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[LordOfLore]

Link. PR.

While ”Moonlight" won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, ”Beauty and the Beast" included Disney's first gay character and ”Power Rangers" featured a lesbian superhero in the yellow ranger, Hollywood is far from being completely LGBT-inclusive.

GLAAD released its fifth annual Studio Responsibility Index (SRI) and reported that from 125 film releases from major studios, only 23 (18.4 %) films included LGBTQ-identifying characters. 83% of those films had a gay male character. Lesbian characters went from 23% in 2015 to 35% in 2016. Bisexual representation came in at 13%. Transgender representation was merely one character in ”Zoolander 2." The character, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, was used as the punchline to a joke.

Racial diversity saw a dip in representation. From the LGBT characters of the last year, 48 were white (69%), nine were Black/African American (13%), four were Asian/Pacific Islander (6%) and one was Latinx (1%). Eight characters (11%) were identified as non-human. Overall only 20% of characters were people of color, a decrease from 25.5% in 2015 and 32.1% in 2014.

Studios were judged based on a rating system of ”Excellent," ”Good," ”Insufficient," ”Poor" or ”Failing." Universal Pictures received a grade of ”Insufficient." 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures and Warner Brothers were given a ”Poor'" rating. Lionsgate Entertainment, Sony Pictures and Walt Disney Studios received a ”Failing" rating. No studios were ”Excellent" or ”Good."

The study also notes that some known LGBT characters' identities have been erased or downplayed in their film roles. Harley Quinn's bisexuality, a characteristic in the comics, is excluded from her film portrayal in ”Suicide Squad." ”Deadpool" is pansexual but was never described as such in the film.

”With many of the most popular TV shows proudly including LGBTQ characters and stories, the time has come for the film industry to step up and show the full diversity of the world that movie audiences are living in today instead and end the outdated humor seen in many films," GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. ”Films like ‘Moonlight' prove there is a huge opportunity to not only tell LGBTQ stories worthy of Oscar gold, but to open the hearts and minds of audiences here and around the world in places where these stories can be a lifeline to the people who need it most."

Full report.

 

[Lord Frieza]

When did Harley Quinn be shown to be bisexual?

 

[Ordinaryundone]

When did Harley Quinn be shown to be bisexual?

I'm not sure it's ever been written in stone but she's definitely more than just friends with Poison Ivy.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

When did Harley Quinn be shown to be bisexual?

For years she's had a sort of thing with Poison Ivy that seemed to go beyond just BFFs

 

[Inferno313]

I'm not sure it's ever been written in stone but she's definitely more than just friends with Poison Ivy.

It's canonical in the comics that her and Ivy have been in romantic relationships at various points, I believe. The Gotham City Sirens film would hopefully explore that relationship.

 

[SpaceWolf]

When did Harley Quinn be shown to be bisexual?

She's been established to have had a thing with Ivy for a very, very long time.

Fun fact: Catwoman is also bisexual, although that's probably been more obvious for a while now.

 

[LordOfLore]

She's been established to have a thing with Ivy for a very, very long time.

Yep, her "father" even intended it.

 

[El Topo]

Wrong link to the full report in OP, no? Seems like the latest report is here.

Edit:
Those scores for Disney. Damn. To quote the report:

Walt Disney Studios has the weakest historical record when it comes to LGBTQ-inclusive films of all the major studios tracked in this report.

 

[Fuchsdh]

I don't really think Benedict Cumberbatch's character in Zoolander 2 was supposed to be transgender, as opposed to a sendup of androgynous models.

Reading through the PR, there's some weirdness in the tallies, such as including Anderson Cooper's cameo in Batman v Superman as representation, but then deeming it insufficient because they never pointed out in the film that he's gay. Weird argument to make.

The press release also actually gives an indicator of what GLAAD sees as their "end goal" in the "Vito Russo Test", which I'd never heard of before:

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 LGBTQ 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.

The idea that 100% of all studio films should contain an essential and clearly LGBT character is kind of laughable, but the substats they break out like showing gay characters are predominantly white guys still suggests plenty of room for improvement.

 

[Slayven]

They hire the best people for the job, just so happens straight white men are the best at everything.

 

[LordOfLore]

Wrong link to the full report in OP, no? Seems like the latest report is here.

