07. The History of Gay Representation in TV & Film

Snarky Opener (0:00)

You know, these stereotypical gay characters that are fabulous and hyper-sexual don't accurately represent who we are.

I mean, I want to see myself authentically represented, like, where are the gay characters that are obsessed with house plants and in bed by eight o'clock every night?

That is what I would like to see, Hollywood. Thank you.

Episode Introduction (0:35)

Hello my, LGBTQuties, and welcome back to another episode of A Jaded Gay. I'm Rob Loveless, and today I'm a non-jaded gay.

Like I said last week. I've been feeling more inspired lately, and I've been writing more.

And actually, I was working on writing some new chapters for the manuscript I finished back in December, just to fill a few gaps in the plot and just kind of add a little bit to the characters.

And I finished that this week and actually started a new writing project.

So, I'm very excited about that. So yeah, non-jaded, happy, inspired. It's all good.

Queer Media Representation (1:06) 

And I know last week the episode was a much heavier topic. Not gonna lie, was a little dark.

So, this week I wanted to lighten it up. We're going to be talking about the history of gay representation in both movies and TV.

This is a topic I'm really excited to cover. You know, on Friday nights when I want to watch a movie, I always go through the LGBTQ section on Netflix, Hulu, Prime, all those.

And there's always such a limited number. I mean, don't get me wrong, there's a selection there. There's something to choose from, but it's always kind of the same storylines.

And after a while, you can pretty much watch the whole, the whole library pretty quickly, and then you're out of gay films to watch.

And while that's frustrating, it's interesting to see how far we actually came in terms of representation.

So, this history was really interesting to me, and I hope you guys enjoy it as well. But as always, before we dive into the topic, let's do our tarot for the episode.

Tarot (1:55) 

Okay, and today I drew the Seven of Pentacles in reverse. So, as you may remember, we've had the Pentacle suit in the past.

This is typically tied to the earth. You can think of this as stability, putting in the hard work, reaping the rewards for the labor you put into the tasks at hand. And it's tied to feminine energy.

So again, this is more reflective. So, we want to take the time to pause, think through where we're at.

And in numerology, the number seven is tied to inspired action, which I think really ties nicely into the card we have, because not only are we reflecting and meditating on where we're at.

It's helping us channel our inspired action to figure out what the next step is that we should be taking. So, if you're not familiar with the illustrations of the cards, in the Seven of Pentacles, we see a man.

It looks like he's holding a shovel or a rake, and he's gazing at a bush, which has six pentacles, kind of representing the fruit.

And below him, right between his feet, is the seventh pentacle, and you can see that he's really contemplating and planning what his next action should be.

Again, back to that meditative state. He's trying to uncover that inspired action. But again, since this card is reversed, its energy is corrupted.

And that doesn't mean corrupted as when you think of like corrupted officials or something evil. It just means that it's different than the typical upright meaning of the card.

So, when we draw the Seven of Pentacles in reverse, it can suggest that we actually haven't been working toward our goals with enough conviction.

And we might even be procrastinating, which obviously if we're not working hard enough, if we're putting off the work, we're going to not achieve what we want, and we're going to be impatient and frustrated.

But it's kind of a catch-22 because you gotta put in the effort if you wanna achieve the results you want.

So, with this card, it's a time to remind us to review and revise our action plan and figure out what we want and how we can get there.

And maybe it serves as a gentle reminder that our goal just needs a little adjustment so we can get back on the right track.

This card can also be telling us that we might be scattered and spreading ourselves a little too thin. You know, maybe we're trying to achieve too much at once, and we're not putting enough effort into any one of those areas.

So maybe it's a time to look at that and focus on what could be an easier or quicker win or something that you can really focus on, that you have the control on right now, that you can check off your list so you can continue working through your action plan.

And basically, this card is just a reminder that we need to prioritize our activities and prioritize our energy because there's only so much that we can give.

And so, with that in mind, let's dive right into the history of gay representation in the media.

The Importance of Queer Media Representation (4:09)

You know, as we've talked about in past episodes, a lot of us didn't grow up seeing people like us. You know, growing up in a small town, I didn't see myself anywhere.

I didn't really know anybody in my community or in my family's network who was gay. I knew there were a few gay kids in school, and obviously, I saw how terribly they were treated.

And growing up, even though there was some, there was very little gay representation in the media at the time. And I think it's really important for us to be able to see people like ourselves.

