Representation We Have Vs. Representation We Need

For much of modern history, queer folk have been forced to chase after representation within film, television, and other forms of media. As of right now, I believe we have hit a critical point in queer representation in which we are finally seeing it begin to reach into the mainstream. However, it’s hard to deny that that “representation” is almost exclusively that of cisgender, white, gay males. In the end, this reinforces toxic norms and standards of representation not only for the larger gay community, but for other queer folk as well. In order to foster an accepting environment within the queer community, we must address this constant portrayal of the white, gay, male as representative of the whole queer community and call for intersectional film and t.v. media that truly represents the queer spectrum in its full potential.

In an annual report on LGBTQ+ representation in t.v. media conducted by GLAAD, the CEO and President of GLAAD, Sarah Kate Ellis explained that, “the LGBTQ characters who make it to TV screens tend to be white gay men, who outnumber all other parts of our community in representation on screen. In actuality, the population of the U.S. counts more women than men, and bisexual people make up the majority of the LGBTQ community” (3). Although this study focuses more on broadcast television, we have seen this same issue make its way into the budding queer film industry in movies such as GBF, Call Me by Your Name, and Love, Simon.

In the gay community itself, the constant reinforcement of the cisgender, white, fit, able, gay male body as the norm can ingrain harmful ideals that are more often than not labeled as “preferences” by those who perpetuate them. As a result, it is a completely common occurrence to see phrases such as “no fats,” “masc 4 masc,” “no Asians,” “no femmes,” or “no Blacks” on various online dating and hookup profiles. By perpetuating racism, body shaming, sexism, or any other form of oppression within the gay community, we only end up harming ourselves. We are giving into the structures put in place to divide us when we should be actively fighting back against them.

However, this constant reinforcement of the normative white, gay male within film and t.v. of course does not only impact the gay community, but also presents an intersectional crisis for the queer community as a whole. In the same GLAAD study, Sarah Ellis declares that “It’s long past time for television to introduce more diverse LGBTQ characters on multiple levels: more queer people of color (who have long been and remain underrepresented) ...” (3). In order to achieve this intersectional vision, that means we must include “characters living with disabilities, stories of lesbians and bisexual women, trans characters, characters of various religious backgrounds, and characters who are shaped by existing at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities” (GLAAD, 3). The lack of representation for these expansive queer narratives tells the LGBTQ+ community that your story is not worth sharing unless you are a cisgender, white, gay male.

At the end, we arrive at a crucial tipping point in which queer people are on the cusp of not only seeing the stories of us, but being able to share all of our stories for the world to see. The queer community has spent its existence fighting back against injustice for the sake of survival and now, we must demand not only intersectional representation in media, but for the end of the racist, sexist, and transphobic rhetoric that has taken root in the gay community. Too many queer bodies have been lost to this movement to allow our long-awaited moment of representation be dominated by only the narrative of gay males who are cisgender and white. Our spectrum is too colorful to hide.

Citation: GLAAD, “Where We Are On TV 17’-18’: GLAAD’s Annual Report on LGBTQ Inclusion,” GLAAD Media Institute. Jan 1, 2018.