2025 Studio Responsibility Index

GLAAD’s Observations and Recommendations: A Path Forward

LGBTQ representation is down overall, as is screen time for LGBTQ characters. The LGBTQ community is eager and hungry to be seen on screen, and have the buying power and cultural clout to make LGBTQ stories a success.

This is the second year in a row there has been a drop year-over-year in the percentage of films that feature LGBTQ characters. GLAAD previously counted a record high of 28.5% LGBTQ inclusion in 2022 releases. This number slightly dropped to 27.3% in this study’s previous iteration, and now that percentage has decreased again: only 23.6% of 2024 films were LGBTQ-inclusive. This drop of almost five percentage points in just two years is certainly cause for concern, particularly when there are not enough upcoming LGBTQ inclusive titles announced to span the difference. Though the raw number of LGBTQ characters slightly increased (up 11 characters from the previous study), many of those were part of LGBTQ-inclusive films that featured numerous minor queer characters in an ensemble. Furthermore, a plethora of these characters appeared for under one minute of total screen time, with 37% of all LGBTQ characters falling under one minute, and only 27% of LGBTQ characters clocking more than 10 minutes of screen time. This is a stark contrast to the previous edition of this study, where these figures were nearly reversed; then 38% of LGBTQ characters had over 10 minutes of screen time and 28% fell under one minute.

Casual LGBTQ inclusion, often seen in minor characters who populate a film’s world, can be positive, as queer people should and do exist in all places and environments, but it is imperative that these minor and most often inconsequential characters are not the only representation of the LGBTQ community found in a distributor’s slate. It is alarming that both the overall number of LGBTQ-inclusive films and the screentime of LGBTQ characters dropped substantially. LGBTQ people leading their own stories is paramount: the LGBTQ community cannot and should not exist simply or solely as background characters or those with no dedicated development or agency.

Only two films featured transgender characters, and both retread dangerous tropes and outdated narratives. There is a gap in the market and a community prepared to support trans-inclusive stories, studios simply have to fill it.

Only two films counted in this study contain transgender characters, on par with last year’s findings. Also similar to the previous study, one of those movies had a cisgender actor playing a transgender character – a practice that has been denounced by transgender people and had been nearly eliminated in films and television. Universal’s Monkey Man tells an important but rarely told story of the Hijra in India. In India, Hijra have existed for centuries as people assigned male at birth who live outside the traditional gender binary. However, Alpha, the lead Hijra character, is played by a well-known actor who is a cisgender man. This dangerous casting practice, which GLAAD consistently warns against, perpetuates the false narrative that trans people are not who they say they are. The only other film with transgender representation was Netflix’s Emilia Pérez, which, though authentically cast, chose to perpetuate transphobic stereotypes and harmful tropes. The film depicts the titular Emilia as a stereotypically deceptive trans woman, lying to her own wife and children, and the story had a disproportionate (and ridiculous) focus on body parts and surgeries. As the trans community endures continuous attacks from all levels of government, it is essential that transgender representation in film uplifts authentic trans stories to counteract these outdated and harmful narratives.

The stories of LGBTQ characters of color bring in a wide audience with financial and cultural power, yet racial diversity is plummeting – LGBTQ characters of color hit lowest percentage in five years.

After the previous edition of this study found an increase in racial diversity, up to 46% of LGBTQ characters, it is concerning to see that number drop significantly in a single year, down to 36% of LGBTQ characters. This is the lowest percentage of characters of color among all LGBTQ characters since the 2020 SRI, tracking 2019 theatrical releases, and is the lowest percentage since GLAAD added streaming releases to this study’s methodology. Further, only 10% of LGBTQ characters were Black, a sharp decrease from 17% counted in the previous study, and the already low 8% of Latine LGBTQ characters dropped even further to 7%.

