166 | nº 39, pp. 165-182 |July-December of 2024“Isn’t that what you want, to be accepted?”: critical analysis of LGTBIQ+ characters on television series in the United StatesISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicación1. IntroductionSerialized ction involving characters and storylines from the LGTBIQ+ collective are increasingly more common in audiovisual production (Monaghan, 2021) and, following the arrival of streaming platforms (HBO Max, Netix, etc.), they now have a global reach. And North American ction is of particular relevance due to the crucial role that the United States plays as a cultural reference in other parts of the world (Gao et al., 2020).On the one hand, the media exert a powerful inuence due to their role as creators of shared imaginaries (Valaskivi & Sumiala, 2014) in societies as a whole, but also in the self-image of the community itself. ese imaginaries play a prominent role because they can generate distorted or misguided ideas about the social image of dierent communities, such as immigrants, LGTBIQ+, women, etc.On the other hand, the LGTBIQ+ community, despite benetting from certain legislative measures, such as the nationwide endorsement of same-sex marriage in the US in 2015, is still one of the minorities that suers the greatest inequality on a social level. is is the case in dierent areas, such as workplace discrimination. Indeed, they are one of the groups that are on the receiving end of the most hate crimes in the United States (Gerstenfeld, 2019).In addition, American serial ction has undergone very particular historical developments, from the censorship and non-existence of LGTBIQ+ characters in the early years to the present (Hernández-Pérez & Sánchez-Soriano, 2023), where the increase in representation has even led to various phenomena along the lines of ‘queer coding’ and ‘pinkwashing’. us, the recent growth in ction featuring characters and storylines from this community, the appearance of new techniques that this increase has entailed, and the impact of the media on society and various social groups have raised the need for a study of the media discourses that are currently taking place. is is especially of interest to a group that has traditionally faced situations of inequality on so many social, political and economic levels, among others. e goal of this research is therefore to critically understand the general trends in the representation of the LGTBIQ+ community in US ction series in recent years. suggest the existence of a dual pattern in these characters, whereby they are based within the construction of a homonormative narrative and/or otherwise placed in marginal or socially excluded settings. Moreover, many traditionally common stereotypes are maintained, and sexual identity and orientation continue to feature prominently among the main story arcs of these characters. It is thus concluded that quantitative growth is insucient if it is not accompanied by greater normalization.Keywords: Television series; LGTBIQ+; United States; representation; critical discourse analysis.de un doble patrón en estos personajes, que se basan o bien en una cons-trucción narrativa homonormativa o bien en la ubicación de estos per-sonajes en entornos marginales y de exclusión social. Además, se man-tienen numerosos estereotipos frecuentes históricamente y la identidad y orientación sexuales siguen siendo una de las tramas principales de estos. Se concluye, por lo tanto, armando que el crecimiento cuantitati-vo no es suciente si este no se acompaña de una mayor normalización.Palabras clave: Series de televisión; LGTBIQ+; Estados Unidos; representación; análisis crítico del discurso. doxa.comunicación | nº 39, pp. 165-182 July-December of 2024Juan José Sánchez SorianoISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 1671.1. Social imaginaries and their eects on the LGTBIQ+ community One of the key issues regarding the role of the media is their function as creators of social imaginaries, which are legitimized through media discourse (Andreassen, 2017). Social imaginaries can be viewed as subjective and shared sociocultural constructions that enable us to understand, interpret and intervene in what we understand to be reality and the meanings thereof (Jasano & Kim, 2013). ese imaginaries originating from the media have an impact on society’s perception of various concepts, such as hegemonic masculinity (Levon et al., 2017), or of communities, such as LGTBIQ+ people. In this regard, research such as that by Kulpa (2019) has analyzed the imaginaries produced by the media in countries such as Poland, encountering representations of the LGTBIQ+ community that situate it in a symbolic ‘otherness’. Other studies on social imaginaries and the LGTBIQ+ community in the West, such as those by Vertovec (2012), infer a tendency for society to recognize the existence of a diversity in terms of race, gender, sexual orientation and