Tag Archives: GLAAD

What Does The Future Look Like Queer Female Characters In TV And Film?

Queer female characters have been appearing on our screens for at least 15 years and the progress up to this point has changed dramatically. For example, around 15 years ago gay female characters were only given bit parts in TV, they were very rare in films and if they did appear it was usually in independent films.

Then, a few years on, as queer female characters began to appear more often, they were given roles that played up to male fantasy or the roles were quite negative. They were the sexy femme fatale characters that would be cat-burglars or sexy spies. Or they would be a bisexual bunny boiler out to take revenge or ruin some poor innocent’s life. If the queer females were a couple most would be trying for a baby. In films they were always the ‘quirky’ one or a bit ‘whacky.’

Next came Hollywood’s interest in teens and young adults struggling with their sexual orientation. Many T.V shows that were aimed at young adults would have a main character who was struggling with their confusion over an attraction to someone of the same sex. They would all go through the same sort of crisis, identifying their feelings, acting upon them to then coming out to family and friends and the aftermath of that.

For the past seven years or so queer female characters have started getting diverse roles. We’ve had two TV shows where all the characters have been queer females. We’ve had detectives, surgeons and even a succubi who are openly gay. Queer female characters have recently been found in every role that straight females have.

GLAAD’s 2015-2016 Where Are We on TV report discovered that queer women make up 2% of TV characters. Somewhere between 1.5-8.8% of women globally identify as non-heterosexual, the average is probably close to 2%. Additionally, only about 1.5% of women at any time are actually in a same-sex relationship. GLAAD’s 2016 Studio Responsibility Index reported that 17.5% of major studio releases had queer characters.

23% were women, meaning that about 4% of all characters were queer women. We mustn’t forget the 1 in 3 mortality rate for queer female characters on TV either. This issue gained a lot of press and criticism as many main queer female characters all suddenly started to die in many different TV programmes.

So, how will they progress in the future, given the firm trends that film and TV appear to follow? It will probably continue to be the same as it is now, but, the problem is that many showrunners, scriptwriters and producers are heterosexual and it doesn’t even occur to them to have lesbian or queer females in leading roles.

It’s probably likely that we will see a few great lesbian pairings, a couple of strong queer females in diverse roles and an unusually high death rate for queer female characters over the next decade or so. But, again, that will depend on what starts to trend across TV and film studios. It will be interesting to see if the GLAAD reports will increase or decrease in figures of gay female characters and we can hope that a few more all queer female TV shows come our way. It’s a funny old world, showbiz.

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New ‘Ring Of Keys’ Powerful Video In celebration Of GLAAD’s ‘Spirit Day’

‘Ring of Keys’ – a song taken from the musical adaptation of Fun Home – has been used as this year’s Spirit Day video to promote acceptance and love for LGBTQ+ youth.

Spirit Day is a day organised by GLAAD – the U.S. non-governmental media monitoring organisation founded by LGBTQ+ people in the media – to offer support and gain awareness for LGBTQ+ youth who have been victims of bullying.

Fun Home from which the song has been taken from is a powerful story that has moved audiences around the world and embodies what Spirit Day is all about – acceptance.

The video for the song has been created by Curran and Oakland School for the Arts, and GLAAD hopes it will give a powerful message of support to LGBTQ+ youth who are often bullied to the point where many have committed suicide.

Spirit Day was started in 2010, with supporters normally wear purple on to show their support for this worthy cause.

GLAAD supported the initiative from the beginning and the day has gained recognition nationwide over the years.

The Fun Home musical has been adapted from a graphic novel of the same name that was written by Alison Bechdel, and tells the story of Bechdel’s own journey of discovering her sexuality, her relationship with her gay father and her quest to unlock the mysteries surrounding his life.

It is the first Broadway musical to ever have a lesbian protagonist. The Ring of keys song is all about the relationship for queer youth and role models.

Bechel said as a child, she saw a woman in dungarees, sporting short hair and a carabiner clip of keys. She immediately identified with the butch woman, seeing parts of herself in the woman that she couldn’t yet express at a young age. This is where the inspiration for Ring of keys came from.

This year, Spirit Day will be celebrated on 20^th October so wear something purple and take the pledge to show your support for LGBTQ youth and help combat bullying and prejudice.

GLAAD To Honour YouTube Star Hannah Hart

Hannah Hart will be honoured at the upcoming GLAAD Gala in San Francisco this September.

The LGBTQ media advocacy organization will give Hart its Davidson / Valentini Award, which recognizes LGBTQ media professionals who have “made a significant difference in promoting equality for the LGBT community.”

GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement;

By using her powerful platform to elevate LGBTQ stories, Hannah Hart has proven to be a tireless advocate for self-love and acceptance. Her messages of empowerment inspire countless LGBTQ youth and move hearts and minds across the world.”

Hart won internet hearts and millions of subscribers with her My Drunk Kitchen series, which features candid conversations about LGBTQ issues and identity, as well as personal stories about her experiences as a gay person.

Recently, it was announced that Hart will be hosting a new untitled culinary travel series on the Food Network channel.

She has already had her first book My Drunk Kitchen on the New York Times bestseller list.

And her second book, Buffering: Unshared Tales of a Life Fully Loaded, will out in October.

Hart and comedian pal Grace Helbig also recently starred in the reboot of Electra Woman & Dyna Girl.

They also star in the upcoming Lionsgate film Dirty Thirty, alongside Mamrie Hart.

The GLAAD Gala San Francisco, held on Sept. 8, will be hosted by talkshow host, actress, comedian, author and director Aisha Tyler.

Hollywood Still Has A Major Issue With Representing Queer Storylines and Characters

According to the latest study from GLAAD, released this week, LGBT representation in film needs improvement as well.

Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

Hollywood’s films lag far behind any other form of media when it comes to portrayals of LGBT characters. 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.”

