From the Office of the President & CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis
As GLAAD launches its 13th edition of our Anthem and Shorty Award-winning Studio Responsibility Index (SRI), we have never been more certain of the power of inclusive storytelling to move culture forward and accelerate acceptance. In a time when the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community faces unchecked harmful and false rhetoric in news media and are treated as a wedge issue by politicians, these stories are vital. The characters and stories that reach our living rooms are able to connect with all audiences – creating connections with allies to humanize our lives and affirming our own identities. GLAAD was founded 40 years ago by a group of advocates who saw an opportunity in the unique power of the media to build empathy and share the truth of who we are, while entertaining audiences. We remain committed to this work today, in holding the media accountable and in serving as the gold standard partner for telling fair, accurate, and inclusive LGBTQ stories year-round.
This is the second year in a row GLAAD has found an overall decrease in inclusive films, after hitting a record high in our 2023 study. Only 23.6% (59 of 250) of films included LGBTQ characters in this study, significantly down from the 27.3% in the previous edition. Unfortunately, several of the characters counted in this study are in less prominent roles. While the previous edition showed increased screen time for LGBTQ characters, this year’s findings show a disappointing flip with the largest group of LGBTQ characters appearing in roles with less than one minute of total screen time. In this SRI, GLAAD found only 27% of LGBTQ characters clocked over ten minutes of screen time, down from 38% of LGBTQ characters previously; while characters who appeared for under one minute dramatically jumped from 28% to 37% of LGBTQ characters – the largest group tracked.
In a finding identical to last year, GLAAD counted only two films which included transgender characters, less than one percent of the 250 films tracked. At the same time, independent films and art house distributors have released standout trans stories and characters with titles which also garnered critical acclaim like Crossing (MUBI), A Place of Our Own (Dark Star Entertainment), 20,000 Species of Bees (Film Movement), and Close to You (Greenwich Entertainment). When the majority of Americans still report not personally knowing a transgender person, and politicians and journalists continue to spread harmful misinformation, the continued platforming of offensive trans characters and/or inauthentic casting can have catastrophic consequences for real trans people. The Netflix documentary Disclosure, which explores the impact of trans stories in film and TV over the past 100 years, is must-see viewing for all creatives who are telling trans stories and the audiences who watch them.
GLAAD’s previous SRI found a welcome increase in LGBTQ characters of color, counted at 46% of all LGBTQ characters in the previous edition. This year’s study sees a worrying decrease, down to just 36% of LGBTQ characters of color. This is particularly alarming, given the current attacks on diversity from the highest levels of government.
One of the exciting developments in this year’s study was that LGBTQ characters were nearly at gender parity, with 90 women (50%), 87 men (48%), and four nonbinary characters (2%). This edition counted several outstanding films with central queer women characters including GLAAD Media Award nominees Drive-Away Dolls (NBCUniversal), Love Lies Bleeding, (A24) and Mean Girls (Paramount), as well as GLAAD Media Award winner My Old Ass (Amazon).
Several of these standout titles are mid-budget films – those titles with a production budget roughly between 15 and 90 million dollars. These pictures, which used to be a mainstay of the industry, had all but disappeared in the mid 2000s as larger budget tentpoles began to dominate slates. It is no longer sustainable for the majority of studios to create a consistent output at those costs. As the entertainment industry continues to see swift changes, instability, and contraction of budgets balanced against a need for continuous new content, it is clear that studios need to diversify their slates with a variety of story types at staggered budgets to ensure stability and, ultimately, growth.
Those studios who have stood with the community and whose slates include LGBTQ characters in meaningful roles continue to see success. A24, the only distributor to receive a “Good” grade in this edition, passed the $200 million mark at the box office for the first time in the studio’s history with their 2024 slate. This shows that studios investing in diverse and meaningful LGBTQ stories see returns on investment.
Not only is the LGBTQ audience growing domestically and abroad, but we know that inclusive storytelling is important to all audiences. Nearly 1 in 10 American adults (9.3%) are LGBTQ, and when focused on a key ticket and subscription buying population, Gallup found more than 1 in 5 Gen Z U.S adults (23.1%) are LGBTQ. IPSOS has found a similar picture globally with 18% of Gen Z adults self-identifying as LGBTQ across 30 countries surveyed. LGBTQ stories have appeal across demographics – supermajorities of American 18-24-year-old’s report actively seeking out inclusive content, 93% of LGBTQ people and 85% of non-LGBTQ people respectively, per WPP’s Beyond the Rainbow study.
Further, LGBTQ Americans 13-39 are significantly more likely to call themselves a die-hard fan of something than non-LGBTQ people in the same age group, and spend 3% more on merch per year per YPulse’s Merch Madness study. Of 20 fandoms surveyed, movies were the #1 thing LGBTQ Gen Z/Millennials say they are a die-hard fan of at nearly half (46%). Studios who are looking to grow their bottom lines should be actively courting this community with inclusive storytelling and targeted and specific marketing. Despite false claims from politicians and corporate leaders, working with the LGBTQ community grows profit.
Our GLAAD Media Institute is a resource for any studio working with the LGBTQ community. We partnered with several of the outstanding titles tracked in this SRI, both shaping the stories that connected with audiences and ensuring inclusive titles reached all moviegoers, that delivered over $1.1 billion at the global box office. Our staff continue to work with executives, creatives, actors and animators across productions that are reaching key viewers and consumers who are ready to invest in content, franchises, merchandise, and experiences with brands that continue to stand with the community.
We are a community built for resilience. As GLAAD celebrates its 40th anniversary, we look back at the past four decades of progress and the characters who moved audiences through storytelling – from Brokeback Mountain to Moonlight, from Boys Don’t Cry to Love, Simon, from Philadelphia to Pariah. These titles made groundbreaking strides in their time and many have proven to be timeless queer classics. These wins, which came even in the face of adversity, shifted cultural acceptance at its core. We look forward to the next forty years of impactful and entertaining queer storytelling.
Thank you for your support,