Ooops, fixed!

 

[John Kowalski]

Yep, her "father" even intended it.

Damn that definitely phallic

 

[Deleted member 231381]

The idea that 100% of all studio films should contain an essential and clearly LGBT character is kind of laughable, but the substats they break out like showing gay characters are predominantly white guys still suggests plenty of room for improvement.

It does seem a little weird. You'd have thought the benchmark would have been proportional, something like 6% of characters across major film releases in a given year being LGBT+.

 

[zon]

Is that a new thing with Deadpool? In the old comic books he only showed interest in women and the avatar of Death (which was portrayed either as a hooded woman or a hooded skeleton).

 

[NexusCell]

I'm actually sort of curious, what exactly would be the ideal "percent" for LGBT representation?

 

[The Last Wizard]

 

[Slayven]

Is that a new thing with Deadpool? In the old comic books he only showed interest in women and the avatar of Death (which was portrayed either as a hooded woman or a hooded skeleton).

He is actually married( to a vampire demon succubus thing) and raising a kid. Last i chekced

 

[El Topo]

I'm actually sort of curious, what exactly would be the ideal "percent" for LGBT representation?

The report explicitly says that it is far more complex than a simple percentage or passing the Vito Russo test. There is no such thing as an ideal number. For example this is what they say regarding the studio scores:

Based on the overall quantity, quality, and diversity of LGBTQ representation, a grade was then assigned to each studio: Excellent, Good, Insufficient, Poor, or Failing.

 

[Preezy]

But what if the story doesn't require LGBT characters, should they just be shoehorned in to appease?

 

[CopperPuppy]

But Meryl Streep stood on a stage and told everyone that Hollywood is the beacon of diversity.

Funny how quickly they tried to take advantage of how good they could make themselves look when standing in contrast to fucking Donald Trump.

There's still A LOT of work to do.

 

[Misha]

But what if the story doesn't require LGBT characters, should they just be shoehorned in to appease?

the same thing they do with het/cis characters in stories that don't require them, shoehorned in to appease

(which is a weird way to describe everything thats not a stated plot element btw)

 

[Skellig Gra]

behind compared to what? Seems like everyone is behind.

 

[excelsiorlef]

But what if the story doesn't require LGBT characters, should they just be shoehorned in to appease?

Require?

Us Queer folk have more to us than telling Queer tales...

 

[Spike Spiegel]

Is that a new thing with Deadpool? In the old comic books he only showed interest in women and the avatar of Death (which was portrayed either as a hooded woman or a hooded skeleton).

One creator of Deadpool says his brain chemistry is constantly changing so his sexuality is as unpredictable as his behavior; the other says he's totally straight and people read too much into bromances and quirky behavior. The first movie's director said he's pansexual, and directed a charming love story between a boy and a girl.

He is actually married( to a vampire demon succubus thing) and raising a kid. Last i chekced

Succubus queens aren't big on fidelity or monogamy. She ran off with Dracula at the end of the latest event.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

But what if the story doesn't require LGBT characters, should they just be shoehorned in to appease?

No, there should just be more stories that require LGBT characters.

Not *every* story needs LGBT characters.

 

[El Topo]

behind compared to what?

As the report mentions in the opening letter, major motion pictures are significantly less diverse than independent films and even moreso when compared to TV/streaming series.

 

[ElRenoRaven]

He is actually married( to a vampire demon succubus thing) and raising a kid. Last i chekced

Actually not anymore.

Spoiler

She left him and married Dracula.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

But what if the story doesn't require LGBT characters, should they just be shoehorned in to appease?

What story requires everyone to be straight? So they can have an opposite sex love interest? That's about all I can think of.

 

[iamverificationimage]

I'm not sure it's ever been written in stone but she's definitely more than just friends with Poison Ivy.

It's been set in stone for some time to be fair.

https://imgur.com/a/Q1gOI

 

[zon]

He is actually married( to a vampire demon succubus thing) and raising a kid. Last i chekced

Unless Marvel has their own idea of what a succubus is then that still points towards DP being interested in women only. Strange to think of Wade as a father figure, that can't end well.

One creator of Deadpool says his brain chemistry is constantly changing so his sexuality is as unpredictable as his behavior; the other says he's totally straight and people read too much into bromances and quirky behavior. The first movie's director said he's pansexual, and directed a charming love story between a boy and a girl.