GLAAD is the leading lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender media advocacy organisation. Their fourth annual Studio Responsibility Index maps the quantity, quality and diversity of LGBT people in films released by the seven largest motion picture studios: 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Lionsgate Entertainment, Walt Disney Studios, Sony Columbia Pictures, Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures.

Below are eight highlights from the study:

Only 22 of the 126 major releases in 2015 included characters identified as LGBT

That’s only 17.5% – and in those 22 films, there were 47 LGBT characters, which is up from 28 last year.

When movies do have LGBT characters, they are usually gay men

Male characters outnumbered females by a ratio of more than three to one. Sadly, only 9% of movies included bisexual characters while only one film was trans-inclusive – Warner Brothers’ “Hot Pursuit.”

Everyone is white

In 2014, 32.1% of LGBT characters were people of colour. That number dropped to 25.5% in 2015. Of the LGBT characters counted in 2015, 34 (72.3%) were white, five were Latino (10.6%), four were black (8.5%) and three (6.4%) were Asian or Pacific Islander. One character was non-human, Fabian in Lionsgate’s “Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos.”

Lack of screen time

Of the LGBT characters on screen, 73% had less than 10 minutes of screen time, their impact is additionally limited.

Of the seven studios, not even one is doing “good.”

Since the study’s inception, GLAAD has given each studio a rating of good, adequate or failing. None of them received a rating of “good” for their 2015 releases. Fox, Lionsgate, Sony and Universal all received ratings of “Adequate”, while Paramount, Disney and Warner Bros. all received a “Failing” grade.

The most inclusive major studio was Lionsgate, as eight of its 2015 releases were LGBT-inclusive.

Warner Bros. followed with five then Universal with four. Sony only had three and Fox two. Neither Disney nor Paramount included any LGBT content in their 2015 slates of 11 and 12 films, respectively.

That’s probably because LGBT depictions are getting worse.

Last year saw a resurgence of outright offensive images of LGBT people; more films relied on gay panic and defamatory stereotypes for giggles.

Though humour can be a powerful tool to challenge the norm, when crafted problematically, it has the opposite effect.

Only eight of the 22 LGBT-inclusive films passed the Vito Russo Test.

The Vito Russo Test is GLAAD’s set of criteria analysing how LGBT characters are represented in fictional work named after GLAAD co-founder and film historian Vito Russo.

Inspired by the Bechdel Test, these criteria represent a standard GLAAD would like to see a greater number of mainstream Hollywood films reach in the future.

In order to pass the Vito Russo Test, a film must include having an identifiably lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender character that is not solely or predominantly defined by their sexual orientation or gender identity and is tied into the plot in such a way that their removal would have a significant effect.

Only eight of the 22 major studio films that featured an LGBT character passed the test in 2015, the lowest percentage in this study’s history.

One positive, major studios have more progressive imprints

Last year, GLAAD began examining the film releases of four smaller, affiliated studios to draw a comparison between content released by the mainstream studios and their perceived “art house” divisions. Those smaller studios are Focus Features, Fox Searchlight, Roadside Attractions and Sony Pictures Classics.

Of the 46 films released under those studio imprints, 10, or 22%, were LGBT-inclusive. That’s a notably higher percentage than the parent studio counterparts and an increase from 2014’s 10.6% (five of 47) of films from the same divisions. Some of the films from these smaller studios include “The Danish Girl,” “Grandma” and “Stonewall.”

Orange is the New Black’s Teaser Takes Aim At The Diversity Crisis Overshadowing Hollywood (VIDEO)

Hurrah for the ladies of Litchfield, for providing us all with a hilarious politically incorrect response to the #OscarsSoWhite diversity row in a new teaser for season four of Orange is the New Black.

Cleverly titled For Your Incarceration – a play on the awards season For Your Consideration campaigns laid on by film studios – Netflix’s favourite inmates offer up their two cents on the Academy Awards.

In the 30-second clip the Litchfield inmates watching an awards show on television, marking the “Hollywood types”.

Taystee, played by Danielle Brooks, quips:

Even when white folks try to be excited, they’re still boring.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtC8y6YmgpY

OITNB is seen as one of the most culturally diverse shows on TV these days, winning praise from critics and fans alike.

LGBT media pressure group recently praised the show, as it announced it will no longer publish an annual report monitoring the quantity, quality, and diversity of LGBT representation on TV.

GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis warned that the film industry was in danger of being left behind – by failing to mirror the progress made by ground-breaking TV shows such as OITNB and Transparent.

The show has won fans for its realistic portrayal of women, its exploration of trans issues and its abundance of same-sex relationships – especially that of lead characters Piper and Alex.

The show recently won a host of SAG awards – with Uzo Abuda picking up her second award for Female Actor in a Comedy Series for her role as Suzanne ‘Crazy Eyes’ Warren.

The show’s entire cast also picked up the Best Ensemble award – with an extensive 35 cast members name-checked, including Ruby Rose, and Lea DeLaria.

The show’s fourth season is set to air on June 17.

Michelle Rodriguez Comes Underfire From LGBT Groups Over ‘Gender Reassignment Thriller’ Tomboy

GLAAD has criticised the makers of a new Hollywood thriller – Tomboy, A Revenger’s Tale, which chronicles the story of hitman (played by Michelle Rodriguez), who falls into the clutches of a rogue surgeon, and is forced to undergo gender reassignment surgery against his will.

The film stars Michelle Rodriguez as a male assassin, who later takes revenge on his tormentor, who will be played by Sigourney Weaver.

A spokesperson for Glaad, said producers had picked an inappropriate storyline for their project.

GLAAD’s director of programs for transgender media, Nick Adams, told The Hollywood Reporter.

We haven’t read the script, but it’s disappointing to see film-makers turning what is a life-saving medical procedure for transgender people into a sensationalistic plot device. We are at a crucial moment in the public’s understanding of transgender issues, and stories like these have the potential to undermine the progress we’ve worked so hard to achieve.”

The film’s announcement comes at a time when Hollywood is coming under increasing pressure to clean up its negative portrayals of LGBT people.

