Studio Responsibility Index at 10

In 2013, GLAAD launched its first Studio Responsibility Index (SRI) to measure lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) inclusion in mainstream film after proving the efficacy of our studies and work in television to move the needle on diverse, authentic LGBTQ storytelling. In just ten short years, I’m proud to see Hollywood make swift progress driven by the insights in our studies and the active partnership of our GLAAD Media Institute team.

From GLAAD’s first SRI to the recent milestone tenth edition, the percentage of LGBTQ-inclusive films has grown by 50 percent or 1.5 times as GLAAD has set industry priorities and best practices. This surge in inclusive storytelling is reflected in the recent expansions of several key GLAAD Media Awards categories to recognize the outstanding LGBTQ characters and stories audiences are enjoying.

READ THE FULL STUDY HERE

Study findings:

LGBTQ-inclusive films released from major studios have grown by 50 percent or 1.5 times since GLAAD’s first SRI was issued in 2013.
Five key film genres have seen substantial improvement in LGBTQ inclusion over the past decade: superhero films – led by new inclusion in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, kids and family films, romantic comedies, raunchy adult comedy, and action/sci-fi/horror.
LGBTQ characters remain lacking in total screen time, with the most recent SRI showing more than half appearing for under five minutes. Introducing more central and nuanced LGBTQ characters should be a priority as studios look to their development slates.
Major studio releases have yet to consistently meet GLAAD’s challenge to ensure that at least half of LGBTQ characters are people of color, only meeting this bar once (2018). The most recent study found only 39 percent of LGBTQ characters were people of color.
Bisexual+ people (an umbrella term which includes people who identify as bisexual, pansexual, fluid, queer, and more) represent more than half of the LGBTQ community, yet only two films in the latest study included bi+ characters.
The most recent SRI is the first in five years to count a transgender character, and that character was ultimately a small role. For storytelling to improve in the next decade, there must be a number of new trans characters introduced each year who are fully fleshed out characters beyond their gender identity and existing in all settings, roles, and communities.
There is only one upcoming film from a major studio expected to include a character with HIV, the Universal Pictures’ adaptation of the Rock Hudson biography All That Heaven Allows. There are more than 1.2 Million Americans living with HIV and nearly 9 in 10 people believe “there is still stigma around HIV.” GLAAD has challenged studios to urgently prioritize introducing LGBTQ characters living with HIV in their upcoming film slates after a near complete absence in major studio releases in the past decade.
GLAAD will be launching an expanded methodology in its 2023 Studio Responsibility Index which will reflect distribution changes in the film industry. That report will be released later this year.