The Hegemonic Nuclear Family: The Interaction Between the Roles of the Nuclear Family Construct and Its Queer Members

Abstract

In the 1980s President Ronald Reagan brought renewed focus to the family through a variety of messages focusing on it as a cornerstone of United States society. The family in this definition is the nuclear family, comprised of monogamous heterosexual relationships, and exclusionary to any who do not fit its definitions. At the same time, LGBTQ+ communities were gaining increased visibility in popular media, as both Hollywood-produced and made-for-television films began to provide images of queer individuals who were not merely stereotypes to be condemned or laughed at, but were characters. However, these images were produced through a heterosexual lens that overtly subordinates queerness and queer individuals to the nuclear family construct, resulting in caveats to their queerness that necessitated the comfort of straight individuals over the legitimacy of queer ones, all while ensuring the survival of the construct itself. Using literature on masculinity constructs and the nuclear family, I examine how the nuclear family construct contains roles that are expected of each family member, and how these roles determine what is and is not acceptable for members of the nuclear family construct I employ textual analysis to understand the meaning of each media object. This thesis argues that the heteronormative nuclear family construct is positioned as the absolute family construct by Hollywood films and similar made-for-television programs, resulting in the marginalization of groups and individuals that are perceived to threaten it. This imposition of heterosexual constructs excludes queer individuals and communities even in narratives that are intended to promote their inclusion. Furthermore, this thesis examines emergent queer family structures presented in Making Love and And Everything Is Going Fine, in contrast to their absence in An Early Frost, Consenting Adult, Doing Time on Maple Drive, and Cruising, and how these family structures are positioned in contrast to representations of the nuclear family construct.