Titled Tomboy, A Revenger’s Tale, the film is the latest project from The Warriors and Bullet To The Head director Walter Hill. Hill will be directing from a script by author and occasional screenwriter Denis Hamill. Rodriguez and Weaver, meanwhile, previously worked together on James Cameron’s Avatar

New GLAAD Report States Streaming Services Lead LGBT Representation, But Queer Female Roles Still Fall Short On TV

The is week, GLAAD released its annual Where We Are on TV report; a comprehensive review of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) primetime characters in the 2015-16 television season.

This year marks the 20th year that GLAAD has tracked the presence of LGBT characters on television and for the first time, they have counted LGBT characters on original series which have premiered on the streaming content providers Amazon, Hulu and Netflix.

Of the 881 regular characters expected to appear on broadcast primetime scripted programming in the coming year, 35 (4%) were identified as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.

The highest percentage of LGBT characters GLAAD has ever counted on primetime scripted broadcast programming was 4.4% in the 2012-13 season.

CEO & President of GLAAD, added Sarah Kate Ellis

Each of us lives at the intersection of many identities and it’s important that television characters reflect the full diversity of the LGBT community. It is not enough to just include LGBT characters; those characters need to be portrayed with thought and care to accurately represent an often tokenized community.”

The full report can be downloaded from the GLAAD website. However, here are some of its key findings:

Broadcast needs to step up its game

The number of regular LGBT characters on cable shows increased from 64 to 84 (out of 142 characters total), with 58 recurring LGBT characters (up from 41 last year).

GLAAD acquired data from streaming services for the first time (Netflix, Amazon, Hulu), and found 43 LGBT characters out of 59 regulars.

In contrast, the broadcast networks have 881 regular characters — a mere 35 of whom are LGBT this year.

Streaming services offer the most trans representation

Trans representation is still relatively new to television — but online streaming services are leading the charge. GLAAD found that 7% of characters on streaming services were trans, and that Netflix and Amazon both showcase trans leads (on Sense8 and Transparent).

There are no transgender characters counted on primetime broadcast programming, while only three recurring trans characters were counted on cable (2%).

Bisexual representation needs work

Bisexual representations rose on both broadcast and cable this year with a notable increase. Unfortunately, many of these characters still fall into dangerous stereotypes about bisexual people.

Racial diversity is still an issue

All three programming platforms need to include more racially diverse LGBT characters

With 73% of the LGBT characters appearing on streaming series being white and 71% on cable, it is clear that all three programming platforms need to include more racially diverse LGBT characters.

Overall racial diversity is moving in the right direction with 33% (287) of 881 regular characters counted on broadcast programming being people of color, which is a six-point increase from last year.

Women are still underrepresented

43% of regular primetime characters are female (up from 40% last year), but this still doesn’t reflect the general population, where women make up 51%. Of the 145 black characters on broadcast primetime, only 41% were female (59 characters).

Disability representation is down

After increasing for two years, the percentage of characters portrayed living with disabilities decreased this year, to 0.9%. There is only one character across the combined pool of broadcast and cable who is HIV-positive.

Gap’s LGBT Employees Share Their Stories For GLAAD’s ‘Got Your Back’ Pride Month Campaign (Video)

Thirteen Gap employees have shared their coming out stories in a powerful new video for GLAAD’s #GotYourBack campaign.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=17&v=7WnP3c9EpOk

The video is the latest instalment in GLAAD’s on-going efforts to encourage allies to speak out in support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community throughout Pride Month.

Paul Tew of Gap Inc.’s GEAR (Gay Employees, Allies and Resources) said told the Huffington Post, the project was in line with his corporation’s beliefs.

Lifting voices out of isolation — and vocalizing support — is a critical step in achieving equality. As a global company, it’s important to us that all of our employees and customers feel this support, from a local colleague to a Gap associate across the world,”

GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis echoed those sentiments, noting,

From classrooms to board rooms, locker rooms to living rooms, it’s critical that allies take an active role in accelerating acceptance of their LGBT friends, family and neighbours.”

She then added,

By sharing the moving stories of LGBT employees, Gap Inc. is sending an important message about the power of love and acceptance.”

GLAAD 2015 Report Highlights Lack of Representation for Lesbian, Bi and Trans Characters in Hollywood Films

Studios still aren’t doing enough to show lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters on screen, according GLAAD’s to the annual Studio Responsibility Index (SRI).

The report maps the quantity, quality, and diversity of images of LGBT people in films released by the seven largest motion picture studios and four major subsidiary studios during the 2014 calendar year.

GLAAD’s 2015 report found that just 17.5% of the 114 major studio releases it tracked last year contained characters that identified as either lesbian, gay or bisexual.

The vast majority – 65% – of these inclusive films feature gay male characters, many of them white.

Less than a third of the 20 films that contained LGBT characters featured bisexual roles, and just 10% had lesbian characters.

According to the study, there were no characters GLAAD determined to be identifiably transgender among any films tracked this year.

As television and streaming services continue to produce a remarkable breadth of diverse LGBT representations, we still struggle to find depictions anywhere near as authentic or meaningful in mainstream Hollywood film. The industry continues to look increasingly out of touch by comparison, and still doesn’t represent the full diversity of the American cultural fabric,”

Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President & CEO

Though the overall number of films containing LGBT characters has increased slightly from last year, Hollywood still presents a dire portrayal of diversity.

Most of the LGBT characters were cast in minor roles or were solely defined by their sexual orientation, rather than being a multidimensional character.

Half of the inclusive films contained less than five minutes of screen time for their LGBT characters. Only 32.1% of inclusive roles were people of colour, compared to 24% the previous year.

GLAAD introduced the “Vito Russo Test” in 2012, a set of criteria analysing how LGBT characters are represented in a fictional work, in the first SRI and continues to judge films by these simple guidelines. Named after GLAAD co-founder and celebrated film historian Vito Russo, and partly inspired by the “Bechdel Test,” these criteria represent a standard GLAAD would like to see a greater number of mainstream Hollywood films reach in the future.

