Monitoring and advocacy group Glaad (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) have called on Hollywood studios to ensure that lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual characters comprise 20% of the total.
Glaad has published its annual Studio Responsibility Index for 2018, which analyses the output of the seven major Hollywood studios for the previous year and is “intended to serve as a road map toward increasing fair, accurate and inclusive LGBTQ representation in film”. In 2017, it identified 14 films that contained characters identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer; a total of 12.8% that marked a significant decrease on the previous year’s total of 23 films (18.4%).
In an accompanying statement, Glaad president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said: “Record-breaking films like Black Panther and Wonder Woman prove that not only does inclusion make for great stories – inclusion is good for the bottom line. It is time for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) stories to be included in this conversation and in this movement.” Ellis said Glaad’s target was that 20% of studio films should include LGBTQ characters by 2021 and 50% of by 2024.
Ellis added: “Glaad’s own Accelerating Acceptance report shows that 20 percent of Americans aged 18 to 34 and 12 percent aged 35-51 identify as LGBTQ. If Hollywood wants to remain relevant with these audiences and keep them buying tickets, they must create stories that are reflective of the world LGBTQ people and our friends and family know.”
The report criticised 2017 releases Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok and DC’s Wonder Woman for removing LGBTQ characters that were contained in the source material. It praised Chilean film A Fantastic Woman – released but not produced by a studio – for its Oscar-winning portrayal of a transgender character.
Glaad also outlined its Vito Russo test – an equivalent to the Bechdel test for representation of women – named after the late activist and film-maker, and which it will use to assess studio films. It reports that nine of the 14 (64%) LGBTQ-inclusive major studio films passed the test in 2017.
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