“Queerying” Little Britain: The Portrayal of Non-normative Sexual and Gender Identities
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2020-11-25
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en
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Little Britain has become one of Britain’s most successful sketch comedy series. Each episode features a myriad of returning characters and topics. Some characters, such as the ultimate television chav Vicky Pollard, have become loved and ingrained in British society. Others, however, have sparked discussions on the use of racist and sexist jokes for comedic purposes. This thesis aims to analyse how non-normative sexual and gender identities are represented in Little Britain. The focus will be on the characters of Daffyd, a flamboyant homosexual man played by Matt Lucas, and Emily, a transgender woman played by David Walliams. The analysis of stereotypes through a queer reading will be applied to examine the appearance and behaviour of Daffyd and Emily. This analysis will show that both Daffyd and Emily’s representations are problematic, but that Daffyd’s sketches seem to create a little sympathy towards queer sexualities in Britain, while Emily’s depiction is hardly queer-friendly.
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