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GLAAD study finds increasing presence of LGBTQ characters in 2022 films
Entertainment Sep 14, 2023
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The percentage of films released by major studios in 2022 that included an LGBTQ character reached its highest point in more than a decade, according to an annual report released Thursday by the GLAAD advocacy group.
Authors of GLAAD’s annual Studio Responsibility Index report noted, however, that the increase could be attributed in part to an expansion in the number of films included in the study, thanks to the addition of major streaming services.
Of the 350 films released by the top 10 distributors in 2022, 100 of them, or 28.5%, included an LGBTQ character, according to the report. More than half of those 292 characters, however, had less than five minutes of overall screen time.
According to the study, 40% of the LGBTQ characters were people of color, roughly the same percentage as the previous year. More than half of them — 163 — were men, while 119 were women and 10 were nonbinary. Seven of the female characters and six of the male characters were transgender.
Of the 100 films that included LGBTQ characters, 21 included bisexual characters, while 12 included transgender characters.
In the 11 years that GLAAD has been preparing the report, no studio has ever received an “excellent” rating for LGBTQ inclusion. But three studios this year earned a “good” rating, which is the highest number to date. The three receiving the rating were A24, NBCUniversal and The Walt Disney Co.
Other studios included in the study were Amazon Studios, Apple TV+, Lionsgate, Netflix, Paramount Global, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery.
“At a time when the LGBTQ community is under unprecedented cultural and political attacks, it is more important than ever to hold film studios accountable for how our community is represented on-screen,” GLAAD President/CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. “The LGBTQ characters and stories found in this year’s study would not exist without the work of talented writers, actors, directors, and crew on all levels and GLAAD firmly stands in solidarity with the SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America in their efforts and contributions to fair and accurate storytelling integral to the LGBTQ movement.”
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