Navigating Bisexual Identity in Baby Reindeer: A Queer Content and Narrative Analysis.

Salsabila Nur Hanita, Widya Nirmalawati

Abstract


Sexual identity is influenced by personal experiences, social norms, and cultural expectations. Although research on LGBTQ+ issues has increased in recent years, stories about bisexual men who have experienced trauma remain limited and underrepresented. This study explores how the Netflix series Baby Reindeer, based on the real-life story of Richard Gadd, presents the complex journey of discovering sexual identity through trauma and emotional struggle. Using qualitative content analysis and narrative analysis guided by queer theory—particularly the ideas of Michel Foucault and Judith Butler—this research focuses on three key episodes to examine how power, identity, and social pressure affect the main character, Donny. The findings reveal that Donny’s struggle illustrates how bisexual identity is shaped by shame, silence, and the need for acceptance. Baby Reindeer offers a meaningful portrayal of queer male experiences and serves as a powerful example of how media can challenge stereotypes and foster deeper understanding of sexual identity.


Keywords


Sexual Identity; Power; Bisexuality; Queer Theory; Media Representation

Full Text:

PDF

References


Ahmed, S. (2004). The Cultural Politics of Emotion. Edinburgh University Press.

Ahmed, S. (2006). Queer Phenomenology: Orientations, Objects, Others. Duke University Press.

Bailey, J. M., Vasey, P. L., Diamond, L. M., & Breedlove, S. M. (2016). Sexual Orientation, Controversy, and Science. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 17(2), 45–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100616637616

Bohan, J. S., & Russell, G. M. (1999). Conversations about Psychology and Sexual Orientation. New York University Press.

Brown, B. (2012). Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead. Gotham Books.

Butler, J. (1993). Bodies That Matter: On The Discursive Limits of “Sex”. Routledge.

Butler, J. (1999). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203902752

Butler, J. (2004). Undoing Gender. Routledge.

Cahill, S., & Tobias, S. (2006). Policy Issues Affecting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Families. University of Michigan Press.

Cass, V. C. (1996). Sexual Orientation Identity Formation: A Western Model. In R. P. Cabaj & T. S. Stein (Eds.), Textbook of Homosexuality and Mental Health (pp. 227–251). American Psychiatric Press. https://archive.org/details/textbookofhomose00caba/page/n7/mode/1up

Connell, R. W. (2005). Masculinities (2nd ed.). University of California Press.

Courtois, C. A. (2010). Healing the Incest Wound: Adult Survivors in Therapy. W. W. Norton & Company.

Couldry, N. (2000). The Place of Media Power: Pilgrims and Witnesses of the Media Age. Routledge.

Diamond, L. M. (2016). Sexual Fluidity in Male and Females. Current Sexual Health Reports, 8(4), 249-256.

Diamond, L. M., & Rosky, C. J. (2016). Scrutinizing Immutability: Research on Sexual Orientation and US Legal Advocacy for Sexual Minorities. The Journal of Sex Research, 53(4–5), 363–391. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2016.1139665

Easton, S. D., Saltzman, L. Y., & Willis, D. G. (2016). Would You Tell Under Circumstances Like That? Barriers to Disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse for Men. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 17(2), 132–143. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034223

Flanders, C. E., LeBreton, M. E., Robinson, M., Bian, J., & Caravaca Morera, J. A. (2016). Defining Bisexuality: Young Bisexual and Pansexual People’s Voices. Journal of Bisexuality, 17(1), 39–57. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299716.2016.1227016

Foucault, M. (1978). The History of Sexuality: Volume 1: An Introduction (R. Hurley, Trans.). Pantheon Books.

Frost, D. M., & Meyer, I. H. (2009). Internalized Homophobia and Relationship Quality Among Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexuals. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56(1), 97–109. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012844

Gill, R. (2007). Postfeminist Media Culture: Elements of a Sensibility. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 10(2), 147–166. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549407075898

Gillig, T. K., et al. (2018). More Than a Media Moment: The Influence of Televised Storylines on Viewers’ Attitudes Toward Transgender People and Policies. Sex Roles, 78(7), 515–527. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0816-1

Goffman, E. (1986). Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity (Original work published 1963). Simon & Schuster.

Gomillion, S. C., & Giuliano, T. A. (2011). The Influence of Media Role Models on Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Identity. Journal of Homosexuality, 58(3), 330–354. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2011.546729

Graber, J. A., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Galen, B. R. (1998). Betwixt and Between: Sexuality in the Context of Adolescent Transitions. In R. Jessor (Ed.), New Perspectives on Adolescent Risk Behavior (pp. 269–315). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511571138.010

Hall, M., & Hall, J. (2011). The Long-Term Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Counseling Implications. https://counselingoutfitters.com/vistas/vistas11/Article_19.pdf

Herek, G. M. (2007). Confronting Sexual Stigma and Prejudice: Theory and Practice. Journal of Social Issues, 63(4), 905–925. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2007.00544.x

Herek, G. M., Gillis, J. R., & Cogan, J. C. (2009). Internalized stigma among sexual minority adults: Insights from a social psychological perspective. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56(1), 32–43. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014672

Herman, J. L. (2015). Trauma And Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence—From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror (Rev. ed.). Basic Books.

