Why LGBTQ+ Movies and TV Shows Matter
Happy Pride Month, everyone! June is the time in the year to recognize and celebrate the various positive impacts that the LGBTQ+ community have contributed to society. It’s amazing to see how far the public perceptions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals have progressively advanced since the Stonewall Riots in 1969. Currently, seventy-two percent of United States citizens state that homosexuality should be accepted by world at large. And the numbers keep climbing. Personally, I believe this positive trajectory is in part due to the increased representation of LGBTQ+ individuals in books, movies, and television shows.
LGBTQ+ Characters in Movies and Television
Over the last several decades, LGBTQ+ characters have transitioned from being background and inconsequential bystanders to the headline characters of their respective novels, movies, and TV shows. In the early 2000s, movie characters in the popular X-men series were viewed as symbolic representations of the LGBTQ+ community because they hid their authentic selves from the world out of fear of prejudice and persecution. Around this same time, Will and Grace also rose in popularity. President Barak Obama claimed that Will and Grace was monumental in helping the American public learn more about the daily lives and personal struggles of LGBTQ+ individuals. Last year Schitt’s Creek, a show all about acceptance and inclusivity, swept the Emmys. And just last month Heartstopper, a coming-of-age romantic comedy about two male adolescents falling in love with each other, was released to critical and audience praise. LGBTQ+ characters are undoubtedly becoming more and more popular. And they’re here to stay.
Why Representation Matters
So… Who cares? Why is it such a big deal for the LGBTQ+ community to see their personal stories portrayed on both the big and small screen? They are, after all, just movies and TV shows.
During my Master’s degree, I took an intense class focusing on trauma and PTSD where I learned about how people from minority cultures are taught to hate and resent themselves. A core tenet of the class was that marginalized individuals are more likely to experience PTSD when they are treated by others as less than human. Corrupt individuals in power justify their actions to hurt others by dividing groups of people into distinct categories of “Us” vs. “Them.” By doing so, they provide reasoning to scar and wound individuals simply looking for a place to belong.
However, by introducing LGBTQ+ characters into the popular media, people are able to see every person in society as a “We.” Oscar winner and gay rights advocate Dustin Lance Black has said that stories are the most powerful method in helping people learn how to respect and empathize with one another. Thus, it should come as no surprise that a majority of his work focuses on deeply moving and touching stories of LGBTQ+ individuals such as Harvey Milk and Cleve Jones.
As I’m writing this, I think back to 2018 when I made the decision to come out to my friends and family. At the time, I was absolutely terrified of what people would say when they learned the truth, and whether or not I would ever be able to be happy. And during those times when I felt lost and alone, I turned to stories with characters with whom I could relate to on a deep and personal level.
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