You know, here I am in my late 20s, and when I put on one of those LGBT movies on Netflix or Hulu, you know, usually I'll watch a romance or whatever.

It's just nice seeing somebody like myself in a situation that I can really relate to.

You know, I like a good rom-com every now and then, but I'm really not a big fan of the romance movies. And whenever I see a straight romance movie, I'm usually cringing and going, oh, that's disgusting.

Hate the Hallmark Channel. Way too happy for my liking.

But the kicker is, when you take that kind of same plot line but have gay characters with it, I actually feel, you know, I get teary-eyed sometimes that I feel my heart lighten a bit because it's, it's different.

You know, straightness is forced down your throat because that's what's considered the societal norm.

But here we are that don't conform to that, through no fault of our own, and we're not seeing ourselves in the way we need to, whether it's through gay friendships or, you know, gay romance.

It just hits differently when you see somebody like yourself that's in those storylines that typically adhere to the societal heterosexual norm, but with a gay couple. And it goes back to the episode we talked about gays and their pop icons.

You know, I think seeing representation of the LGBTQ community on TV, in the movies, it's another form of escapism, whether it's romance or somebody living a fabulous life or, you know, I'm thinking of Schitt's Creek, where he's pansexual, and the town doesn't bat an eye, because in Schitt's Creek, you know, sexuality is just recognized.

It's not something that's like, oh, a big deal, I have to come out. It's just it is what it is. You're pansexual, great. And that's obviously a community that a lot of us didn't grow up in because we did have to come out.

And for me, it was a little bit more of a big deal.

So, it just gives another sense of escapism of what could be, and that kind of gives us a little reassurance and helps us kind of forget some of our, our minority stress for a while.

And you know, it's also important that having gay representation asserts visibility through these portrayals in real and genuine ways for both ourselves to connect to those characters and for the straight world to see us as real people too.

And additionally, it's pretty interesting, it's been found that positive media portrayals can actually help increase acceptance and support for LGBT communities, establish LGBT communities as a norm, and provide information on the topic.

And we kind of got to a point now where usually there is some form of representation in most TV shows, whether it's somebody who's bisexual, queer, gay, even in terms of race and neurodiversity, which is great.

But that wasn't always the case, and today, the diversity we see on TV, it's still a relatively small fraction, but it's a major improvement from where we started off.

So, before we kind of talk about the ins and outs of gay media representation, let's dive into the history a little bit more to learn about the early days of representation.

Early LGBTQ+ Media Representation (7:17)

So interestingly enough, the first notable suggestion of homosexuality in a film actually happened in 1895.

So, two men were shown dancing together in the William Kennedy Dickerson film, The Dickerson Experimental Sound Film, which is commonly referred to as The Gay Brothers. So, let's just get right down to it.

Anyway, just because the men were dancing around, they weren't necessarily viewed as being queer, but instead, people referred to them as acting, quote unquote fancifully.

Which I believe in 1895, that was just a more proper way of saying, cake boy.

Nevertheless, as small as that might have seemed, and even though most people discounted it as actually being queer, film critic Parker Tyler stated that the scene actually shocked audiences with its subversion of conventional male behavior.

So, if you think about it, this was actually a huge shift for gender norms back then. Anyway, skipping ahead a few decades.

The first erotic kiss between a same-sex couple happened in 1922 in Cecil B DeMille's film Manslaughter. So that sounds like a bad porno title if you ask me.

Anyway, skipping ahead a few years. In 1930, Marlene Dietrich was the first leading lady to kiss another woman in the movie Morocco.

So, there you have it. Those are some firsts in terms of gay representation back in the early days.

Post-World War II: A Rise in LGBTQ+ Media Representation (8:27)

But then we got into World War II, and things began to shift around then.

Suddenly, gay men and women were being portrayed as sadists, psychopaths, and nefarious anti-social villains. And while that describes a few of my exes, that definitely does not describe the gay community as a whole.

So, this period of negative portrayal lasted until the 1960s.

Then, following the Stonewall Riots in 1969, Hollywood began considering the LGBTQ community as a possible demographic to market to.

And I'm sure that's not a surprise to most of you because the Stonewall Riots were one of the first truly visible events that really kind of brought the LGBTQ equality movement to the mainstream.

So then following that, during the 1970s some notable films came out that were primarily marketed toward gay men. So, we have a few here.

There were Boys in the Band which came out in 1970. And actually, I believe it was Ryan Murphy, just did a remake of that within the past couple of years. It's on Netflix. I saw it. Pretty big cast.

