Too many forced gay characters in media today.
Record number of LGBT characters on US TV, research says
A new record has found LGBT advocacy on US TV is at a high, with nearly 12% of regular characters who are LGBT, up 2.8% from last year.
The numbers come from a study by LGBT media advocacy group GLAAD.
But the study also start there were shortfalls and missing opportunities to relate a wider range of stories about LGBT characters.
The "Where We Are on TV" analysis looked at overall diversity of shows, focusing on the US.
The report examined broadcast TV, which is free, cable TV, which is paid for and streaming platforms - mentioning popular shows such as Sex Training, Euphoria and Killing Eve for positive representation.
The breakdown
Out of 775 series-regular characters on broadcast TV, 11.9% are LGBT, making up 92 characters, with an additional 49 in recurring roles.
Lesbian characters, such as Batwoman on CW, represented the majority of LGBT characters on broadcast and cable.
Gay men on screen saw a shrink by 5% on telecast and 3% on cable compared to last year.
Bisexual representation such as Loki in Disney+'s Marvel series Loki, made up 29% of al
36% of LGBTQ TV Characters Won’t Be Returning Next Season, Says GLAAD
GLAAD‘s annual “Where We Are on TV” report — which tracks the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual+, transsexual and queer characters — is out, and a key finding is that 36% of TV’s LGBTQ characters will not be returning next season, for several reasons including series being cancelled.
What’s more, LGBTQ-inclusive shows such as The Rookie: Feds, once cancelled, are not being replaced with similarly inclusive programs. As one result, LGBTQ inclusion on broadcast-TV series declined to a six-year low.
The GLAAD report acknowledges that a “fraction” of the decrease in LGBTQ characters on TV can be attributed to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes that shut down Hollywood last summer and led to returns and premieres being delayed. But also, new inclusive programming was not ordered to swap cancelled series such as Feds, Legends of Tomorrow and Gotham Knights. “In fact,” the study says on Page 11, “there is not a free series currently on publish TV that has an LGBTQ character as the sole protagonist.”
Why does inclusion matter?
Avoiding Stereotypes in Fiction: Gay Characters
Readers have spoken: they want more diversity in fiction. And writers are stepping up, but it can be hard to write about someone who’s different than you. Cautious research is the key to avoiding misrepresentation, which causes harm to the very identities being portrayed and creates fallout for well-meaning writers when they’re called out by readers.
For this reason, we’re running a series of posts on avoiding stereotypes in fiction. Written by a diverse cast of talented authors, each post highlights a different people group—the common stereotypes to shun and how to record those characters realistically. We hope this series arms you with the information and tools to record characters you may contain been reluctant to compose before—ones that will obtain your story to the next level.
By:Drew Hubbard
When it comes to LGBTQ+ characters, some people believe that there’s “too many of them.”
According to a inform done by GLAAD on scripted broadcast primetime (American) programming in the 2021-2022 season, 11.9% of characters identified as LGBTQ+. Factoring in TV shows (and movies) from across the world, I’d bet mone
GLAAD’s annual “Where We Are on TV” report was released this week, and was a bit bleak. We’re losing characters across scripted broadcast programming, and of all 468 LGBTQ characters counted across transmit, cable and streaming networks, 36% won’t be returning due to cancellations, the miniseries/anthology format, or a character dying or otherwise exiting the show. We’ve talked a lot around here about how much these cancellations are f*cking our community, and recently listed more than 52 shows with lesbian and bisexual characters cancelled after one season.
But you wouldn’t know how desperately our community needs more Homosexual characters on television from doing what I accomplish every month, which is google all kinds of combinations of new exhibit names and networks to figure out if they’re going to be showcasing LGBTQ characters. This is something I have to do to write the monthly streaming guide. And while those searches often turn out useful data, they also deliver, inevitably, a Reddit thread or Quora thread of people complaining about there creature too many LGBTQ characters on television, or worrying that their favorite comic b
.