Why Representation Is Important
This is a question that has had a lot of discussion over the years. Whether we are talking about LGBTQ+ representation or how the media affects people’s outlooks on their own bodies, it is clear that media has a strong impact on today’s society. What it ultimately comes down to though is that the things we read and watch portray us–who we want to be, who we are, how we feel.
We relate to characters and real people in the spotlight because they provide comfort and validation for things that we ourselves are already going through. Whether you are someone who is struggling with your identity or working through mental health issues, seeing someone onscreen or on the page struggling with those same things can be extremely releaving. It sends a message: you are not alone, and it is okay to be who you are or go through what you are going through.
Fictional characters represent the real world and real people. How we view them and talk about them matters, especially to minority groups, who tend to be underrepresented across the board. In a study on resilience in LGBTQ+ youth by Shelley Craig et al., queer youth are more likely to self-harm, commit suicide, or become depressed from the increased isolation and harrassment they face (254-255). Craig also goes on to note that representation of strong queer characters can help combat this by allowing teens to feel less alone and by providing them with a role model (263-265). This highlights such an important point in this article; media is not just for entertainment. Sure, it provides people with an opportunity to escape, but it also gives them someone to look up to and model themselves after when struggling with their identity. For LGBTQ+ youth, this can be lifesaving. Seeing someone in fiction struggle through and overcome the same issues that they are currently dealing with can show them that it is possible to survive being who they are in a society that isn’t always kind.
Although Craig’s article focused on queer youth, this can be applied to LGBTQ+ adults as well. Discrimination does not simply dissolve once a person is grown, and although one’s tolerance towards dealing with it can change as the person in question gets older, it still does damage. Queer representation for adults is just as important as it is for youth, and can serve as a reserve of strength and confidence for real people.
The Facts Behind Today’s Representation
Media representation nowadays is actually starting to get better….minus quite a few shortfalls. According to an article called “Bury Your Gays” by Erin Waggoner, there are still a great many harmful tropes out there that shove queer people into heteronormative boxes. To name a few, she listed bisexual erasure, killing gay/lesbian characters, focusing only on white male queer characters, etc (1878-1879). This serves as a way for media producers to be seen as “inclusive,” while not at all attempting to meet the needs of the audience they claim to be catering to. By showing these characters in only predefined ways, it controls the narrative and keeps the focus on the heteronormative storylines.
But the insidious underbelly of this problem is that propelling queer media tropes only serves to further strip the identities of their audience members by making them irrelevant. As Waggoner so succinctly put it:
“When the repeated tropes are used within an already marginalized community, LGBTQ fans and their identities also become marginalized, causing a misrepresentation for understanding themselves and others,”
Erin Waggoner, pp. 1879
This is a problem that isn’t considered nearly as much as it should be. A lack of representation cannot be fixed by including only what is deemed acceptable by the majority voice; if we are to move forward towards acceptance that acceptance must be all-inclusive. It does not work to attempt to force a vast and colorful range of people into a handful of roles, to be played both onscreen and off.
In GLAAD’s annual report about television representation (2018-2019), things seem to be looking up (trans characters on broadcast have increased, as has queer people of color) but it is clear that there is still a definite need for improvement. 91.5% of characters on broadcast networks were identified as straight. That’s 784 characters to 75 queer characters. Bisexual characters are still mainly skewed towards women, with 84 women and only 33 men. Unfortunately there are still no asexual characters on any of the broadcast networks reviewed.
The fact of the matter is that even though representation is increasing and even diversifying, there are still huge gaps that need to be filled. Queer characters don’t even make up 10% of broadcast television. And that less-than-10% is meant to represent the entire queer community, which is laughable at best and damaging at worst. It’s time to promote queer writers, screen-writers, actors, and musicians; because the only way this is going to get better is if we make our voices heard.
For more information on queer media representation, check out GLAAD’s website: https://www.glaad.org
Craig, Shelley L., et al. “Media: A Catalyst for Resilience in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Youth.” Journal of LGBT Youth, vol. 12, no. 3, Jan. 2015, pp. 254–275. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1067819&site=eds-live.
Waggoner, Erin B. “Bury Your Gays and Social Media Fan Response: Television, LGBTQ Representation, and Communitarian Ethics.” Journal of Homosexuality, vol. 65, no. 13, Dec. 2018, pp. 1877–1891. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/00918369.2017.1391015.
Queer and Here 