I was excited to see a little bit of LGBT on "The Walking Dead" these past couple of seasons. Aaron and his boyfriend Eric, Jesus, and Dr. Denise. Oh wait, Dr. Denise is gone. I guess I should not have been surprised. The lesbian dies once again.
In Indiewire.com's story GLAAD Study Finds There Are More LGBTQ Characters Than Ever — but A Lot of Them Are Getting Killed Off, they hit the gay nail on the head.
The results of GLAAD’s annual “Where We Are on TV” study are in, and the numbers yield mixed results. LGBTQ characters make up a higher percentage of broadcast shows than the 12-year study has ever found, but their depiction still leaves something to be desired: More than 25 lesbian and bisexual characters were killed off in 2016, which some say perpetuates the “bury your gays” trope.
“While it is heartening to see progress being made in LGBTQ representation on television, it’s important to remember that numbers are only part of the story, and we must continue the push for more diverse and intricate portrayals of the LGBTQ community,” said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis in a statement. “GLAAD will continue to work with Hollywood to tell nuanced LGBTQ stories that accelerate acceptance — and hold the networks, streaming services, and content creators accountable for the images and storylines they present.”
Several records were actually set this season: 4.8 percent of regular characters identify as LGBTQ, 20 percent are black, 1.7 percent have disabilities and the number of transgender characters went from seven to 16. – indiewire.com
VanityFair.com also covered this "Lesbian Death Curse" but also mentioned another trend in LGBT characterization on the tele.
There are more L.G.B.T.Q. characters on TV than ever, on a wider range of platforms, and playing a huge array of roles. It’s never been a better time to be a queer person looking to see yourself on TV—that is, unless you're a lesbian.
…
And then there’s race. The report notes that cable and streaming services both cast the vast majority (72 percent for cable, 71 percent for streaming) of their L.G.B.T.Q. characters as white. Somehow broadcast, usually the most change-resistant of platforms, has largely avoided this problem: of its 71 L.G.B.T.Q. prime-time characters, 42 percent this year will be people of color. – VanityFair.com
No not all lesbians have a tv shelf life of a half a season, and not all the LGBT characters are being written off in a gruesome way. We still have several out there that are alive and kicking.
GLAAD goes no to cover the LGBT Race and Ethnicity representation as well.
For the full GLAAD Report, head over to the complete pdf here.
What do you think? Is the representation good?
Yes, we are getting killed off, but is it faster than non-LGBTers?
Are Lesbians losing their tv lives faster than gay characters?
Here are some of the charts from the GLAAD Report. Click on images for larger view.
h/t: VanityFair.com, indiewire.com