LGBTQ+ Representation in the Media - How is it Changing Us?
Originally written and published in 2018.
Violet Chachki is an icon in every sense of the word. After winning season 7 of RuPaul’s Drag Race (RPDR), an elimination-style reality TV show (similar to Project Runaway), she skyrocketed to fame for her makeup skills, Burlesque-inspired looks, 18-inch waist and her awe-inspiring aerial acts.
Since then, her career has gone from glory to glory, and she was most recently featured on the Moschino FW18 runway, alongside a non-binary model, Oslo Grace in a conjoined tuxedo. She’s also the first drag queen in history to be the face of a lingerie campaign. More recently, Courtney Act, Violet’s fellow RPDR alumna, participated in and won Celebrity Big Brother UK. "I guess it's validation that it's ok to be different,” said Courtney.
With all of these stellar accomplishments, and coming-of-age and romance movies like ‘Call Me By Your Name’, ‘Moonlight’ focusing on the stories of gay men, and the live-action remake of Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast' featuring a minor gay character and more, people would think that LGBTQ+ representation in media is increasing dramatically.
That is unfortunately not the case.
According to research done by GLAAD, they “found that 4.8% (43) of the characters expected to appear on primetime scripted broadcast TV will be LGBTQ, a record in the 21 years it has been tracking such numbers”. And while this is described as the ‘highest percentage yet’, if you put it in perspective, there’s still a solid 96.2% of characters that are heterosexual. To add insult to injury, there have been numerous instances of regular people and celebrities saying that putting gay romances in TV shows and movies is ‘too much; and that the ‘homosexual lifestyle’ is being ‘shoved in their faces’.
Lucas Wen is a twenty-three-year-old Singaporean drag queen who goes by the stage name Arya Dun, and they use he/she/they pronouns and identify as genderfluid.
“There was little to no representation for me when I was growing up... when I was 13 that I realised I was different and it felt like I was wrong and not meant for this world.”
What they don’t realize, as they are not a part of the LGBTQ+ community, is that representation is incredibly important for everyone but especially children. “By telling these children that they are okay and not broken for being different, we are creating a new generation that is more accepting of others differences and accepts one another.” (The Odyssey Online, 2016)
“I couldn’t fit myself into anything I’m seeing on tv and that is until I discovered the internet and tumblr... I started to really see people talking about non-heteronormative people... It felt less lonely and it gave me hope that I am normal. That people like me are not wrong.”
Contrary to popular belief, children are able to understand much more than we give them credit for, and at a young age are already able to question things they see in daily life. So, when we show them that LGBTQ+ relationships are acceptable, when they transition into their adolescent and teen years, they won’t bully others and they will not get bullied, and they would also know that there is nothing wrong if they don’t identify as heterosexual or cisgender. Seeing LGBTQ+ people on billboards, in magazines, in TV shows and in movies is vital in teaching the next generation to be more accepting and tolerable, and adopt a positive attitude towards people who may be different from them or outside the norm.