The Vito Russo Test criteria:

The film contains a character that is identifiably lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender (LGBT).
That character must not be solely or predominantly defined by their sexual orientation or gender identity (i.e. the character is comprised of the same sort of unique character traits commonly used to differentiate straight characters from one another).
The LGBT character must be tied into the plot in such a way that their removal would have a significant effect. Meaning they are not there to simply provide colorful commentary, paint urban authenticity, or (perhaps most commonly) set up a punchline. The character should “matter.”

Eleven of the 20 major studio films that featured an LGBT character passed the Vito Russo Test.

While we were pleased to see Warner Brothers show real improvement in its LGBT-inclusive films in 2014, they also recently released the comedy Get Hard, one of the most problematic films we have seen in some time. This glaring lack of consistency seems to be common amongst almost every major film studio, showing a need for greater oversight in how their films represent – or don’t represent – significant portions of their audience. Only when they make those changes and catch up to other, more consistently inclusive media portrayals will we be able to say that America’s film industry is a full partner in accelerating acceptance.”

Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President & CEO

GLAAD’s 9th annual Network Responsibility Index (NRI) will be issued this summer. This report will analyse the LGBT-inclusive images presented by the five broadcast networks and 10 cable networks during the 2014-2015 broadcast season. The Where We Are on TV report, forecasting the expected presence of LGBT characters for the upcoming 2015-2016 television season, will follow in the fall.

How Tello’s Queer Web Series Can Save You From Boring TV Shows

According to GLAAD’s annual ‘Where We Are On TV’ report for 2014, just 32 out of 813 primetime broadcast scripted series regulars will be LGBT (3.9%). Even if you agree with the low ball statistic that 1 in 10 people are queer, that number doesn’t cut it and most definitely doesn’t reflect the queer faces who are watching these TV shows and trying to relate to the characters’ stories. Over half of these characters on primetime television are also queer men and the few queer women who we get to see are often subject to uncomfortable and familiar tropes such as Pretty Little Liars’ Emily who cheated on her girlfriend and kissed a guy, or the many queer female characters who are killed off.

At times it can be impossible to enjoy television, when you’re well aware that your favourite TV lesbian is playing second fiddle to a mundane heterosexual love triangle and it can leave you with nothing to watch on the telly. But while TV fails, the Internet can help pick up the slack and as one of the most popular portals for queer web series, tellofilms should be your number one destination for fictional queer ladies.

tellofilms’ co-creator Christin Baker explains:

“I realised that the web was becoming an interesting space for non-traditional entertainment, and wanted to explore it. Our focus has always been to make series distributed over the web, specifically for a lesbian audience.

I did it because it’s stuff that I like to watch. I’ve put my own money into the company – it had to be something I wanted to watch. Because, at the end of the day, if you’re putting your free time, money, blood, sweat and tears into something, you’d better be passionate about it.”

Saying that The Fosters, Orange is the New Black, Orphan Black and new Amazon web series Transparent are “shows that are trying”, Baker also states that “those shows will eventually get canceled like The L Word. On the other hand, [tellofilms has] new content all the time.”

Also: Why Rent Controlled Is The Funniest Web Series You’ll Watch

That list of shows Baker mentions could see them each go on for five seasons or so, proud of the fact that they feature queer female leads but once they end due to the natural closure of the plot or diminished viewership, we’d be lucky to see them replaced with something just as queer friendly. They are the exceptions not the rule. And with tello’s 15 or so web series (a roster constantly being added to) all featuring lesbians both in front of and behind the camera (such as the hilarious #Hashtag and Rent Controlled) viewers will constantly have queer media to enjoy – even when other inclusive shows or cancelled or are on hiatus.

As tellofilms continues to do well and strives to deliver more great content to its 3500~ subscribers, Baker says that “We’re interested in honouring our audience and subscribers outside of just letting them watch content. We’ve started to create this great community and now we’re really excited to figure out what that looks like and what that is.”

One exciting project that subscribers should look forward to later this year is a yet-untitled project about a ballerina who has to “slum it” at a queer, modern dance company after she suffers an injury.

But as for those who aren’t subscribed to tello, as a small business owner Baker offers sage wisdom, “It’s important to support indie artists. If you notice something missing – it’s probably out there, being made by someone in the indie community.”

Alan Cumming’s ‘Celibacy’ Video Mocks FDA Blood Donor Policy

As part of a campaign intended to criticize the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) blood donor policies, actor Alan Cumming appeared in a mock public service announcement, touting a Celibacy Challenge for gay and bisexual men.

The video is part of a campaign, created by the design firm Bullitt and advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi NY, for GLAAD and the Gay Men’s Health Crisis’ response to the double standard for gay and bisexual men hoping to donate blood.

The Celibacy Challenge campaign comes after the FDA announced in December that men who have sex with men would no longer be banned from donating blood for life, as they have been since 1983, but would still need to abstain from sex for a year in order to be eligible.

“Now if you’re gay and you want to save lives, the FDA will let you. You just can’t have sex, for an entire year. That’s right, 365 days of celibacy.

Introducing, the Celibacy Challenge! To help you abstain from any naughty temptation, here are some fully approved activities that are guaranteed to make your year without sex fly by.

…Or there’s another option. Sign our petition.”

Alan Cumming

The goal, as Cumming says at the end of the video, is to put pressure the FDA, and to change its questionnaire, so donors are screened based on their exposure to risk, and not their sexual orientation.

The petition points out that whereas straight men who have safe sex with multiple women can still donate blood, gay and bisexual men who have had safe sex in the last year (even with a monogamous partner) are still prohibited from doing the same.

In December, Dr. Peter Marks, deputy director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, told The New York Times that “at this time we simply do not have the evidence to suggest that we can go to a shorter period.”

“Stereotypes have no place in saving lives. The FDA’s proposed change still means that countless gay and bisexual men will be turned away from blood banks simply because of who they are.”

Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD president and CEO

GLAAD: Despite Gay Marriage Gains, LGBT Acceptance Still Remains The Biggest Challenge

Despite a surge in gay marriage wins across America, acceptance of the LGBT community still needs much more work to ensure the safety and acceptance of LGBT Americans in their communities, workplaces, and families.

According to a new Accelerating Acceptance survey released by GLAAD, one-third of respondents were uncomfortable attending a same-sex wedding (34 percent), seeing a gay couple hold hands (36 percent) or learning their doctor is LGBT (31 percent). Harris Poll conducted the online survey in 2014 of 4,000 Americans who indicted they were heterosexual.

“Closing the gap to full acceptance of LGBT people will not come from legislation or judicial decisions alone, but from a deeper understanding and empathy from Americans themselves. Accelerating acceptance will require the help of not just LGBT people, but also their allies – everyday Americans who feel strongly and take an active role to make sure that their LGBT friends and family are fully accepted members of society.”

Sarah Kate Ellis, the CEO and President of GLAAD

Marriage and Same-Sex Relationships

While a majority of the public supports equal marriage protections, there remain large numbers of straight, non-transgender adults that still have a significant degree of discomfort surrounding actual weddings for same-sex couples. One-third (34%) say they would be uncomfortable attending the wedding of a same-sex couple, with 22% saying they would feel very uncomfortable. A substantially larger group (43%) responds they would be uncomfortable bringing a child to the wedding of a same-sex couple.

Beyond weddings for same-sex couples, the survey reveals that many are still uncomfortable simply seeing and interacting with same-sex couples. A third of non-LGBT Americans (36%) say that just seeing a same-sex couple holding hands makes them uncomfortable.

The survey also evidenced resistance to LGBT parents by other parents in their community. Many straight, non-transgender parents say they would be uncomfortable with their child playing at a home with an LGBT parent – 40% for a transgender parent, 29% for a gay dad and 28% for a lesbian mom.

A fifth to nearly a third of non-LGBT Americans are uncomfortable with common situations involving LGBT people. These range from simple things like having an LGBT person move in next door to more personal situations such as learning that a family member is LGBT.

Acceptance of the transgender community faces more resistance than does acceptance of the rest of the LGBT community. Most notably, a majority of non-LGBT Americans (59%) say they would be uncomfortable if they learned their child was dating a transgender person. More than a quarter (31%) say this would make them “very uncomfortable.”

Being on a sports team with a transgender person still makes large numbers of non-LGBT Americans uncomfortable. Roughly equal numbers report discomfort with being on the same team as a transgender woman (32%) and a transgender man (31%). These numbers are higher than the reports of discomfort with being on a sports team with a gay man (26%) or lesbian (20%).

Further demonstrating the importance of cultivating more allies, those who know LGBT people display substantially lower levels of discomfort –30% are uncomfortable seeing a same-sex couple hold hands among those who have LGBT family members, while that number drops to 25% among those with an LGBT coworker and 17% among those with a close LGBT friend. On the flip side, almost half (47%) of those who don’t know any LGBT people say seeing a same-sex couple holding hands makes them uncomfortable. Clearly, a connection exists between familiarity and acceptance.

‘GLAAD: All Access’ is Talking With The People Making a Difference For Equality

GLAAD has launched a new online video series – ‘GLAAD: All Access’ – that features interviews with newsmakers, hit-makers, and people making a difference for equality. The series is hosted by Claire Pires, who formerly worked at ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’.

In the series’ premiere episode, Pires talks with Emmy-nominated actress Laverne Cox about her groundbreaking documentary, ‘Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word‘, which introduced millions of viewers to transgender youth making a difference.

“Telling our stories is so deeply important. But the way in which our stories are told can really make a huge difference in terms of whether the message gets out about our humanity and the complexity of our humanity.”

Laverne Cox

The series’ second episode, features an exclusive interview with Ugandan LGBT advocate Clare Byarugaba of the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law, who discusses the horrific violence and oppression facing LGBT Ugandans.

Episode 3, features an interview with ‘Faking It’ stars Rita Volk and Michael Willett, who talk about the importance of LGBT and intersex representation on TV.

In episode 4, host Claire Pires talked with editor-in-chief of Rookiemag.com and feminist Tavi Gevinson about the importance of LGBT content in her new book, Rookie Yearbook Three.

Millions to Dress in Purple Today, to Mark the Fifth Annual #SpiritDay

Millions of LGBT people and their allies will dress in purple on today to mark the fifth annual Spirit Day.

Spirit Day began in 2010 as a way to show support for LGBT youth and take a stand against bullying. Following a string of high-profile suicide deaths of gay teens in 2010, GLAAD worked to involve millions of teachers, workplaces, celebrities, media outlets and students in going purple on social media or wearing purple, a color that symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag. Spirit Day now occurs every year on the third Thursday in October, during National Bullying Prevention Month, and has become the most visible day of support for LGBT youth.

Now observed annually, millions of individuals, schools, organizations, corporations, media professionals and celebrities are expected to wear purple on Thursday, and color their social media profiles purple as well.

GLAAD offers these tips for participating in this year’s Spirit Day:

Go Purple for Spirit Day: Take a stand against bullying. Wear something purple, and useGLAAD’s Spirit Day tools to turn your social media profile photos purple to show your support for LGBT youth.
Tell your friends about #spiritday on Facebook and Twitter: Share the #SpiritDay graphics on social media and help spread the word!
Tweet to your school about #spiritday: Tell your school or alma mater to support Spirit Day
Join #spiritday on Facebook: Join the official #SpiritDay event on Facebook and invite your friends.
Check out the Spirit Day Resource Kit: The Spirit Day Resource Kit will help you engage the participation of your friends, colleagues, local media and public officials.
Download the #SpiritDay App: You can take part in Spirit Day right from your phone!

The color purple was chosen because it symbolizes “spirit” on the Rainbow Flag.

