Is Ellen DeGeneres a “DeGenerate?”: How TV’s First Out Lesbian Connects to Public Support for Same-Sex Marriage

Abstract

This study examines media treatment of Ellen DeGeneres over a 26-year period, focusing on how she served as a surrogate for the same-sex marriage debate during that time. The study suggests that coverage of DeGeneres followed a similar path to that of a protest group, challenging the status quo, and therefore, suffering critical and negative treatment from media. Findings indicated that even after common gender-related variables such as female sources and mentions were controlled, the major contributing variable was the level of public support for same-sex marriage. Implications for both protest-related literature and scholarship on public opinion were discussed.