Hyde, J. S., & DeLamater, J. D. (2017). Understanding Human Sexuality (13th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Jakupcak, M., Salters, K., Gratz, K. L., & Roemer, L. (2003). Masculinity and Emotionality: An Investigation of Men's Primary and Secondary Emotional Responding. Sex Roles, 49(3–4), 111–120. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024452728902

Javaid, A. (2015). The Dark Side of Men: The Nature of Masculinity and Its Uneasy Relationship with Male Rape. The Journal of Men’s Studies, 23(3), 271–292.

Javaid, A. (2018). Male Rape Myths: Understanding and Explaining Social Attitudes Surrounding Male Rape. Routledge.

Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques (2nd ed.). New Age International.

Krippendorff, K. (2018). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Mahalik, J. R., Burns, S. M., & Syzdek, M. (2007). Masculinity and Perceived Normative Health Behaviors as Predictors of Men's Health Behaviors. Social Science & Medicine, 64(11), 2201–2209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.02.035

McCormack, M. (2012). The Declining Significance of Homophobia: How Teenage Boys are Redefining Masculinity and Heterosexuality. Oxford University Press.

McInroy, L. B., & Craig, S. L. (2016). Perspectives of LGBTQ Emerging Adults on the Depiction and Impact of LGBTQ Media Representation. Journal of Youth Studies, 20(1), 32–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2016.1184243

McInroy, L. B., & Craig, S. L. (2015). Transgender Representation in Offline and Online Media: LGBTQ Youth Perspectives. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 25(5), 606–617. https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2014.995392

Meyer, I. H. (2003). Prejudice, Social Stress, and Mental Health in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Populations: Conceptual Issues and Research Evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129(5), 674–697. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.5.674

Mohr, J. J., & Fassinger, R. E. (2003). Self-Acceptance and Self-Disclosure of Sexual Orientation in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adults: An Attachment Perspective. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 50(4), 482–495. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.50.4.482

Morgan, E. M., Steiner, M. G., & Morgan Thompson, E. (2008). Processes of Sexual Orientation Questioning among Heterosexual Men. Men and Masculinities, 12(4), 425–443. https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X08322630

Polkinghorne, D. E. (1995). Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis. Qualitative Studies in Education, 8(1), 5–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/0951839950080103

Raun, T. (2018). Capitalizing Intimacy: New Subcultural Forms of Micro Celebrity Strategies and Affective Labour on Youtube. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 24(1), 99–113. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856517736983

Riessman, C. K. (2008). Narrative methods for the human sciences. SAGE Publications.

Rodríguez, E. M., Lytle, M. C., & Vaughan, M. D. (2013). Exploring the Intersectionality of Bisexual, Religious/Spiritual, and Political Identities from a Feminist Perspective. Journal of Bisexuality, 13(3), 285–309. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299716.2013.813001

Savin Williams, R. C. (2005). The New Gay Teenager (Vol. 3, Adolescent Lives). Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674043138

Savin-Williams, R. C. (2017). Mostly Straight: Sexual Fluidity Among Men. Harvard University Press.

Sawansukha, P., & Tushir, B. (2023). Role of Media in Breaking Stereotypes Related to The LGBTQIA+ Community among Young Adults. IAPS Journal of Practice in Mental Health, 1(1), 34–41.

Sedgwick, E. K. (1990). Epistemology of the Closet. University of California Press.

Seidman, S. (2015). The Social Construction of Sexuality (3rd ed.). W. W. Norton & Company.

Suen, L. W., Lunn, M. R., Katuzny, K., Finn, S., Duncan, L., Sevelius, J., Flentje, A., Capriotti, M. R., Lubensky, M. E., Hunt, C., Weber, S., Bibbins Domingo, K., & Obedin Maliver, J. (2020). What Sexual and Gender Minority People Want Researchers to Know About Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Questions: A Qualitative Study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(7), 2301–2318. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-020-01810-y

Turchik, J. A., & Edwards, K. M. (2012). Sexual Victimization among Male College Students: Assault Severity, Sexual Functioning, and Health Risk Behaviors. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 13(3), 243–255. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024605

van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Viking.

Warner, M. (1991). Introduction: Fear of a Queer Planet. Social Text, 29, 3–17. http://www.jstor.org/stable/466295

Weeks, J. (2009). Sexuality (3rd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203877418

Zimman, L. (2019). Pronouns and Possibilities: Transgender Language Activism and Reform. In L. M. West & C. Z. Nikitina (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Language and Identity (pp. 179–194). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315115702-23




DOI: https://doi.org/10.31004/jele.v10i4.1042

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2025 Salsabila Nur Hanita, Widya Nirmalawati

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.