LGBTQ community achieves record representation on US television

In the HBO series “Euphoria,” one of the main characters, Jules is played by transgender actress Hunter Schafer. Image: HBO via ETX Daily Up

Good news: more and more characters in TV series are part of the LGBTQ community. It’s an important step for viewers in terms of representation, and the 2021-2022 season has even set a record. In total, 92 characters from the LGBTQ community make regular appearances on American TV shows this season.

It’s a record number. According to GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), which fights discrimination against LGBTQ people, 11.9%  of characters on series represent the community on American TV. Out of 775 regular characters, 92 of them are identified as LGBTQ. An increase of 2.8% from 2020-2021.

For their new report on the representation of the LGBTQ community on television, the association GLAAD looked at new series and new seasons broadcast between June 1, 2021 and May 31, 2022.

In total, no fewer than 49 additional LGBTQ characters have regular roles in the series, bringing the total number of LGBTQ characters on television to 141.

GLAAD has also seen an increase in LGBTQ characters in cable series. There are 138 LGBTQ characters with regular roles. That’s 20 more roles than last year.

Similar progress can be seen with streaming platforms. For this new season, GLAAD analyzed programming from Apple TV+, Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+ and Peacock, in addition to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu, among others. In all, 245 LGBTQ characters are series regulars while 113 characters from the community appear on television on a recurring basis.

Across all platforms, 637 characters from the LGBTQ community appear in series for the 2021-2022 season.
It’s nothing short of a breakthrough for the representation of gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual and queer individuals in society.

And for the first time in the history of this report, lesbian characters are more present at 40% than gay characters. An increase of 22 roles from last year, for a total of 56 lesbian characters on American television.

The number of bisexual characters is also slightly up but, once again, dominated by female characters with 21 roles against 6 for bisexual men. The number of transgender roles is also on the rise. Of the 42 regular and recurring roles, 20 are transgender women, 14 are transgender men and 8 are non-binary. JB

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