton Dance” and gets flustered very easily. He also talks about feminine subjects such as clothing and is very concerned with how he looks and feels. Though Carlton has these characteristics, he is a heterosexual character on the show. The writers of the show may only include heterosexual characters because they are trying to stay with a family that would be considered “normal” by society’s standards. As it is, the show is about an upper- middle class African America Family which is not a typical formula for television. There is a lack of homosexuality which leads the audience to normalize heterosexuality for family television.

Shelly Oberstein

LGBT

There is not LGBT on the Fresh Prince but Carlton Banks often displays homosexual tendencies. Therefore I will compare Will and Carlton

	LGBT character	Straight Character
Physical appearance (clothing, makeup, hair, general appearance, etc):	Short, clean cut, well dressed in expensive clothing. Tight well fitted jeans and shirts	Tall, skinny, flat top haircut, colorful and baggy clothes, urban look.
Occupations:	College student	college student
Body Movement:	good posture, firm and powerful gestures, serious…	humerous and loud movements, often imitates other people, does a very good job in imitating women but only when making fun of them
General topics the character discusses (work, family, sports, music, relationships, sex, school, etc.)	Carlton is an upper class college students, tries to please his father, wants to partake in corporate America, considered a dork, bad luck with the ladies, very good student,	Will is the cool rebellious kid on the block, loves to play basketball, athletic, good dancer, all the girls like him, not the best student,
Level of intelligence (low, average, high).  How do you know this?	high level of academic intelligence, his grades, awards, and speech allow me to conclude his level of intelligence	Hight level of stret intelligence, average level of academic intelligence. Will is caught up in being the cool guy that he pushes academics aside
What activities are they seen doing?	reading, play rich man sports(polo), actively  partaking in high levels of academics	playing basketball, talking to girls, listening to hip hop, going on dates
General personality traits	uptight, spoiled, privileged, not very humorous, monotone, sensitive, emotional	funny, loud, interactive, rebellious, tough, often uses street lingo

Eric Murillo

Sexuality in Fresh prince

Show:_ Fresh Prince of Bel Air_________

1^st Straight character’s name:__Will Smith

Straight character’s name:_____Hillary_Banks_______

 When analysing Will and Hillary, they seem to act out the typical male and female stereotypes. Especially Hillary who seem to only go on dates and is the least intelligent out of the group.    

	First straight character	Straight Character
Physical appearance (clothing, makeup, hair, general appearance, etc):	Will is dressed as a typical teenage black man, with colorful t-shirts and slightly baggy pants, and other fashionable items of clothing. His hair is short almost military cut, and his body is built. No womanly features about him what so ever.	Hillary is dressed in fashionable young women clothing with her hair and makeup always done. Almost every time she is on screen she is all done up and womanly. No manly features about her what so ever.
Occupations:	Student.	Student/tv show host
Body Movement:	Crisp straight forward movements when in serious situations. And goofy movements when in a humorous situation. But never any wiggling of the hips or curvy movements unless used to make fun of girls.	Hip moving when walking, curvy hand movements, rolling of the eyes, strut-like walk. Movements very femimine.
General topics the character discusses (work, family, sports, music, relationships, sex, school, etc.)	GIRLS! And dating them. Making fun of Carlton, hitting on girls, and saying inspirational things to younger cousin Ashley.	BOYS and dating them. And money, make up, clothes, herself, and what she is going to do that day.
Level of intelligence (low, average, high).  How do you know this?	Somewhat smart. Will gets into trouble a lot of the times by making stupid mistakes, but he usually comes on top in the end.	Not very smart. She is always making ridiculous remarks. Mostly about herself.
What activities are they seen doing?	Dating girls, cat calling, playing basketball, driving around “picking up honeys”	Going on dates, shopping, talking grooming herself.
General personality traits	Outgoing, loud, helpful, funny but inspirational. Cares about himself at first, them thinks  about others.	Outgoing, loud, doesn’t think before she speaks, only cares about herself all the time.

Cody Nunn

Will’s Heterosexuality

Beginning in the show’s introduction, Will is seen challenging authority with spray-painting graffiti. He is also playing basketball on the playground, and is involved in fights, which are both stereotypically masculine (heterosexual) events. In the episode, he openly talks about missing and loving his current girlfriend, to the point of alienating his family. During this scene, he is wearing a shirt with a picture of an attractive female on it, further describing his heterosexuality. Will tends to wear baggy clothes, and his clothing choices seem to reflect his laid-back and care-free demeanor. This could be an indicator of his heterosexuality, as heterosexual males, stereotypically, do not worry as much about what others think of their clothing choices and appearance. In contrast, representations of homosexual men often indicate their preoccupation with their physical appearance.

Performances of Sexuality

There are no outwardly gay characters in the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, but Carlton tends to show different characteristics that are often associated with gay men in television.

	LGBT character, Carlton	Straight Character, Will
Physical appearance (clothing, makeup, hair, general appearance, etc):	Very preppy clothing, shirts and ties, well groomed, always has hair done, cleanly shaven, always looks well kempt	Baggy clothing, street clothes and shoes, sports clothing, is not always well groomed and clean shaven
Occupations:	student	student
Body Movement:	Very postured and stiff, distinct movements, Carlton dance with is very flamboyant	Loose, normal walk, a little of a strut in his stride, maybe a little swagger, typically describe as ethnic walking, masculine body movements
General topics the character discusses (work, family, sports, music, relationships, sex, school, etc.)	School, money, clothes, children, his social problems, family	School, friends, sports, girls, makes it obvious that he and Carlton are very different
Level of intelligence (low, average, high).  How do you know this?	High level of intelligence, acts very studious, likes his books	Will is much more street smart
What activities are they seen doing?	studying	Playing sports, hanging out with friends
General personality traits	Morals, a little selfish, family-oriented, sometimes goofy	Relaxed, easy going, fun

Shelly Oberstein