The new masculinity in gay characters of Spanish fiction series: from 'Cuéntame' to 'Sexo en Chueca'

Abstract

The construction of masculinity in the characters of Spanish fiction series presents an overview of conti­nuous change. This allows to check if the patterns respond to the evolution of society itself, if it is trying to im­plement the model of the considered new man or if, on the contrary, the masculinity remains stuck in the ro­les of the traditional patriarchal structure. This situation affects especially the homosexual characters that have gradually incorporated into the audiovisual contents, especially on television. They have experienced a significant evolution in recent years to standardize its presence and escape of stereotypes. With the objective to know if the male characters of this sexual orientation that appear in the series of national fiction represent the concept of the new masculinity, this article analyzes the gay ficcion characters from different areas and ages who appear in series as Cuéntame, Aida, Aquí no hay quien viva, Física y química, 90-60-90, Vida loca, y Sexo en Chueca, the first Spanish television series where most of the characters are homosexuals. So, this has taken as reference the construction of characters and the influence of American series such as Queer as Folk or How I met your mother. The methodology utilized responds to the analysis template developed by the research group on Analysis of Media, Images and Audiovisual Stories (ADMIRA) of the Universidad de Sevilla to study the characters as a person and role according to the approaches of Francesco Casetti and Federico Di Chio. From these considerations, this work reflects about the changes experienced by the cons­truction of homosexual male characters in Spanish serial fiction for the construction of the new masculinity.