Study Shows 2014 Has Seen an Increase in Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Characters on Mainstream TV

Television has increased its depiction of gay, lesbian and bisexual characters, with the edge going to cable and the Internet over broadcast networks, according to a study released by GLAAD.

“Television networks are playing a key role in promoting cultural understanding of LGBT lives around the world, and are now producing some of the best LGBT-inclusive programming we’ve yet seen. As they move forward with new programs and storylines, networks must also keep an eye towards diversity and strive to include significant transgender content comparable to those efforts being made by their online competitors, such as Netflix’s Orange is the New Black and Amazon’s Transparent.”

Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President and CEO

The overall on-screen progress comes as the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community has made social and political strides that include legalization of same-sex marriage in some U.S. states and the end of a military ban on openly gay service members.

In the 2014-15 season, the study by GLAAD said that 3.9 percent of 813 characters regularly seen on prime-time network scripted series will be lesbian, gay or bisexual, a total of 32 characters.

That represents an increase over last year’s 3.3 percent, but is down from the 4.4 percent record high for LGBT depictions on network series in 2012.

Among the networks, Fox again emerged with the highest percentage of lesbian, gay or bisexual regular characters, 6.5 percent, with “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and “Glee” among the programs contributing to the tally. ABC, which had tied with Fox for first last year at 5.4 percent, dropped to 4.5 percent.

NBC is at 3.8 percent, up almost 3 points from last year, while CBS’ shows had 3.2 percent gay, lesbian or bisexual characters, up from 1.9 percent from last season. The CW has no regular LGBT characters, the gay rights group said.

Among cable TV shows, there were 64 regular LGBT characters, up from 42 last season. HBO has the most characters, followed by ABC Family and Showtime. One transgender character, on ABC Family’s “The Fosters,” was found by the study.

Tom Ascheim, President of ABC Family said…

“To be relevant to our audience, we must reflect the world as they experience it, and we know that experience is based on valuing loving relationships, no matter the gender. This acknowledgment is especially gratifying because it means we are representing their view accurately. We will continue to deliver programming where differences are acknowledged and celebrated.”

Tom Ascheim, President of ABC Family

Michael Lombardo, President, HBO Programming added…

“This recognition from GLAAD belongs to those in the writing room, on set and in the editing bay but we are honored to be their partner and provide a home where they can tell their stories. At HBO we feel if we are not telling diverse stories then we are missing out on some of the best stories. It is a part of our history and an ongoing commitment. “

Michael Lombardo, President, HBO Programming.

President of MTV and Logo TV said Stephen Friedman

“For MTV to fully connect with young people, we have to represent our entire audience in all its brilliant diversity, which includes people of every sexual orientation and gender identity. We’re honored to receive GLAAD’s recognition, and are committed to airing the stories of LGBTQ young people – to provide our audience characters they can relate to, and to bring new voices from the LGBTQ community into living rooms across the country.”

Stephen Friedman, President of MTV and Logo TV

GLAAD also studied other aspects of diversity on network TV. Despite several new high-profile broadcast series starring women, including Alfre Woodward as the U.S. president in NBC’s “State of Affairs” and Tea Leoni as secretary of state in CBS’ “Madam Secretary,” the percentage of female characters has declined to 40 percent, down 3 points from last year.

Ethnic characters on network shows make up 27 percent of the total, compared with 23 percent last season, with 1.4 percent depicted as people with disabilities, a slight increase from 1 percent in 2013.

‘God vs. Gay’ in Mainstream Media – HRC and GLAAD Unveil Groundbreaking Resource to Challenge Anti-LGBT Views

GLAAD and HRC Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest advocacy group for LGBT rights, today unveiled ‘In Focus: Faith, LGBT People, & the Midterm Elections’ a groundbreaking resource guide that empowers journalists to challenge anti-LGBT talking heads who mask bias as a ‘tenet of faith.’

“It’s time the media gets it right. More and more churches, faith leaders, and religious Americans are speaking out in support of equality, but their voices remain missing in mainstream media. It’s time to close the gap on misrepresentation and challenge the tired idea that equality is not a religious value.”

Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President & CEO

Back in 2012, GLAAD released “GLAAD’s Missing Voices: A study of religious voices in mainstream media reports about LGBT equality.” The report found that three out of four religious messages came from spokespeople whose religions have formal policies or culture opposing LGBT equality, despite the fact that acceptance of LGBT people is growing across faith traditions. Additionally, mainstream media outlets use far fewer religious sources from Mainline Protestant, Jewish, or other denominations whose messages were predominantly positive and accepting of LGBT people. Far too often, outlets frame stories as “God vs. Gay,” inaccurately representing the current climate of acceptance across faith communities today. The newly released guide seeks to correct these disparities in reporting.

“It’s long past time that anti-LGBT activists who claim to be people of faith had to answer a few simple questions about what the Bible and other holy books actually say. I grew up in a Southern Baptist congregation, going to church Sunday morning, Sunday night and, if my Mom got her way, Wednesday night too. The message I learned sitting in those church pews was that we are all God’s children, and you’ve got to love your neighbor as yourself.”

Chad Griffin, HRC President Chad Griffin

Visit www.glaad.org/faith to learn more about GLAAD’s Religion, Faith & Values program, and www.hrc.org/religion for resources and to learn more about HRC’s work with religious communities.

Game Changers Google and YouTube is to be Honored at GLAAD Gala

GLAAD, has announced it will honor global technology leader Google and video-sharing innovator YouTube at the GLAAD Gala San Francisco: Game Changers at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square on September 13, 2014.

At the gala, Google and YouTube will receive the Ric Weiland Award, which honors innovators who advance LGBT equality through tech and new media. The award is named after Ric Weiland, who was a computer software pioneer and philanthropist. Together with his surviving partner Mike Schaefer, he is known for his dedication to LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations.

Why Google?

For years, Google has been one of Silicon Valley’s most vocal supporters of LGBT equality.

