GLAAD study shows LGBT representation in Hollywood is getting worse, not better
Hollywood has taken several steps back in its portrayals of the LGBT community.
GLAAD’S latest report, the Studio Responsibility Index, shows exactly how 2015 films fared when it came to LGBT characters. It's the organization's fourth study of this kind, and measures the “quantity, quality and diversity of LGBT people in films released by the seven largest motion picture studies and their subsidiaries” in the last calendar year.
Out of 126 major studio films, only 22 (17.5%) had characters who identified as LGBT. The figure was exactly the same in 2014.
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More than three quarters of those inclusive films from 2015 featured gay male characters. Lesbian characters made up 23% of representation, and bisexual characters made up 9%. There was only one trans-inclusive film, the action comedy Hot Pursuit starring Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara.
Though LGBT diversity stayed the same from 2014 to 2015, racial diversity within that group actually decreased. About 32.1% of LGBT characters were people of color in 2014, whereas only 25.5% in 2015. Here’s how diverse representation broke down in 2015: white (72.3%), Latino (10.6%), black (8.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.4%).
GLAAD also noted that no studios got a “good” rating from them based on this study. Paramount, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Brothers all received a “failing” grade. The study also notes that LGBT portrayals in 2015 showed an increase in “outright offensive depictions of LGBT people, relying on gay panic and defamatory stereotypes for cheap laughs.” Two Kevin Hart films, Get Hard and The Wedding Ringer, were specifically pointed out, as was Hot Tub Time Machine 2.
“Hollywood’s films lag far behind any other form of media when it comes to portrayals of LGBT characters.”
“Hollywood’s films lag far behind any other form of media when it comes to portrayals of LGBT characters,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President and CEO. “Too often, the few LGBT characters that make it to the big screen are the target of a punchline or token characters. The film industry must embrace new and inclusive stories if it wants to remain competitive and relevant.”
Only one film last year was nominated for a GLAAD media award: Freeheld, the romance starring Ellen Page and Julianne Moore.
The study also measured how films did under the Vito Russo Test -- a measurement GLAAD introduced in 2012, named after the organization's noted co-founder and well-known film historian.
Partially inspired by the Bechdel Test, these are the Vito Russo's criteria:
That a character is identifiably lesbian, gay, bi or transgender.
Must not be defined by their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Must be tied to the plot so their removal would have a significant effect on the story. Simply put, “the character should matter.”
Only eight films in 2015 fit that criteria, a figure that’s noted as “the lowest percentage in this study’s history.”
To learn more about the study, you can read it here on GLAAD's site.
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Topics LGBTQ
Yohana Desta was the senior film reporter for Mashable. She is a Northern Virginia native and an American University grad. She enjoys carefully curating her Instagram account and can often be found reading books, going to concerts, watching movies and learning way too much about pop culture.