I can't think of their names now, but I did recognize most of the men in it.

Then in 1971, there was Fortune in Men's Eye. 1972 Cabaret, 1973 A Very Natural Thing. And then Ode to Billy Joe in 1976.

So Hollywood wasn't only marketing toward the gays in terms of movies during that time. These trends also trickled into TV.

Actually, in 1971 which was the year after the very first Pride Parade, All in the Family became the first American sitcom to show a gay character on its show.

And by the end of the 70s, there was a slow but growing acceptance of homosexuality in the media.

The 1980s: A Decline in LGBTQ+ Media Representation (9:56)

And this continued into the 1980s for a bit. But then two new factors came into play that really kind of threw a wrench into the representation.

So, first of all, in the 1980s there was a rise in Christian fundamentalist groups, which were committed to conservative values, both socially and economically. Aka, they didn't like the gays.

And then also, unfortunately, during this time, we saw the emergence of HIV and AIDS.

So, because of these two factors, it suddenly became a liability to produce movies that depicted gay people as more complex characters.

So, you weren't seeing, you know, a fully rounded character that, you know, had a personality and emotions and this and that.

Because if you portrayed a gay character that was quote-unquote too genuine, people would end up boycotting the theaters, and they would boycott the studios.

So as a result, if a Hollywood film wasn't aimed primarily at a gay or cosmopolitan liberal audience, then homosexuality was often portrayed as something to laugh at, pity, or fear.

And then during the latter half of the 80s, the media began portraying the pandemic and the homophobia surrounding it.

So, the first American movie that actually tackled this topic was the 1986 indie film called Parting Glances.

And it wasn't until 1989 that the first mainstream Hollywood movie about the pandemic was released, and it was called Long Time Companion.

The 1990s: A Gay Renaissance of Media Representation (11:11)

So then during the late 80s and into the early 90s, the cultural and political backlash against the LGBTQ community began to decline somewhat, which once again impacted Hollywood.

So, things weren't great, but because of that slight decline in political backlash, Hollywood thought, okay, it's not as much of a liability anymore. Let's try to make some money off of the gays.

Also, during this time, a younger generation of gay people were coming out, and they were considered to be gayer, and they were coming out even earlier.

Because if you think about it, the older generations of gay men who had been around from the 40s to the 80s.

They grew up in a time when it really was not socially acceptable, and a lot of them had to hide in the closet. But now, when they approached the 90s, there had been a little bit more gay representation in the media.

There had been some more political movements around that time. So, people were seeing gays more frequently, and it was helping people come out at an earlier age.

So, once we moved out of this period of political backlash in the 80s, the 90s came about, which I guess you could say, was kind of like a gay Renaissance when it came to having LGBTQ characters in both TV and movies, even if the representation during this time wasn't exactly inclusive.

So, throughout the 90s, there was quite an uptick in LGBTQ themes appearing in TV shows. And again, these weren't TV shows that were purely gay.

They were TV shows that a lot of the straight world watched and just incorporated some gay themes into.

So, 1991 we have The Golden Girls. No surprise. The episode's called Sister of the Bride. And in this episode, Blanche's brother Clayton returns home with a boyfriend and they want to have a commitment ceremony.

1994 Beverly Hills 90210. In the episode, Blind Spot, Steve spots Mike, who is the president of Steve's fraternity, and he's in a gay coffee house.

So, Steve outs Mike, which problematic, and the fraternity tries to throw Mike out. However, Steve does come to his defense and speaks up to keep him in the fraternity.

Then we have 1996 Friends, the episode, The One with the Lesbian Wedding. Again, there's no subtlety there. We're just getting right into it.

Carol and Susan have a commitment ceremony. And I didn't realize this. This was actually the first lesbian wedding portrayed on US TV.

And then with this next one, you're probably all familiar with, this episode. 1997 the Ellen episode, Puppy Love.

In this episode, Ellen DeGeneres' character came out on TV, and this was shortly after she publicly came out in real life. And I believe the show was canceled the season after that.

And there has been talk about whether that was impacted because of her coming out, or if there were other reasons.

But regardless, this scene, this is notable for being one of the first series in the US to have a main character come out.

So again, you can see in the 90s, we had some majors first there building up, which really was kind of a shift from where things were at in the 80s.

And then we get to September 21, 1998, when Will & Grace premiered.

Will & Grace (13:59)

So, Will & Grace was the first primetime series in the US to have openly gay main characters.