In 2008, Google spoke out against California’s Proposition 8, a statewide ban on marriage for same-sex couples, and donated significant contributions to efforts to remove the ban.
In 2010, Google announced that it would cover extra health coverage-related costs incurred by gay and lesbian couples unable to legally wed.
The following year, Google expanded its employee healthcare coverage to include transition-related care for its transgender employees.
In 2012, the company launched ‘Legalize Love,’ an international effort to “promote safer conditions for gay and lesbian people inside and outside the office in countries with anti-gay laws on the books.”
That same year, Google unveiled a YouTube video showcasing employees speaking out in support of marriage equality in four battleground states – Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington.
In 2013, YouTube unveiled its first-ever pride campaign, #ProudToLove, and changed its logo to be pride-themed for the first time in the company’s history.
Earlier this year, Google showed its support for LGBT Russians through a rainbow ‘Google Doodle,’ which debuted just hours before the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
And in June, YouTube unveiled its #ProudToPlay campaign – a celebration of LGBT equality in sports. The campaign was featured on the YouTube and Google homepages and marked the second consecutive year that YouTube changed its logo for a pride campaign.

“Few companies have the power to reach billions, and even fewer use that power to help ensure everyone can live the life they love. Tech innovators like Google are now at the forefront of the global conversation on LGBT equality, ushering in a new era of acceptance and understanding for users across the world. Through groundbreaking campaigns, outspoken support, and a relentless commitment to its LGBT employees, Google has raised the bar on corporate leadership that drives equality forward.”

Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President & CEO

Kristen Henderson, Outspoken Bassist of Antigone Rising

The bassist of openly lesbian alt-rock band Antigone Rising talks to us about hanging out with the Rolling Stones and kissing her wife on the front cover of Time magazine.

Q: You have two new EPs coming out soon: Whiskey and Wine Volume 1 and Whiskey and Wine Volume 2. How would you describe them?

KH: They capture our typical Antigone Rising sound, which is a country rock sound. The thinking behind releasing two separate EPs came from my view that the music industry is in such a state of chaos. The industry just seems to be about releasing this constant stream of content and so much music nowadays seems to get lost because no one listens to it. Most fans are only interested in downloading a single or one track off an album.

We thought it would make sense to put out the CD in two parts over the course of the year so there’s a big splash in the early part of the year and another big splash later on. We’ve made videos for all the songs on the EPs in order to try to make an event out of each and every song. There are artistic reasons for our decision, but it also makes sense from a marketing standpoint because by December people might have forgotten about an album that came out eight months ago, so short are attention spans nowadays. So come October or November when part 2 comes out, it’ll be a brand new CD and will have a new relevance.

This time we wanted to take a different approach to putting out our music. At first we considered digitally releasing one song at a time every month and then at the end of the year putting out a CD containing all those songs. But because it’s been a couple of years since we made a CD, we decided that we needed a physical product to sell while on tour.

Q: Where will you be touring this year? Any plans to come to London?

KH: As of now it’s all in the States, but we’re definitely looking to go to Europe and Canada as well. We don’t have anything on the books for Europe yet, but we’d love to get over there.

Q: What was it like supporting the Rolling Stones? Did you get to meet them?

KH: It was awesome! The Stones are like this huge roaming city unto themselves, setting up new restaurants and shops and facilities in a new city every night. The production that goes into a Rolling Stones tour is mind-boggling.

The crowd’s reaction to us was also great. I remember some years ago seeing U2 in a big arena and the Kings of Leon – before they had broken through – were the support act. The audience wasn’t really paying attention to them. The lights were on and the stadium was relatively empty, well there were maybe 5 or 6000 people as opposed to the 20-30,000 that would later come see U2.

By contrast, when we opened for the Stones in Chicago, there were 30,000 people, the lights were on and it was a full-on show. I couldn’t believe it. I had told myself that in arena shows nobody comes to see the opener, but on this occasion the place was packed!

The Stones themselves are totally gracious and they made a point of meeting us. We spent a lot of time with both Ron Wood and Charlie Watts over the course of the tour. Keith Richards would hang out on the side of the stage while we played. Eventually we did get to meet Mick too, although he was a little less accessible. Given the show he puts on each night he has to lay low and rest. We had a really great time on that tour with the Stones.

Q: Do you prefer playing smaller or bigger venues?

KH: We’ve gotten to a point in our career where we know how to tailor our sound to whatever room we’re playing. I just love the response from an audience, wherever it is. Even if you’re playing a 200-seat venue – if it’s packed then the energy you can get off that is so intense. I can’t really compare or contrast one venue over the other, I just love playing live. When we have played in front of 20,000 people it feels intimate if people are into it, if they’re cheering and enjoying the music.

Q: Last year a photo of you kissing your wife appeared on the front cover of Time magazine. What sort of effect were you hoping that would have on public attitudes to same-sex marriage?

KH: The whole point of that was to come out, be vocal and hopefully change people’s hearts and minds. It was less controversial than we or Time expected. Time was gearing up for it to be this big scandal and had prepped us for attacks by the conservative media. But instead the most right-wing commentators – people like Bill O’Reilly and Geraldo Rivera – said that they didn’t know what the big deal was. So it was sort of a non-event. I guess that, on social issues, these conservatives are not so repressed any more.

Q: Do you think that represents progress? That people across the political spectrum are becoming more open to same-sex marriage?

KH: Absolutely. The landscape has changed pretty fast. In 2009 my wife Sarah and I wrote a book about our experience of being LGBT mothers and before we did press for that we were advised by GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), an organisation that Sarah is now the chair of. They prepped us for a hostile reaction and they were right – a lot of the interviewers were opposed to same-sex marriage. They asked us questions like ‘What about the poor kids?’ and ‘Don’t they need a father?’ Then two years later my wife and I are kissing each other on the front of Time magazine and I was pleasantly surprised that the reaction was very different.

Q: 5% of the royalties from both volumes of Whiskey and Wine will be donated to GLAAD. Could you explain what GLAAD do?