so on that should facilitate social change. However, he comments that this trend does not necessarily imply a positive attitude towards said dierence, and that this does not presuppose the direct disappearance of homophobia since it can even trigger violent reactions.Said imaginaries emanating from the media, and in the particular case of this research from serialized ction, have frequently been investigated for the presence of stereotypical elements that are then socialized by their audiences (Ward & Grower, 2020). ese negative stereotypes have direct eects on the LGTBIQ+ community, causing situations of inequality, discrimination or violence (Mortimer et al., 2019). Hence, social imaginaries, which are symbolic constructions, ultimately produce direct and material eects. However, various theories from cultural studies regarding the way people negotiate and interpret media messages maintain that these imaginaries can be modied. ese are currents such as queer theory, which criticizes the established categories (homosexual/heterosexual, man/woman, etc.), considering them imposed and classicatory (Butler, 1990). Examples of research that has followed the current of critical queer theory include the studies by Atkins (2012), which seek to provide, from academia, positive views to counteract the hegemonic stereotyped imaginaries associated to the LGTBIQ+ community.1.2. Evolution of LGTBIQ+ in serialized ction in the United States: from invisibility to exponential growthe historical development of US serial ction featuring LGTBIQ+ characters and storylines has gone from invisibility (Waggoner, 2018) to the current scenario, with the highest number of such characters ever (GLAAD, 2023). In the early days of television, narratives about this community were censored due to such regulations as the Hays Code, which considered these practices to be a perversion and was active from the 1930s to the 1960s (Davies, 2016). It was not until the late 1960s and early 1970s that LGTBIQ+ characters began to appear on American television. It happened in dierent ways, always sporadically. At rst, they were introduced as secondary characters in series such as Bewitched (ABC: 1964-1972), although they were not explicitly called homosexuals (Miller, 2021). Later, the characters were explicit, but were portrayed as wicked, such as the murderous lesbian in Police Woman (NBC: 1974-1978), or to get the audience laughing, such as the eeminate Bruce character in Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In (NBC: 1968-1973) (Levine, 2007). 168 | nº 39, pp. 165-182 |July-December of 2024“Isn’t that what you want, to be accepted?”: critical analysis of LGTBIQ+ characters on television series in the United StatesISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónMoving on to the 1980s and the outbreak of the HIV crisis, new stereotypes were added to the imaginaries created by the media, and the pandemic caused a certain degree of invisibility (MacIsaac, 2017). However, this was also the era when the rst non-sporadic and openly LGTBIQ+ characters started to appear, such as the gay character called Steven in Dynasty (ABC: 1981-1989). In the 1990s, coinciding with certain social progress, there was a notable increase in such representations in prime-time ction (Kohnen, 2015), such as Matt in Melrose Place (Fox: 1992-1999). ere were also certain milestones, including the rst prime-time kiss between two men in 2000, which happened on Dawson’s Creek (e WB: 1998-2003) (Crowley Webber, 2019). ere was a major increase in the 2000s, and particularly on subscription television, which included series with fully LGTBIQ+ casts, such as the male characters in Queer as Folk (Showtime: 2000-2005) and the female ones in e L Word (Showtime: 2004-2009) (Peters, 2011). ere was further increase in the 2010s, and on traditional networks too, with shows like Modern Family(ABC: 2009-2020), and especially with the arrival of new streaming services like Netix (Marcos-Ramos & González-de-Garay, 2021).is growth has been corroborated by the GLAAD association, which publishes its annual Where We Are on TV report that analyzes LGTBIQ+ representation on ctional serials in the United States and suggests a gradual increase in the number of such characters since 2010 (GLAAD, 2023).2. MethodologyStarting from the boom in the last decade of televised ction with characters from the LGTBIQ+ community, the intention is to understand the main trends in representation in recent years by means of a critical discourse analysis (CDA). is approach was chosen because, as Van Dijk (2009) notes, society is a condition or consequence of discourse. is implies that present discourses on this community in media narratives have ideological eects and that these have the capacity to condition social imaginaries and, therefore, to determine reality (Wodak, 2011). CDA analyzes and questions the practices of domination and inequality that are