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Jennifer Dane: Representation, Crossing the Military-Civilian Divide

1 Jennifer Dane, "Crossing the Military Civilian Divide," interviewed by Dr. Jason A. Higgins, Jan. 20, 2023, Washington D.C.. "Crossing the Military-Civilian Divide" project is part of a 4-VA Collaborative research project by Dr. Jason A. Higgins, postdoctoral fellow in digital humanities, and Andre Taylor, oral historian at the College of William and Mary. Special thanks to our three research assistants Leena Alsayab, Madison Cholewa, and Gabrielle Wells, who are undergraduate students and recent graduates of Virginia Tech.

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Representation of LGBTQ+ People Jennifer Dane recalls the profound moment of seeing herself, as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, represented on film. She talks about the importance of representation in the media, as well as the importance of including others. Media plays such an important role in contributing to public perceptions, and as there has been increased representation of LGBTQ+ members in the media, coverage has become more inclusive and more accurate reflection of the diversity in American society and culture.

The first exposure that I really thought it was going to be okay. Which was silly – Her name was Aaron, she was my first crush girlfriend. Not really girlfriend — because I wanted her to be, but she was not. But she gave me two recorded VHS tapes of the show called The L Word. So The L Word – there was women that looked like what I wanted to look like, very feminine presenting. One was a businesswoman, so who I wanted to be like her name is Bette Porter. It was the first time that media – I saw something in media that was like, "My gosh," they look like that and it is okay.