And now, when people look back at the show, there's definitely things they nitpick. It's not totally politically correct.

And some even claim that the show did little to challenge stereotypes at the time. But during this time, when Will & Grace came out, it was groundbreaking.

And in my mind, I think it really says something that this being the first gay prime-time show.

Obviously, some people could think of it as a risk, having, you know, two gay characters. Will, who was somewhat, you know, straight passing, and then Jack, who was super flamboyant.

You know, there were gay topics in that. Pop culture. And this came out a time when, you know, there was more gay acceptance, but it still might not be considered as accepted as it was today.

But despite all that, the show ran for eight seasons, and it was a huge success commercially.

Along with that Puppy Love episode where Ellen publicly came out, Will & Grace is credited with opening the door for future gay-themed shows such as Queer as Folk, which debuted on Showtime in the US in December of 2000.

Queer as Folk (14:57)

So Queer as Folk.

In the future, I'm going to do a deep dive. I'm going to dedicate an episode to both Will & Grace and Queer as Folk, because I think, for a lot of people, those are two very iconic shows, even if they're not the most representative of what it means to actually be gay.

But very groundbreaking for the time. And Queer as Folk has a special place in my heart, which I'll go into in a later episode.

But it was actually a reboot of the short-lived British series of the same name. And that actually only lasted a season.

I ended up watching it last year during the pandemic. It was on Amazon Prime, and I think it's only like six or eight episodes.

The first two or three are very similar to the American version, but then the rest is totally different. Also, they were talking so fast. Half the time I couldn't understand what they were saying.

And this is coming from me, who's a fast talker, so.

Anyway, the US version of Queer as Folk followed the lives of five gay men and to some extent, a lesbian couple living in Pittsburgh.

And for anybody outside of Pittsburgh who's listening to this and watched Queer as Folk, let me tell you, Pittsburgh is nothing like they show in Queer as Folk. I mean, I wish it was, but literally, like we have two gay bars, and none of them come close to Babylon.

Anyway, even though there was a lesbian couple in that, the show was primarily aimed at gay men, and it had some groundbreaking sex scenes in it.

In fact, it was the first American show to depict a sex scene between two men. And quite graphically. I mean, if you know the show, then you know that ass-eating scene in the first episode. And let me just say, I am not mad about it.

Anyway, compared to Will & Grace, Queer as Folk did explore some more controversial topics in greater detail, such as cruising, drug abuse, HIV and AIDS, physical abuse, and gay bashing, among others.

So, the show went on to air for five seasons, and it actually wrapped up around the same time as Will & Grace. I think it might have ended the year before. I'm not sure.

But again, these shows were monumental in paving the way for some of the LGBTQ representation that we see in TV and film today.

Groundbreaking, But Flawed (16:52)

While they were groundbreaking at the time, looking back, these shows seriously lacked diversity, though.

And they did little to challenge stereotypes of the LGBT community.

You know, Queer as Folk, the earlier seasons really just focuses on the hookup culture. Which definitely is a part of the gay community, but not the soul community.

And Will & Grace, I mean, even though it's for comedic effect, both Will and Jack do give into a lot of stereotypes, and they don't really challenge them as much.

Now, I will say, when they did the reboot of Will & Grace back in 2016, they definitely were more political, and I do think then they kind of challenged the stereotypes that they might have reinforced back in its original airing.

But again, these shows paved the way to some of the modern-day LGBTQ representation we see today.

And while we've come a long way today and definitely have more complex LGBTQ characters and storylines, there is still a major issue when it comes to diversity in the sense that we're lacking it.

Where We Are On TV (17:46)

You know, for a long time, having a gay character was considered to be diverse enough for a show. But that gay character was typically a white, straight-presenting gay man who had a perfect body.

And again, as the years go by, we've been moving away from this sole image of what a gay character looks like, and there has been more efforts for inclusion in representation.

Actually GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, they release an annual report titled Where We Are On TV, and this provides an overview of LGBTQ representation on TV by the numbers.

So, in the most recent report, which tracks the 2021 to 2022 TV season, they found that across the board, gay and straight, there were 775 series regular characters scheduled to appear on scripted broadcast programming.

So basically, that's the total number of characters you'll see across all the TV shows.

Of those 775, 92 are LGBTQ, which is just under 12%. And this is actually a new record high and up 2.8% compared to the previous year.

And additionally, there are 49 LGBTQ recurring characters. So, between both those LGBTQ main characters and the recurring ones, we have a total of 141 characters representing our community.