present in discourses, and which foster the reproduction of power and ultimately provoke symbolic violence (Van Dijk, 2009). It has also been used in similar examples of discrimination against certain social groups, such as studies on homophobia (Van Leeuwen, 2018).A multimodal discourse analysis is proposed because, due to its very nature, serial ction is not limited to pure textual analysis. Other elements, such as images, also need to be analyzed (Roderick, 2018). is adaptation of CDA was proposed by Sánchez-Soriano and García-Jiménez (2020) for Hollywood feature lms with LGTBIQ+ characters. It is based on two levels: ▪Macro-level analysis: ese are the large macrostructures or meanings present in media discourse. In other words, the main discourse, as described by García-Jiménez et al., (2015, p. 312). Following an initial overview, they propose:–Naturalized LGTBIQ+ representation: Diverse sexual orientation and gender identity is positively integrated both in cha-racters and in their storylines. doxa.comunicación | nº 39, pp. 165-182 July-December of 2024Juan José Sánchez SorianoISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 169–Conictive LGTBIQ+ representation: Sexual orientation is depicted as a problematic issue. For example, such characters are the baddies, are emotionally instable or their sexuality is a problem for themselves or for others.–Ambiguous LGTBIQ+ representation: e portrayal in the narrative is unclear. Elements of both of the above forms, natu-ralization and conict, are introduced. is dierentiation between positive, negative and neutral discourses in the LGTBIQ+ audiovisual corpus has been used before in other similar studies (Lissitsa & Kushnirovich, 2019).▪Micro-level analysis: ese are the more specic structures that derive from the macrostructures. ey are divided into:1. emes: e main themes associated to LGTBIQ+ characters. ere can be several, such as professional, love, conict over sexuality, etc.2. Lexicalization: Analysis of the lexicon, which includes the expressions, names, adjectives, etc., used by the characters (Pineda, et al., 2016). In turn, this is divided into:–Lexicalization of the characters: Analysis of the characters and their main attributes. Whether they are inmates, teachers, doctors, etc.–Lexicalization of the action: Analysis of the main actions performed during a character’s dramatic arc. Whether they are trackers, care workers, etc.–Display of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity: Analysis of whether they are shown to belong to the community in a public, restricted or concealed way. –Stereotypes: Analysis of traditional stereotypes in sociocultural imaginaries, such as the baddies and comic relief mentio-ned in the theoretical framework. 3. Propositional structures: is analysis is based on the allocation of roles to the analyzed characters. is is further divided into:–Agentivization: Analysis of who is responsible for the action or, in the opposite sense, whether de-agentivization occurs, a process that reduces the agentivity of the person who performs it. is serves to unmask the underlying ideology in dis-course, as described by López-González et al., (2015, p. 218).–Roles: Analysis of the roles presented by the analyzed characters. Whether they perform positive, comic, negative actions, etc.–Conceptual polarization: Analysis of the existence of a divide between a symbolically dominant group (‘Us’) and a symbo-lically dominated group (‘em’) in narratives. –Focus: Determination and analysis of the privileged point of view that discourse might favor (Pineda et al., 2016, p. 7), which, among others, could be heteronormative, homonormative, based on diverse sexual orientation and gender iden-tity, etc. 170 | nº 39, pp. 165-182 |July-December of 2024“Isn’t that what you want, to be accepted?”: critical analysis of LGTBIQ+ characters on television series in the United StatesISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónDue to the material diculty of analyzing all the US serials of recent years on all the traditional networks and streaming platforms, the proposal was to choose a certain number of ctional series from the last decade. ese serials with LGTBIQ+ characters and storylines were selected from the IMBd (Internet Movie Database) website, one of the world’s leading databases of television series. e selection criteria were:Table 1. Selection criteriaSearch DateDecember 2021Title TypeTV SeriesRelease Date2011 to presentUser Rating7.5 to 10Number of VotesMinimum of 15,000GenreAllCountriesUnited StatesKeywordsGay, lesbian, trans, intersex, queer, non-binary, gender uid, LGBTSource: own elaboratione reason for having a minimum average score of 7.5 out of 10 and a minimum of 15,000 votes was to only include shows that had been successful among critics and audiences alike, and were therefore relevant in terms of popular culture. Series were chosen from 2011 onwards in order to analyze