For my first post, I decided that I should do a short history of LGBT representation. I think it will give the context of why representation matters so much, and why many often question the motives of creators when they plan to include LGBT characters in their stories. So, without further adieu, here is a brief history of LGBT representation.
Restrictions on LGBT representation begin in 1930 with the Hollywood Production Code, and lasted until 1983 under the Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters. While these codes did not directly prohibit the depiction of homosexual characters, they heavily restricted what those characters could do and how they could act. For the most part, these were limited to depictions of child molesters, characters with violent, tragic deaths, or drag queens (Cook). Some of these depictions include the movies The Children’s Hour (1961), The Boys in the Band (1970), and Midnight Express (1978) (MediaSmarts). This obviously had the very real impact of convincing the American public that the LGBT community only consisted of child molesters and villains while simultaneously showing the community that being gay or trans led to death. It also began some stereotypes and tropes that are often still seen today. One such stereotype is the depiction of a gay man as feminine and “unmanly”. For example, Ryan Evans from High School Musical, while not explicitly stated as a homosexual, is thought by many to be a “queer coded” character (a term I’ll get to later in the post). He is depicted as extremely feminine, essentially being the side kick to the main antagonist, Sharpay Evans. Another common trope in media is the “bury your gays” trope. This comes directly from the codes mentioned above where LGBT characters cannot be depicted in media unless they have a tragic, usually violent, death. One example of this is the character Adam from the animated show Voltron: Legendary Defender. Adam is a side character that has an explicit relationship with the main character Shiro. However, as soon as their relationship is actually depicted, giving hope to many fans, he is killed in a violent explosion. While these tropes and stereotypes are not strictly enforced as they once were, they are still prevalent in today’s media.
It wasn’t until the 1970’s that some positive representation began, but the progress was minimal. Characters depicted as LGBT would usually lack complexity and development, usually only appearing in one or two episodes. Furthermore, these characters’ identities as LGBT would often be framed as a central problem or conflict for the episode, and their identity would often be used to disrupt the lives of the heterosexual main characters (Cook). True progress wouldn’t begin until the 1990’s when the popular show Ellen first appeared. In 1997, Ellen was the first main character of a show to be openly gay. It’s also important to note that the coming-out of Ellen DeGeneres, the actress playing the character was a monumental moment in representation. Following the success of Ellen, more LGBT characters began to have recurring roles in shows like Will and Grace and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. With these shows rising to popularity, the public opinion of the LGBT community began to change for the better.
This trend would continue onto the 2000’s with the production of the “Where Are We On TV” by LGBT advocacy organization GLAAD. This report essentially showcases trends and data of how the LGBT community is being represented in media, and the reports throughout the 2000’s to the 2010’s show a rising trend in positive LGBT representation in media. This data shows a growth from 10 recurring characters in 2005 to over 50 in 2017, with LGBT characters making up over 6% of all characters shown on prime time television broadcasts (Cook).
While these statistics show the number of explicitly stated LGBT characters, there are numerous others that are “queer coded”. Queer coding is when characters are heavily implied to be LGBT, but aren’t explicitly stated as such, either because of restrictions imposed by Hollywood and producers or simply because having an out LGBT character was considered too risky to implement. Instead, these characters often have mannerisms, wear clothing styles, and have relationships with other characters that are very similar to those of the LGBT community (Harris). Some of these characters include: Ryan Evans (as mentioned above), James from the popular animated show Pokemon, and Li Shang from Disney’s Mulan. These characters provided some representation in times when it was unsafe and dangerous to be out as queer. However, they quickly became LGBT icons and still hold that title. However, just as these characters are queer coded as “good”, there are many depictions of “bad” characters being queer coded. For example, Ursula from Disney’s The Little Mermaid is shown with clothing and features of a drag queen. While she is a beloved character to some, the depiction as the main antagonist still spreads a negative connotation for LGBT people. Despite this, the future looks bright for LGBT representation, and in the next blog I will discuss why representation is so important and provide some current examples of good LGBT representation in media.
Links:
Cook: https://scholar.utc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1133&context=honors-theses
Harris: https://www.hercampus.com/school/utah/what-are-queer-coding-and-queerbaiting
I think this issue was super important, especially to me growing up as a queer child and watching these tv shows and movie and trying to see myself in older characters. The first examples of openly gay characters were always just side pieces to the plot, where the main character had a friend who happened to be gay and WOW, diversity. On top of this, the idea that all villains are queer-coded is super toxic to our community because it makes having stereotypically gay mannerisms equivalent to being malicious or aggressive. It compiles into subconscious ideas that gays are all like Jafar from Aladdin.
Loved this post! I’m really glad that you touched on the “bury your gays” trope because I remember especially how big of a thing that was on teen tv shows maybe 4/5-ish years ago. I’m not sure what you have planned for your next post, but I think it would be really interesting to discuss the fostering of LGBT culture on Broadway, seeing as that is generally considered as a “safe-space” for the community. You could talk about the 2018 revival of “The Boys in the Band” (like you mentioned), and the 2016 revival of “Falsettos” (you can find the full performance on vimeo, I highly reccomend it).
This is such a good blog topic! Ellen is such a good story because she originally was on a sitcom but was not out. Her agent knew but told her it wasn’t a good idea to come out. She wrestled with it for a while before deciding she had to come out publicly. She did and she lost her sitcom. Thankfully years later Ellen started her own talkshow that is so successful! I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who doesn’t love Ellen. Also I think it’s great that she ends every one of her shows with “Be kind to one another.”
Villainy, child abuse and tragic deaths seem like a great way for the established white, male, heterosexual TV producing audience to maintain their stranglehold on their positions, don’t they? Anyways, your writing is really linear and easy to follow, and you communicate your points effectively.
wee twine