KH: They primarily focus on the media’s representation of the LGBT community. In any instance where they feel like there’s been a misrepresentation they try and correct the error or educate people about the truth. I truly believe that the equality movement in the United States has largely been won because of the work GLAAD do and the way they have helped to change public perceptions of LGBTs.

A lot of Americans don’t realise that same-sex marriage is illegal in many parts of their own country or that LGBTs do not have equal rights to straight people in, for example, the workplace. They are not equal when it comes to health benefits or the right to adopt children. But people are at least now seeing positive images on TV of LGBTs on shows like Will and Grace and Modern Family. I feel like we are winning the war by using the media to change people’s minds. I’m not saying it’s won yet – there’s still a lot more to do.

Q: And the Time cover was a big step forward.

KH: Absolutely.

Q: Country music has traditionally been associated with conservative values. Is homophobia a problem in country music today and have you or your band ever been the victim of prejudice?

KH: Antigone Rising started out as a rock band and we’ve shifted slowly towards a Southern Rock sound and now, I guess, we have a country sound. I wouldn’t say that we’re part of the Nashville scene and in a sense, I think we’re flying in the face of Nashville, and I kinda like that. No one in the business has ever said anything negative to me, but I do sometimes wonder what the real reasons are for not getting booked in certain venues or not being asked out on certain tours. We certainly aren’t being embraced by country artists or country labels, but there are plenty of LGBT country fans who appreciate artists like us who they can identify with.

Q: Do you make a conscious effort to put political messages into your music?

KH: Not really, it’s never intentional. There may be moments in a song where we might allude to our lives – being out or not being out or making certain political choices, for example. For the most part, just by showing up and playing and being out and being who we are – this is a statement on behalf of women because we’re an all-female band and it’s a statement on behalf of LGBTs because we are all gay and out.

It can be a little divisive if you try to pound a message into people. I just like to play music. A producer once said to me, ‘Like the music, like the man.’ He told me that he never used to care for Bruce Springsteen’s music and then he worked with Springsteen, got to know him and found him to be so nice and generous that he learned to love his music. So I think by showing up and allowing people to get to know us, we win them over to who we are and what we believe. I think that’s more effective than making some bold statement. I’m not opposed to people doing that, of course, but it’s just not how we roll.

Antigone Rising | Girl Power Country Rock Style

This year lesbian alt country group Antigone Rising will release two superlative new EPs, Whiskey and Wine Volume 1 and Whiskey and Wine Volume 2. They are currently touring grass roots venues in the US in support of their latest single, ‘That was the Whiskey’, which has already been nominated for an Independent Music Award. The tune was co-written with much-admired country and western songwriter Lori McKenna.

The New York-based all-girl band made the big time in 2005, selling 150,000 copies of their debut album and dominating the Billboard Heatseekers charts for over a year. Soon enough they were supporting rock legends such as the Rolling Stones, Allman Brothers Band and Aerosmith. They play almost 300 concerts annually and have performed on the Today Show and the Tonight Show. Last year’s 23 Red LP was a critical and commercial triumph.

Antigone Rising are also renowned for their social activism, campaigning for same-sex marriage and LGBT rights around the world. In 2013 bassist Kristen Ellis-Henderson appeared with her wife Sarah Kate Ellis-Henderson in Time Magazine’s special “Gay Marriage Already Won” edition.

‘It was an honour to be chosen as the couple on the cover of Time,’ said Kristen. ‘To be part of the cultural shift is not something my wife and I take lightly. We will continue to show up for our community until there is equality everywhere.’

Her music is very much infused with her politics, as Antigone Rising aim to ‘play better than the boys’ in a genre that has historically been tainted by patriarchy and reactionary attitudes to gender and sexual identity. Kristin’s wife Sarah is the President / CEO of GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) and 5% of the royalties from both volumes of Whiskey and Wine will be donated to GLAAD.

Founded in 1993 by Kristen and her sister Cathy Henderson, Antigone Rising has changed its line-up a good deal over the years. Currently Nini Camps sings lead vocals and plays rhythm guitar and Dena Tauriello is on drums.

Whiskey and Wine Volume 1 was released to iTunes on 25^th March 2014 and Whiskey and Wine Volume 2 is released on 28^th October 2014. Don’t miss out on the girl power!

Find out more – www.antigonerising.com

Derrick Gordon comes out as first openly gay male NCAA Division I basketball player

GLAAD, the nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy organization, and the You Can Play Project, one of North America’s leading organizations dedicated to ensuring equality in sports, has hailed Derrick Gordon’s coming out as the first openly gay male National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I basketball player.

“The tidal wave of support for gay and lesbian athletes continues to surge forward,” said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “Derrick’s bold decision to come out as gay isn’t just significant, it’s inspirational. Today, countless young basketball players, athletes, and men of color have another outstanding role model who reflects the fact that you can be who you want to be no matter who you love.”

“I was deeply moved watching Derrick open his heart to his UMass basketball family. His desire to invite his teammates into his life speaks to how athletes view their teammates as their family,” said Wade Davis, Executive Director of the You Can Play Project. ” I love being a part of an organization that continues to foster the creation of safe spaces for all individuals to be their authentic selves.”

Derrick Gordon, a guard on the Minutemen basketball team at University of Massachusetts-Amherst, told ESPN today, “I’ve always loved sports but always felt I had to hide and be someone that I’m not. For my whole life I’ve been living my life as a lie,” said Gordon. “I am telling my story so that athletes never feel like they have to hide. You can be true to yourself and play the sport that you love.” Derrick Gordon’s announcement comes just one day after the completion of the NCAA Basketball National Championship.

Earlier this year, 24 year-old University of Missouri football defensive end and NFL prospect Michael Sam attracted national news headlines following his announcement that he is gay. Also this year, basketball center Jason Collins became the first openly gay male athlete in professional sports after being signed to the Brooklyn Nets.

Source – http://www.glaad.org/