the last available decade and the best-known categories on the LGTBIQ+ community were searched. Once these lters had been applied, the sample consisted of 48 series, of which ten were eliminated because they had no LGTBIQ+ lead characters from the pilot episode through to the end of the rst season, leaving a nal sample of 38 series.Once all of the criteria had been applied, a random sample of seven series was selected, and a total of 18 characters were analyzed. We then viewed the whole of the rst season, picking out signicant scenes involving the following characters and series: doxa.comunicación | nº 39, pp. 165-182 July-December of 2024Juan José Sánchez SorianoISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 171Table 2. Selected sampleSeriesPlatformBroadcast yearCharacterAgeGender identity and sexual orientationEuphoriaHBO 2019Rue17Female cis bisexualJules17Female trans bisexualLookingHBO2014Patrick Murray29Male cis homosexualAgustín Lanuez31Male cis homosexualDominic «Dom» Basaluzzo39Male cis homosexualOrange is the New BlackNetix2013Piper Chapman32Female cis bisexualAlex Vause31Female cis lesbianPoseFX2018Angel 23Female trans heterosexualBlanca Rodriguez-Evangelista 26Female trans heterosexualElektra Abundance49Female trans heterosexualDamon Richards17Male cis homosexualPray Tell42Male cis homosexualSense8Netix2015Amanita “Neets” Caplan27Female cis lesbianLito Rodríguez25Male cis homosexualNomi Marks27Female trans lesbianShamelessShowtime2011Ian Gallagher15Male cis homosexualTransparentAmazon Prime Video2014Maura Pfeerman70Female trans lesbianSarah Pfeerman45Female cis bisexualSource: own elaboration 172 | nº 39, pp. 165-182 |July-December of 2024“Isn’t that what you want, to be accepted?”: critical analysis of LGTBIQ+ characters on television series in the United StatesISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicación3. Results and Discussion A. Macro-levelIn most of the analyzed series, 5 out of the 7, a macro or general discourse is observed that associates diverse sexual orientation and gender identity with elements of conict. is occurs in shows such as Pose, in which the characters live in marginalized, criminal environments, which leads them to carry out actions such as theft; or in Orange is the New Black, in prison. Also Ian’s homosexuality in Shameless is a conict for him, and he keeps it hidden from most other characters. is portrayal with abundant elements of conict has been corroborated by other similar studies, such as that by McLaughlin & Rodriguez (2017). Numerous stereotypes are also observed, such as associating the LGTBIQ+ community to the HIV virus, a frequent stereotype since the earliest audiovisual representations of this group (Sallabank et al., 2021). Only two shows, Transparent and Sense8, present an ambiguous discourse in which positive and conictive elements are introduced, as occurs with the Lito character in Sense8, who hides her membership of the group in order to keep up appearances and out of fear of losing her job as an acclaimed actress among the cisheterosexual female audience. erefore, diverse sexual orientations and gender identities do not t naturally into the context of the analyzed series. We examine these macro discourses in greater detail at the micro-level.B. Micro-level: 1. Themese most used theme in these series is one of a negative nature, and is that dealing with the conict over the characters’ sexuality. is occurs with the Angel character in Pose, who is refused jobs because she is trans, and with Ian in Shameless, who hides his homosexuality until he is found out by his brother Lip, whose initial reaction is negative. Second, there is a theme based on a criminal, marginalized context, which we nd in Pose, where racialized and LGTBIQ+ characters live in marginal neighborhoods of New York City and need to resort to such work as prostitution in order to survive. Here we once again encounter the association between the LGTBIQ+ community and conict, as observed in other studies such as those by Fredenburg (2019).Two other themes appear in these series to a lesser extent. On the one hand, the search for a large number of aective and sexual relations, as is the case with the characters in Looking, who often have several partners, such promiscuous behavior being a common element in the show (Villanueva-Baselga, 2021):–Dom (to Patrick): “Something awful happened to me at work today. I didn’t get to fuck someone I wanted to fuck” –Patrick: “So?”–Dom: “So it’s the rst time it’s ever happened to me. I’m so sick of all these annoying, overachieving 20-something cunts” doxa.comunicación | nº 39, pp. 165-182 July-December of 2024Juan José Sánchez SorianoISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 173On the other hand, the defense of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity is also observed, as occurs in Sense8, which features charity fundraising for the LGTBIQ+ community, and in which Amanita defends the fact that Nomi is trans against other characters’ transphobia. ese mainly negative or activist themes are therefore not helping to naturalize these characters in equal conditions either within the plot or with regard to other cisheterosexual characters. 