Representation matters. A lot. As the LGBTQ community strives to for inclusivity and representation it appears that we still have a long way to go. A new study by MrQ says that “the LGBTQ+ community is under-represented in popular culture.”
Do these numbers seem abysmally low? Saavas Fellas, managing director of MrQ, said
‘The entertainment industry is one of the most influential in the world, as it delivers messages to billions of us across the globe whilst in the comfort of our own home each day. It is absolutely crucial that the industry drives for more LGBTQ+ representation in its characters to promote awareness and encourage inclusivity. Whilst it’s great to see the number of LGBTQ+ representative forms of entertainment rise in the last decade, there is more work to be done in making this the norm.’
When it comes to the streaming services that we watched non-stop last year during quarantine, MrQ analyzed the two most popular – Netflix and Amazon Prime – and the winner is…AMAZON PRIME. And NETFLIX. Yes you read that right. While Amazon Prime has more LGBTQ+ content than Netflix {8% compared to 6% for Netflix}, Netflix has more LGBTQ+ characters in their shows.
The best rated and most popular television shows for inclusivity include the devastating AIDS drama Its a Sin, the mega-sensation chess drama The Queen’s Gambit, the superheroes gone rogue The Boys and Killing Eve, starring Sandra Oh and Emmy Award winner Jodie Comer. However, the most inclusive television show right now is Rick and Morty, the animated science fiction show, with a whopping 13 (2.67%) LGBTQ+ characters.
When it comes to films – compared to other forms of media their representation scores are the lowest at just 0.1% with Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman and The Boy Foretold all receiving high scores for representation . Ten film franchises were also studied to gauge the amount of LGBTQ+ characters in the series with the X-Men franchise topping the list.
Finally, the gaming sector is the most inclusive with 1.9% of its characters identifying as LGBTQ+, with Super Mario Galaxy taking the top spot with 17% of its characters sitting within the LGBTQ+ community. Research reveals that Super Mario’s Toads are agender. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 includes character Leo Baker who identifies as trans and non-binary, with the game having an overall LGBTQ+ representation of 5%, followed by Grand Theft Auto IV with 4%.
We have made leaps and bounds in being represented in the entertainment industry, but there is still work to be done. On a separate note, who knew Netflix had over 26,000 shows! I will remember that the next time I am trying to find something to watch on a Friday night!
Sources: MrQ
The gaming chart is, frankly, useless. It looks like they went games with the highest metacritic score, which is how we end up with the 20+ year old Zelda: Ocarina of Time being compared to 2018’s Red Dead Redemption 2. Only one game on that was released in the last 5 years. That doesn’t tell us much about present-day gaming.
Two of the biggest games last year had LGBT protagonists. The Last of Us 2 stars Ellie, a lesbian woman who has a girlfriend. Zagreus, the hero in Hades, is bisexual and (depending on your choices) polyamorous. Ghosts of Tsushima, another popular 2020 game, also has at least one gay character. I don’t doubt that gaming has a long way to go with representation (there are more than a few problematic LGBT characters out there), but that chart isn’t painting an accurate picture.
Uh, you could have picked a better looking person then this gross nerd for this article. Barf!
Dude, that’s a truly ugly thing for you to say. Says WAY more about you than him.