Hollywood fails to represent sexual minorities

by Austin Stallings
Journalism Intern

The LGBT advocacy group, GLAAD has released its annual Studio Responsibility Index, and in the process they have revealed that Hollywood is not as progressive as we might give it credit for.

Disney, Paramount, and Warner Bros. have all received failing grades according to the group. The Studio Responsibility index found that of 126 releases from the major studios, only 22 of them (17.5 percent) included LGBT characters.

"Hollywood's films lag far behind any other form of media when it comes to portrayals of LGBT characters," Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD president and CEO said in releasing the report. "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."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, “No studio received a rating of "Good" for its 2015 releases. Lionsgate (which included LBGT characters in 33 percent of its movies), Sony (19 percent), Universal (19 percent) and Fox (12 percent) received "Adequate" marks, while Warner's (20 percent) and  Paramount and Disney - neither of which included any LGBT characters in any of their movies -  got "Failing" grades.”

While Disney focuses on family films, the report observed in its analysis, "As recent successful animated films and TV programs have shown (Oscar-nominated ParaNorman, Cartoon Network's Steven Universe), LGBT people appearing in "all-ages" programming - animated or not - is not the impossible notion it once was. LGBT people are already part of families and communities around the world, and films of all genres should reflect that."

Expressing frustration with the lack of representation in the 2015 films, GLAAD said that moving forward, that an "Adequate" rating wasn't good enough and that in next year's report, it plans to hold studios "to a higher standard to reflect the quality and quantity of LGBT representation we are now seeing in other media. Films must do better to include LGBT characters in roles directly tied to plot and which reflect the wide diversity of our community, including people of color, those living with disabilities, and a variety of geographical and ideological backgrounds."

GLAAD has released a video on this subject, click here to watch.

The Gayly - 5/2/2016 @ 2:15 p.m. CDT