Looking at streaming services, there were 245 LGBTQ series regulars and 113 LGBTQ recurring characters, which equals a total of 358. Interesting to note, on streaming services, there are also two asexual characters.

Although one of the series that had the asexual character on it has been canceled, so we're down to one, unfortunately.

But looking between scripted broadcast programming and streaming services, there are a total of 637 LGBTQ characters. Of those characters, 29% are bisexual, which is up 1% from the previous year.

There are also 42 transgender characters, and of these, 41 are portrayed or voiced by trans actors. Which I'm really happy to hear that because, you know, while representation is important, I think it's also important that we have authentic actors playing these roles.

It kind of frustrates me when we have straight actors playing gay characters, or, you know, cisgender actors playing trans characters, because there are already so many limited opportunities for gay and trans actors.

And unfortunately, they may not be considered for a mainstream role of a straight or cisgender character.

So, when opportunities like this arise where it's a character for somebody that they can really identify with and really portray well from their own authentic experience, it frustrates me when somebody who's not part of that community takes that opportunity from them.

Anyway, let me get off my soapbox here to finish the report.

In addition to those 42 transgender characters, there are 17 characters who are non-binary and not transgender. And then looking into race, LGBTQ series regulars and recurring characters of color on broadcast increased to 58% which is up quite a bit compared to last year's 53%.

However, some disappointing news for cable programming. This number was only 45% this year, which is a 7% decrease compared to last year. So, there's definitely some work that still needs to be done there.

But looking at where we started to where we are, these statistics are pretty promising, and they give me some hope.

Because if you look back on GLAAD's report from the 2012 to 2013 season, just less than a decade ago. At that time, there were only 31 LGBTQ characters on broadcast television, which made up a measly 4.4% of characters.

Again, 4.4 to now today, where we have almost 12%. So, I think we're moving in the right direction.

And as Debbie Novotny says in Queer as Folk: "Mourn the losses because they are many, but celebrate the victories because they are few."

Episode Closing (21:32)

So again, we're certainly in a much better place than we were a decade ago. Much better place compared to where we were in the 80s with representation.

We're moving the needle in the right direction, but obviously, we still need to keep pushing ourselves across the finish line.

And tying it back to the tarot. You know, it can be frustrating when we're not seeing the change we want, and we can be impatient waiting to see change come.

But as cliche as it is, we need to be the change that we want to see in the world. And when it comes to media representation, as we've kind of seen through the timeline of the history here, it's Hollywood, see, Hollywood, do.

So, I think this tarot really serves as a reminder for us to take inspired action, to be our authentic selves, to show up as our authentic selves, as members of the LGBTQ community.

And that includes our authentic friendships, authentic relationships, but to show up authentically, because when we're living authentically, people will see us as our authentic selves, and that's how we can get the representation we need.

So, for any creator out there, whether it's writing, film, theater, whatever, we need to put in the effort too. We can't just wait around for an increase of perfect representation of our community.

We need to foster that change ourselves. And we need to do it by creating our own authentic LGBTQ characters.

You know, for myself, personally, in all the books I write, I have a gay character which is usually created out of some of the experiences I faced.

And so, I'm encouraging anybody out there who's in a similar position, whether you're, you know, a New York Times best-selling author, or writing your first novel, or you know a playwright for Broadway or working with your local community theater, filming an indie film on your iPhone, whatever, find a way to be inclusive in your characters.

You know, we need LGBTQ representation. But even more so, we don't just need the white, straight-passing gay man with a perfect body. Within LGBTQ representation, we need representation of all body types, of all races, of all genders.

There's more out there than just what the quintessential 90s gay character looked like. And it's up to us to promote that representation.

Again, we need to be the change we want to see. So, I hope you enjoyed this little history lesson.

And hopefully, you're feeling some inspired action for ways you could make a change in the world in terms of representation, or even just finding inspired change within yourself for some personal goals you have.

Connect with A Jaded Gay (23:44)

If you liked the episode, be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.

You can also follow the podcast on Instagram and Twitter @ajadedgaypod. Or you can follow me, Rob Loveless, on Instagram @rob_loveless, or on Twitter @robjloveless.

I was not consistent. I'm sorry.

Anyway, thanks again for listening, and I'll see you next week.

Mmm-bye.

Outtake (24:32)

So, if you think about it, this was a huge shit for gender. Sounds like I said, huge shit.