Within the past decade, we have seen tremendous progress being made to accurately represent LGBTQ+ individuals in the media, but even with that progress, we still have a ways to go until representation is equal across the board.
It is evident that social media has played a huge role in the increased acceptance and representation of the LGBTQ+ community–with trans and nonbinary representation in media and fashion growing tremendously (as evidenced by the success of breakout hits such as “Drag Race” HBO’s “Euphoria,” and Netflix’s “Pose”). In saying that though, things have not always been this way. Even just 15 years ago, LGBTQ+ individuals were very much ‘invisible’ in terms of media representation–with only a few accounts of gay and lesbian characters being depicted (often times not even in accurate ways.)
However, to further shed light on this evolution of LGBTQ+ depictions on television, comedian Wanda Sykes and actor Wilson Cruz executively produced a 5-part docuseries called ‘Visible: Out on Television’ that will launch on February 14th on Apple TV Plus. Sykes and Cruz said that they created this series to act as a testament to how LGBTQ people and their allies harnessed TV to tell the community’s stories.
Best known for his roles as ‘Dennis’ in 13 Reasons Why and Dr. Hugh Culber in Star Trek: Discovery, Cruz said, “It’s through television that we got to tell the entire society and our own culture what our lives are really like. Because of that amount of authenticity, we were able to move the needle to acceptance.” With that being said, visibility in the media has a much deeper meaning for those who are apart of the LGBTQ+ community, and we as a society should push to make sure their representation (along with other marginalized groups) continues to be made apparent in the media.
Sources: https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/out-television-tracks-evolution-lgbtq-portrayals-n1119401
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