LGBT representation up on TV

GLAAD says there are more LGBTQ characters than ever on TV, but shows still need to introduce more diverse, complex representations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.

GLAAD has tracked the presence of LGBTQ characters on prime-time broadcast and cable television for more than two decades in its annual “Where We Are on TV” report. (The organization began including characters on original streaming series in 2015.) This year’s assessment counts 58 broadcast series regulars who identify as LGBTQ, which GLAAD says accounts for the highest percentage (6.4 percent) in the report’s history.

This year marks the first time the report has counted characters who identify as gender nonbinary or asexual. GLAAD’s president and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis, referenced the shift in her introductory statement, noting that “while these identities have been depicted on screen before, those characters were often relegated to one-off episodes, which did not allow for nuanced exploration.”

But GLAAD says television still has work to do when it comes to stories involving LGBTQ characters of color. The report says that LGBTQ TV characters tend to be white gay men, even though bisexual people account for the majority of the LGBTQ community and women outnumber men in the United States. On the latter note, GLAAD says television presents “a severe underrepresentation of the U.S. population which is estimated to be 51 percent women.”

GLAAD lauded ABC’s millennial-geared network, Freeform, for leading cable networks in LGBTQ representation with 25 characters, including a Muslim lesbian character on “The Bold Type,” a well-reviewed drama about the young staffers at a Cosmopolitan-esque magazine. Showtime also got a shout-out for featuring “one of the most prominent nonbinary characters on TV” (played by Asia Kate Dillon) in the drama “Billions.”

The report praises shows such as Amazon’s “Transparent” and NBC’s recently revived “Will and Grace” for prominently featuring LGBTQ characters, but GLAAD continues to highlight a need for LGBTQ representation in lead roles. “Generally, queer and trans characters tend to be just one among many in an ensemble, and this leads to LGBTQ characters being treated as expendable when a show needs to downsize,” Ellis notes, citing the large number of lesbian and bisexual female characters killed off popular shows in recent years.

GLAAD says TV has made encouraging strides in telling underrepresented stories, but notes that the stakes are particularly high “in this current culture of divisiveness.”

“When the Administration in Washington, D.C. is actively working to roll back the rights of all marginalized communities and using fear to divide us, entertainment has the unparalleled opportunity to connect with people in their living rooms,” Ellis writes. “These stories allow audiences to find their shared experiences.”