November 2016
LGBT characters on TV ‘at record high’
The advocacy group Glaad analysed shows seen or to be shown between June 2016 and May 2017 and counted 278 regular and recurring LGBT characters. The number of transgender characters has risen from seven to [...]
The ‘Record Number’ of LGBTQ Characters on TV Remains Depressingly Low
On first glance, a cause for celebration: Today media-monitoring group GLAAD released statistics that show LGBTQ representation on broadcast television has hit a zenith in the 12-year history of the organization tracking regular characters on [...]
TV has hit a record high for black and transgender representation, GLAAD report finds
Indeed, GLAAD highlighted the issue with networks still relying on the decades-old "Bury Your Gays" trope which has seen gay or bisexual female characters killed off at a higher rate in service of furthering the storylines [...]
GLAAD reports the highest ever percentage of LGBTQ characters on TV
While these numbers are generally very positive, the GLAAD report couldn't ignore the negative trend we saw skyrocket this year. I'm talking about the “Bury Your Gays” trope, something which was highly publicized earlier this [...]
TV Is Better for L.G.B.T.Q. Characters than Ever—Unless You’re a Lesbian
There are more L.G.B.T.Q. characters on TV than ever, on a wider range of platforms, and playing a huge array of roles. It’s never been a better time to be a queer person looking to [...]
Here’s The Problem With LGBTQ Representation On TV In 2016
For the past 21 years, GLAAD has studied LGBTQ representation on television and, this year, GLAAD's Where We Are On TV Report found that the percentage of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer characters that [...]
GLAAD to see more LGBTQ roles on television
While 4.8% of regular characters on broadcast television are queer — up from 4% last year — characters from all programming platforms still suffer from stereotypical and harmful tropes. Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO [...]
LGBTQ Characters on TV Hit Record High, GLAAD Survey Finds
The stereotypes include the tendency to kill off LGBTQ characters—throughout 2016, more than 25 queer female characters have died on TV. “Most of these deaths served no other purpose than to further the narrative of [...]
GLAAD Report: LGBTQ Representation Hits High, But Broadcast TV ‘Failed Queer Women, Sends Toxic Message’
GLAAD’s “Where We Are on TV” report this year forecasts an all-time high in the number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender and queer (LGBTQ) characters on TV, though the broadcast networks’ treatment of queer females has been “especially disappointing” [...]
There Are More Gay Characters On Television Than Ever, But Lesbians Are A Dying Breed
The “bury your gays” trend—which included deaths on on Orange is the New Black, Wentworth, the 100 and Jane the Virgin, among other shows—sparked outrage among queer viewers and has inspiring a campaign, LGBT Fans [...]
LGBT characters on TV will make up larger percentage than ever, study finds
Ellis noted that 25 queer female characters have died on scripted television shows in 2016 alone. These deaths were usually to advance the narrative of the straight main character. “To kill these characters in droves [...]
GLAAD Report: 2016 Was A Year Of Representation But Also, Mostly, Murder For Lesbians On TV
The year between this year’s Where We Are On TV report and last year’s has been, without question, the most frustrating year ever for queer women who love television. Yes, there have been years where [...]
LGBTQ Representation on TV Hits Record High, But There’s Still a Way to Go
Despite the good news, the group also found troubling developments, including a widespread killing off of gay and bisexual women. As exemplified by the death of characters including Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey) on The CW's The [...]
There are more LGBTQ characters on television than ever, but GLAAD says TV ‘failed queer women’
GLAAD cites record-high LGBTQ representation in its annual report on television diversity, but the media advocacy group says that television “failed queer women” this year, killing off a staggering number of lesbian and bisexual female characters. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/11/03/there-are-more-lgbtq-characters-on-television-than-ever-but-glaad-says-tv-failed-queer-women/?postshare=8051478199850064&tid=ss_tw-bottom&utm_term=.4c08975fb221
There are more LGBTQ characters on broadcast TV than ever before, GLAAD study says
The news wasn't all good. GLAAD notes that 25 queer female characters across all platforms (broadcast, cable and streaming) have died since the start of 2016. "Most of these deaths served no other purpose than [...]
TV Diversity Hits Record Highs Onscreen in 2016-17 Season, GLAAD Study Reveals
The report paid special attention to the so-called “bury your gays” trope, a response to the seemingly large number of LGBTQ characters killed off television shows in recent months. GLAAD found that more than 25 [...]
August 2016
Women Who Love Women Aren’t Tragic
On television, according to Autostraddle, a queer- and trans-centered website, 35 percent of us end up dead. Only 16 percent arrive at any sort of happy ending. Contrary to common argument, these stories are not [...]
June 2016
TV Characters’ Rising Death Toll Reveals Troubling Pattern
We turn now to the rising death toll of fictional TV characters. A few months ago, the CW network's apocalyptic thriller "The 100" killed off Commander Lexa, one of a slew of character deaths that [...]
High Death Tolls on Television Hint At Larger Problems in Narrative Storytelling
This season on television, to love a character was to fear that they might end up dead. It was a season of death and controversy, one that may permanently alter the way we think about [...]
Is Killing Lesbians and Turning Them Into Artificial Intelligences the Hot New TV Trend?
When Lexa took a rando bullet to the tit on The 100, it highlighted a murderous trend on TV: for the life of them, lesbians could not survive. Since her death back in March, more [...]
The ‘Bury Your Gays’ trope and how it became a mainstream problem
Social media is back in a frenzy after the latest death of a lesbian character on television this week. Samantha Groves or “Root,” became the victim of a sniper bullet in the latest episode of [...]
All the TV character deaths of 2015-’16, in one chart
Television has never been more prolific, sensational, or ambitious than it is right now, and for some reason, that’s also meant a dramatic spike in characters leaving their shows in body bags. But how many [...]
May 2016
Ending the “Bury Your Gays” Trope Would Help Storytellers
How do you solve a problem like LGBT characters dying at disproportionate rates on American television? How do you catch a trope and pin it down? With the fandom uproar over the slew of LGBT [...]
‘Bury Your Gays’ Trope Stumps Panelists at Writers Guild Event
The trope — in which gay characters are routinely killed off — came to a boil after a massive fan backlash following the death of leading lady Lexa on The CW's The 100. Other shows this season [...]
No happy endings: lesbian and bisexual characters on TV
This all came to a head recently when The 100 killed off Lexa, just as her relationship with Clarke Griffin was beginning to develop. Fans who had been deeply invested in the pairing reacted with [...]