University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations August 2019 Bi the Wayside?: Shifts in Bisexual Representations in Teen Television Analise Elle Pruni University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the Journalism Studies Commons, and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons Recommended Citation Pruni, Analise Elle, "Bi the Wayside?: Shifts in Bisexual Representations in Teen Television" (2019). Theses and Dissertations. 2582. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/2582 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. BI THE WAYSIDE?: SHIFTS IN BISEXUAL REPRESENTATIONS IN TEEN TELEVISION by Analise Pruni A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Media Studies at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee August 2019 ABSTRACT BI THE WAYSIDE?: SHIFTS IN BISEXUAL REPRESENTATIONS IN TEEN TELEVISION by Analise Pruni The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2019 Under the Supervision of Professor Elana Levine Television can be a reflection of the values we have as a society and its representations can have an impact on the way people, especially youth, shape their identities. This examination of teen-oriented television shows on the CW network looks at bisexual and queer representations and compares them with previous representations. I ground this essay in the youth-oriented television context, the progression of queer television representations, and ideas about media representation in a post-gay era.