In Canada, activist movements permeate and shape media, public policy, popular culture and cultural identities; one arena where this has been particularly vibrant is in the struggle to make queer culture visible. In the midst of growing public support for same-sex marriage, and an explosion of success for television shows like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, it seems that queer sexuality is becoming an institution in Canadian media and culture. Nowhere is this more true than in the world of digital television, where Canada's PrideVision TV has become the world's first gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender television station to broadcast around the clock, 365 days a year. As a big-budget, corporately sponsored premium cable channel, PrideVision has the resources to be highly influential in and about Canada's queer community---raising many questions about how television programming can constitute activism. Through a case study of Toronto-based PrideVision TV, this dissertation explores the ways in which Canadian queer activists are re-imagining social activism by using niche-market television for identity formation, community visibility, and political and cultural progress.
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