Succubus queens aren't big on fidelity or monogamy. She ran off with Dracula at the end of the latest event.

That sounds like a cheap way to gather likes on social media tbh. Especially if the character only ever chases after women. I assume Deadpool is still not all there mentally, and I've never heard of insane people changing sexuality back and forth.

 

[DOWN]

The idea that 100% of all studio films should contain an essential and clearly LGBT character is kind of laughable, but the substats they break out like showing gay characters are predominantly white guys still suggests plenty of room for improvement.

It does seem a little weird. You'd have thought the benchmark would have been proportional, something like 6% of characters across major film releases in a given year being LGBT+.

This is not how representation does or should work

There should be some representation for diverse groups in a broad many shows, rather than populationally proportional representation across all shows. The point of representation in television is that when a family picks a new show to watch, there is a good chance they will encounter a fair representation of any or multiple minority groups, rather than only 6% of all characters or shows having said group because of that group's size in the population. If some family picks one new show each fall, but only 1 in 25 or 1 in 15 have a minority character because networks are just limiting it to a quota of how large the minority is in the population, than the chance for people experiencing diverse television when they pick a show is ridiculously low and held back.

On a per show basis, yeah, you can then start saying 'well the real world population for that minority is x%' but you don't do it on the basis of measuring how many are in all of television. More shows having any ounce of diversity is what's key, so that more viewers experience it. Not television as a whole hitting a number. Each show should consider diversity if suitable.

The measurements of this study are about showing how TV is progressing toward more individual shows including diversity, as more shows should be. The percentage of shows with minority characters should be much higher than the percentage that the minority represents of the population in society.

 

[PSqueak]

When did Harley Quinn be shown to be bisexual?

Her 2 biggest known traits are that she swings from being in a relationship with the joker and a relationship with poison Ivy.

 

[Preezy]

What story requires everyone to be straight? So they can have an opposite sex love interest? That's about all I can think of.

I'm not even talking about stories that need to have people be straight. I can think of about a million films where the sexuality of a character is completely irrelevant or not mentioned. Take Jurassic Park, for example, and John Hammond. We don't know anything about his sexuality, and we don't need to. Would that character have been improved if he'd slipped in a couple of comments about being gay or waiting for his gender reassignment op? I don't think so.

I'm totally supportive of the LGBT community but forcing some sort of quota into films seems a bit silly.

 

[Kinsei]

I'm not even talking about stories that need to have people be straight. I can think of about a million films where the sexuality of a character is completely irrelevant or not mentioned. Take Jurassic Park, for example, and John Hammond. We don't know anything about his sexuality, and we don't need to. Would that character have been improved if he'd slipped in a couple of comments about being gay or waiting for his gender reassignment op? I don't think so.

I'm totally supportive of the LGBT community but forcing some sort of quota into films seems a bit silly.

John Hammond is straight. It's made pretty clear in the movie. You know since he has grandchildren.

 

[neshcom]

No one wants a quota. It would just be nice to have a movie that doesn't default to a straight character. If you're growin up LGBT, you have actually nothing for you.

 

[PSqueak]

But what if the story doesn't require LGBT characters, should they just be shoehorned in to appease?

You are thinking in a mindset in which the characters are there to serve the trait [of being queer], that's NOT how story telling works, Traits serve the character, does the story requires a character to be gay? Bi? Asexual? hell no! Does a story requires to make a character Vain? Dumb? Skinny? Egocentric? Quirky? again, NO, yet characters with these traits are made all the time, no one questions this, so why when sexuality comes into plane, which in the bigger scheme of story telling it's just a character trait, it suddenly is a big deal?

Queer people exist, that's a fact of life, if you're representing life on screen, it makes sense that queer people are in it too.

Think of Friends' all white new york, wasn't it incredibly weird that there were no black people in new york in Friends? it's the same for Queer representation, it feels weird to not see queer people represented in media when they exist in real life, it doesn't have to even play into the plot, you don't have to make a big deal, you can just casually mention.

How hard is it to do something like:

Protagonist: Hey male side character , wanna go on an adventure?
Side character: Sorry, can't, have a date with a hot dude.
Protagonist: ok! See ya later.

Sexuality can just be a trait.