Popular media and entertainment play a crucial role in shaping perceptions. In this post, we highlight the significance of diverse and authentic representations of LGBTQ+ characters and stories. Let’s celebrate the power of visibility and representation, and how a diversity of representation can foster understanding of and empower the LGBTQ+ community.
Defining visibility + representation
Visibility: Manifestation of social regard, relevance, and respect via circulation of information, stories, images, and news. .
Representation: Ensuring that a diversity of voices within a social group or institution are heard, valued, respected, included, and appropriately reflected.
Why are visibility and representation important?
Seeing LGBTQ+ characters on screen or in books helps LGBTQ+ individuals feel seen, validated, and represented, fostering a sense of belonging and acceptance.
Authentic LGBTQ+ characters with a diversity of experiences and situations can challenge stereotypes and misconceptions, promoting understanding and dispelling harmful biases.
LGBTQ+ representation in the media provides role models and inspiration for individuals questioning their identity or working on self-acceptance.
The Trevor Project's research has consistently shown that positive and authentic representation of LGBTQ+ characters in media has a positive impact on the well-being of LGBTQ+ youth by reducing feelings of isolation and increasing self-esteem and resilience.
LGBTQ+ youth report feeling good about being LGBTQ+ when:
seeing LGBTQ+ representation in TV/movies: 89%
musicians come out as LGBTQ+: 79%
other celebrities come out as LGBTQ+: 74%
athletes come out as LGBTQ+: 67%
companies are led by LGBTQ+ people: 70%
non-celebrities advocate for LGBTQ+ people: 71%
Additionally, according to the GLSEN's National School Climate Survey, LGBTQ+ youth who encounter positive representations of their identities in LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum and media representation in educational settings report higher levels of self-acceptance, improved mental health, and a greater sense of belonging.
Positive Impacts
Some studies have found that exposure to LGBTQ characters in media can positively influence viewers' attitudes towards the LGBTQ community (i.e. Gonta, Hansen, et al 2017 and Taracuk & Koch, 2021).
As visibility and representation for the LGBTQ+ community increases across media, it can potentially promote empathy and normalize that the range of possible experiences of gender and sexuality is diverse.
However, stereotyped portrayals of LGBTQ+ characters or only focusing on negative or traumatic aspects of their experiences can have a harmful or regressive impact.
GLAAD's annual "Where We Are on TV" Report analyzes the representation of LGBTQ+ characters on television, and has documented growth across the last decade.
The percentage of scripted regular LGBTQ+ characters on primetime broadcast series has increased in the last decade. At the start of the 2012-2013 season, there were 4.4% - in 2022, that figure more than doubled to 10.6%.
In 2012-2013, only 30% of LGBTQ+ characters depicted were people of color. In 2022, that number increased to 51%.
In 2012-2013 season, there was one trans character counted. In 2022, there were 32.
However, there is much room to grow.
According to the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative's Study on LGBTQ Representation in Film, 78 of the top 100 films of 2019 had no LGBTQ+ characters, and 94 had no female-identifying LGBTQ+ characters.
Only 1.4% of all speaking characters across these top 100 films were LGBTQ+. Of these 61 characters in 2019, 77% were white, and over half of the characters were deemed inconsequential to the plot.
Across the 6 years evaluated (2014-2019, 600 movies), only 9 leads or co leads were LGBTQ. Not one film across the 600 movie sample was driven by a transgender leading or co-leading character.
Simply including an LGBTQ+ characters does not necessarily mean that their representation was complex, believable, or free from tokenization or tired tropes.
The Need for Authentic, Intersectional Storytelling
Genuine, nuanced portrayals of LGBTQ+ characters encountering a range of both challenges and joys allows for narratives that reflect the diverse experiences within the community, including the intersections of their multiple identities. Considering intersectionality fosters inclusion. LGBTQ+ individuals encompass widely varied backgrounds in terms of race, culture, ability, personalities, preferences, and lived experiences
Media shapes societal attitudes and perceptions.
Encourage accurate and positive LGBTQ+ representation across media to challenge biases, promote acceptance, foster connection and empathy, and pave the way for greater equality and further allyship. Advocate for diverse casting and authentic portrayals of LGBTQ+ characters, ensuring that their stories are told with respect and accuracy.
LGBTQ+ representation in the media can serve as an educational tool, helping to dispel ignorance, combat discrimination, and promote inclusivity. Realistic representation can also contribute to destigmatizing mental and physical health issues within and outside the LGBTQ+ community.
Visibility and Representation are only one step.
Amplifying diverse LGBTQ+ visibility and representation in storytelling across media worldwide has the potential to foster acceptance, challenge discrimination, and inspire lasting change in societies around the globe. However, LGBTQ+ visibility and representation in pop culture means nothing without sustained social action and advocacy in everyday life. Let’s move to collaboratively address systemic and social inequities that impact the livelihood of LGBTQ+ individual communities and individuals worldwide.
SOURCES
Craig, Shelley L., Lauren McInroy, Lance T. McCready, & Ramona Alaggia. 2015.
"Media: A Catalyst for Resilience in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Youth." Journal of LGBT Youth 12, no. 3: 254-275. doi:10.1080/19361653.2015.1040193
Creager, Rebecca. 2019. "Sexual Scripting Through Netflix: LGBT Representation
in Film." ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Retrieved from https://oculwlu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01OCUL_WLU/s6kavd/proquest2296635841
Mennel, Barbara. 2012. Queer Cinema: Schoolgirls, vampires, and gay cowboys. London. New York: Wallflower.
Padva, Gilad. 2008. "Educating The Simpsons: Teaching Queer Representations in Contemporary Visual Media." Journal of LGBT Youth 5, no. 3: 57-73. doi:10.1080/19361650802162227
Penney, Joel. 2015. "Responding to Offending Images in the Digital Age:
Censorious and Satirical Discourses in LGBT Media Activism." Communication, Culture & Critique 8, no. 2: 217-234. doi:10.1111/cccr.12086
Thomson, Katelyn. 2021. "An Analysis of LGBTQ+ Representation in Television and Film." Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Connections 5, (1). https://scholars.wlu.ca/bridges_contemporary_connections/vol5/iss1/7
https://annenberg.usc.edu/research/annenberg-inclusion-initiative/lgbt
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2022/#representation
Phillip Ayoub and Jeremiah Garretson, “Getting the Message Out: Media Context and Global Changes in Attitudes toward Homosexuality” Comparative Political Studies, 50, 8, (2017): 1055-1085.
Gonta, Gabby; Hansen, Shannon; Fagin, Claire; and Fong, Jennevieve (2017) "Changing Media and Changing Minds: Media Exposure and Viewer Attitudes Toward Homosexuality," Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research: Vol. 5, Article 5. https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/pjcr/vol5/iss1/5
Taracuk MD, Koch JM. Use of a media intervention to increase positive attitudes toward transgender and gender diverse individuals. Int J Transgend Health. 2021 Feb 12;24(1):86-98. doi: 10.1080/26895269.2021.1878479. PMID: 36713142; PMCID: PMC9879171.
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