Queer Representation and Streaming Platforms: An Analysis of Elite and Youth Perceptions in Peru

Chavez D.I.; Casapayco C.B.; Ramos J.M.C. · Proceedings of the 2025 IEEE 5th International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies on Education and Research, ICALTER 2025 (2025) · DOI: 10.1109/icalter69698.2025.11355067

Resumen

This study analyzes the narrative representation of queer characters in the series Élite and explores the perceptions of ten young Peruvians-five queer and five nonqueer-to understand how these narratives influence the construction of cultural imaginaries about sexual diversity. Using a qualitative and interpretive approach, two complementary methodological strategies were applied: narrative content analysis of the characters and plots, and a phenomenological analysis of in-depth interviews conducted with young people between 18 and 24 years old. The results show that Élite constructs a discourse of ambiguous visibility, where sexual diversity is presented as a sign of inclusion, but also as a commercial product within the global audiovisual market. On a narrative level, the queer characters embody tensions between desire, power, and affection, reflecting a process of symbolic emancipation limited by the melodramatic logic of consumption. In their initial reception, queer participants interpreted the series as a space for affective validation and identity recognition, while non-queer participants perceived it as an aestheticized representation or one detached from local reality. Taken together, the findings show that queer visibility in Élite is reconfigured within the Peruvian context through processes of cultural resignification, where young people negotiate between global values of diversity and local social norms. The series thus solidifies itself as a paradigmatic case of media hybridization between symbolic inclusion and the commodification of difference.

Instituciones: Universidad Tecnológica del Perú