2. Lexicalization2.1. Lexicalization of characters and action Numerous analyzed characters have professional jobs, however, a large percentage have roles that are viewed as socio-culturally negative, such as prisoners (Piper in Orange is the New Black) or drug dealers or users, like Rue in Euphoria. Indeed, recent studies claim that young people feel that TV and movies present a direct relationship between the LGTBIQ+ community and drug use as part of their culture (Demant et al., 2021). On the other hand, despite the fact that several characters are depicted as kind and friendly, one example being how Blanca from Pose regularly helps the others, most of them perform violent, authoritarian or impulsive actions, such as the characters in Pose, Blanca included, who even steal clothes from a museum to wear at a drag ball. ey are also shown acting in an immature or infantile manner, or manipulating others to get what they want, like Alex does to Piper in Orange is the New Black:–Piper (to Alex, unsure whether to help her get a case full of drug money through the airport): “Alright Alex, I don’t know if I can”–Alex: “Hey. You’re a nice young lady, aren’t you? A proper young lady. Just picking up her sensible bag in the baggage lane. Before heading on to her mid-range hotel to go over her schedules. Museum visits and fancy dinners. It’s all ne. It’s all good. And I will meet you in Brussels and everything will work out perfectly, babe. I promise”is direct and distorted link between the LGTBIQ+ community and negative attributes, especially concerning drugs, helps to maintain these misleading social imaginaries of such groups (Mortimer et al., 2019).2.2. Display of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity:In most ction, a discourse is observed in which gender and sexual diversity are only made public in specic contexts where it is benecial to do so. is occurs with the characters of Dom, Patrick and Agustín (Looking), who mostly interact with other LGTBIQ+ characters from a gay neighborhood of San Francisco. Hence, there is no real coexistence between sexual diversities. Other characters are only openly LGTBIQ+ with certain characters and not the others, as is the case with Sarah (Transparent), since her husband and current family does not know about her past with another woman.Meanwhile, other characters hide their sexual orientation, such as Piper (Orange is the New Black), who denies her lesbian relationship at college, even considering her membership of the community to be something ‘temporary’:–Piper (to her ancé, Larry): “It was a phase. It was my lost soul, post-college, adventure phase. I was so embarrassed.” 174 | nº 39, pp. 165-182 |July-December of 2024“Isn’t that what you want, to be accepted?”: critical analysis of LGTBIQ+ characters on television series in the United StatesISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónPiper claims that she was able to “run away” from being a lesbian.–Piper (to her ancé, Larry): “I was 22! I thought that I was in love. I was in love and it was all crazy. And then it got scary, and I ran away and I became the nice blonde lady that I was supposed to be”.So, once again there is discourse that does not integrate the sexual diversity of numerous analyzed characters in a naturalized manner, keeping it hidden, restricted or only open in favorable settings. However, among other cisheterosexual characters this is neither their main story arc, nor a problem for them or other characters. It should be noted how these media are able to dene our own identities and what we know about other people regarding such matters as sexual orientation (Holtzman & Sharpe, 2014), thus cultivating the idea that sexual diversities are not an integrated part of society. 2.3. StereotypesNumerous recurring stereotypes from the history of American LGTBIQ+ ction are observed in the analyzed shows. e most common stereotype is that of associating the community with marginal or tragic lives, as occurs in Pose, which is set in a deprived neighborhood. is traditional stereotype also tends to associate these characters to HIV (Sallabank et al., 2021).Second, many shows include discourses that present a stereotype whereby the characters are either homonormativized or develop gender roles in LGTBIQ+ couples. ere are characters who have assimilated the typical characteristics of upper-middle class, young middle-age Caucasians with a muscular or slim body, which heteronormativity accepts, while eliminating such characteristics as eeminacy and eccentricity, which are viewed in a negative light (Francis, 2021). Hence, a social construct is established with regard to what is ‘normal’ (Vanlee, 2019). Similarly, numerous characters play traditional male or female roles, like Piper in Orange is the New Black, whose role is ‘submissive’, ‘passive’ and feminine, while Alex is shown to be ‘dominant’, possessive and more associated to toxic hypermasculinity. Other frequent stereotypes associate the group with promiscuity, sometimes linking this to drug use. at is the case with the characters in Looking, who go cruising. is stereotype is widely established in social imaginaries of the LGTBIQ+ community, especially among young people (Jensen et al., 2022).3. Propositional structures3.1. AgentivizationIn most of the analyzed shows, it is the cisheterosexual characters who are responsible for driving the dramatic action in which the LGTBIQ+ characters will subsequently participate. is occurs in series like Shameless, where the plots revolve around Frank, an alcoholic father, and his daughter Fiona. In this case, it is Lip, who is cisheterosexual, who nds a gay pornographic magazine, which triggers the plot with the LGTBIQ+ character. Similar research corroborates the use of LGTBIQ+ characters whose story arcs depend on cisheterosexual characters (Sánchez-Soriano & García-Jiménez, 2020). doxa.comunicación | nº 39, pp. 165-182 July-December of 2024Juan José Sánchez SorianoISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 175But there are also exceptions in which LGTBIQ+ characters alone are responsible for the action, but this only occurs in shows where the whole cast belongs to the community, such as Looking. A majority tendency to deagentivize the negative actions of cisheterosexual characters, that are generally not justied among LGTBIQ+ characters, is also observed, as in the sexual aggression between McKay and Cassie in Euphoria, which is justied by watching pornography, and the social pressure from McKay’s friends. In the LGTBIQ+ case, on the other hand, it is Rue who is presented as the only person to blame for her drug addiction, despite receiving help from other characters. So, the discourse promotes symbolic cisheterosexual dominance and self-justication of its negative elements.3.2. Roles Derived again from the macro-level, most of the roles observed in LGTBIQ+ characters are of a negative nature, which has been a constant throughout history (Levine, 2007). Such is the case of Orange is the New Black, where Alex is involved drug tracking and dealing. Lesbianism in prison is associated with being addicted to drugs and promiscuous. In contrast, the cisheterosexual characters have positive roles on the outside and their negative nature when in prison is less emphasized, including nuns who are in prison for campaigning against nuclear energy and yoga instructors who help the other inmates.ere is also a tendency towards inconsequential or comic roles, as in shows like Looking, with its storyline in which Dom feels bad about being sexually rejected for the rst time. ese two roles only increase the process of symbolic dominance in the discourse of cisheterosexual characters, who play more vital and transcendental roles in the plot in comparison to the LGTBIQ+ ones, who tend to be used more as a complement or light relief. ese non-positive roles have a direct negative impact on social imaginaries of social minorities, especially among audiences that are not used to these realities (Jacobs & van der Linden, 2017).3.3. Conceptual polarizationIn the analyzed shows, there is an ‘Us’ group formed mainly by symbolically privileged cisheterosexual people. In contrast, the ‘em’ group is made up of minorities, such as immigrants and the LGTBIQ+ community, who hold an unequal symbolic position. We can observe this in greater detail through the example of Orange is the New Black, where the ‘otherness’ and marginal side of the prison consists of women, African-Americans, lesbians, and so on. Here, cisheterosexual relationships are portrayed as healthy, positive and loving, such as the one between Piper and her ancé, Larry, and the characters are depicted as compassionate and kind. In contrast, LGTBIQ+ relationships are sometimes shown to be toxic, as in the scene where Piper nds out that Alex gave her name to the federal police, which is how she ended up in jail. Moreover, in this prison context, lesbianism is used as intimidation. e ocers themselves warn Piper about it:–Sam (corrections ocer at the prison): “And there are lesbians. ey’re not gonna bother you. ey’ll try to be your friend. Just stay away from them. I want you to understand. You do not have to have lesbian sex. Don’t make friends”. 176 | nº 39, pp. 165-182 |July-December of 2024“Isn’t that what you want, to be accepted?”: critical analysis of LGTBIQ+ characters on television series in the United StatesISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónPiper argues that she is not one of ‘em’:–Piper (to the ocer): “at one time. Ten years ago”We nd another example of this in Shameless