Entry #1: The Media’s Approach towards the LGBT Community

Screenshot of http://www.google.ca homepage on February 6th, 2014

MDSB62 Media Portfolio Entry #1—Graphic and typography & Journalism
By: Annie Duong

The Media’s Approach towards the LGBT Community

          Having the 2014 Olympics held in Sochi this year has created great uproars and complaints from around the world and the media about Russia's anti-gay laws. Some Olympic teams have gone through the extent to dedicate their 2014 Olympic uniforms to supporting gay rights and protest against Russia's anti-gay laws. For instance, the Germany's Olympic team will be wearing colourful uniforms as their way of making a political statement about anti-gay laws in Russia. The trend of this incident has reached media and the online community in a profound way. Users online are constantly sharing news about Germany's flashy outfits and on-going debates regarding this incident on Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, and other social media blogs and websites.

          With the Olympic Games and the protest against Russia's anti-gay laws going on, Google stepped up their game to show their support. On February 6th, 2014, google.ca changed their homepage logo to a colourful theme and images of the Olympic games with the following statement written on the bottom of the page, "'The practice of sport is a human right. every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.'--Olympic Charter", which signifies Google's attempt to eliminate discrimination against the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community. To catch the viewer's attention, Google has made use of colours and visual representations.

          Colours can have different meanings when they are placed in certain contexts. In this case, Google have used colours to portray the idea of supporting the LGBT community because colours of the rainbow are commonly known as symbols of gay pride. Campbell et al. pointed out that, "[c]olour choices have great impact on image. We consciously respond to color everyday, and we are constantly making aesthetic choices related to color" (55). Google has appropriated Campbell et al.'s point by corresponding colours of the gay pride to take a stand for gay rights.

          Google's pro-gay doodle has demonstrated a visually effective image. Google is commonly known to change its homepage doodle to match special occasions such as the celebration of holidays, birthdays, and current events. Google has always been up to date with its doodles. The images of six Olympic sports show Google's excitement and celebration of the 2014 Olympics at Sochi. The composition of the doodle is also very appealing because the images of the Olympic games are placed right in the centre of each colour block, which conveys the message that there should be no discrimination in the Olympic spirit. Berger argued that "when an image is presented as a work of art, the way people look at it is affected by a whole series of learnt assumptions about art. Assumptions concerning: beauty, truth, genius, civilization, form, status, taste, etc." (11). The way Google's pro-gay doodle is presented is a form of art that establishes the beauty of the Olympic games--a place where nations gather around each other to play and compete in sports.

Works Cited

Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin Books, 1972.

Campbell et al. Media in Society. New York: St. Martin’s, 2014.


Submitted: 12 February 2014