In 2020, there were vocal and concentrated calls for racial diversity in Hollywood, and the numbers seen in that study reflected the change created out of this focused action. Much of this work has been neglected and/or defunded in this current political climate. The truth remains that telling meaningful stories from the unique lens and perspective of Black, Latine, API, Indigenous, MENA, and other communities is needed now more than ever – and can potentially make an even greater impact with audiences who are searching for those stories in a dearth. This makes it all the more alarming that the stories of characters of color are being deprioritized, including within LGBTQ stories.

The success of films with LGBTQ characters of color should give studios the confidence to turn this trend around. Films that featured LGBTQ characters of color in 2024 grossed a combined 1.2 billion dollars, sending a clear message that these stories are financially viable. Further, the success of these films can be seen in the critical response; Love Lies Bleeding, which has a multiracial co-lead, boasts a 94% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Similarly, Indigenous-led drama Fancy Dance has a 96% Fresh rating, My Old Ass, which features a Black nonbinary character, has a 90% Fresh rating, and Latine-led absurdist comedy Problemista has an 86% Fresh rating. The potential LGBTQ characters of color have across the board has been demonstrated, and studios can and should capitalize upon this and embrace these stories, not turn their backs.

LGBTQ women outnumber LGBTQ men for the first time in four years, and the second time in study history. Gender parity should become the norm.

Of the 181 LGBTQ characters counted, 90 were women, accounting for 50% of all LGBTQ characters in this study. As mainstream LGBTQ stories have historically centered on men, it is exciting to see more stories focusing on leading queer women and their unique perspectives, issues, and relationships. The only other time LGBTQ women represented the majority of LGBTQ characters in this study’s history was in 2021’s SRI, tracking films released in 2020, when there were only 20 LGBTQ characters and 11 were women. In 2024, women shone in leading roles in films such as Love Lies Bleeding, Fancy Dance, Drive-Away Dolls, Mean Girls, and My Old Ass. There was also a noteworthy increase in lesbian characters, up to 74 characters from the previous study’s 50. However, when it comes to the number of inclusive films, there were still more films with gay men than with lesbian characters, bisexual+ characters, or trans characters respectively.

A majority of the LGBTQ community are bisexual+, yet bi+ representation decreased year over year. The interest and audience for bi, pansexual, and queer representation is only growing and studios should focus on winning those consumer’s attention.

The most recent polling from Gallup shows that 57% of the LGBTQ community and 5.2% of overall American adults identify as bisexual+, yet only 10% of the LGBTQ characters tracked in this study were bisexual+ – a decrease from the already low 15% in the prior edition. Further, only 25% of the films tracked in this study contained a bisexual+ character. While there were standouts of bi+ representation, like Amazon’s My Old Ass, which follows a teen girl who finds herself attracted to a boy for the first time after only being interested in women, there was an overall lack of bi+ representation in 2024. There were also films such as Miller’s Girl (Lionsgate) and Kinds of Kindness (Walt Disney) that fell into tired tropes of bi+ characters who were portrayed as manipulative and inherently promiscuous. The bi+ community has been severely underrepresented in this study, presenting a clear opportunity for film to reach a mass audience who are hungry for more sophisticated and interesting characters and stories.

Only two family films included LGBTQ characters – and both featured only minor characters with under one minute of screentime.

While the past five years have seen vast improvements in all ages and family films with titles including Strange World, Lightyear, Nimona, Monster High, and The Mitchells vs. The Machines, 2024 fell alarmingly short when it came to LGBTQ representation for younger audiences. Only two films in the genre included LGBTQ characters. A minor character in Thelma the Unicorn (Netflix) has two moms, and in Paramount’s No Time To Spy: A Loud House Movie, the protagonist’s best friend has two dads. Though it is wonderful to see queer parents in these films, every single character had under one minute of screen time and was insignificant to the plot, both failing the Vito Russo Test. There is a huge unutilized potential for more LGBTQ representation in these films and beyond. For example, The Loud House TV series includes bisexual character Luna and her girlfriend, but Luna barely appears in the film and there is no mention of her identity or partner.

A recent study from The Trevor Project found that seeing LGBTQ characters in film and TV was the top factor reported by LGBTQ young people in feeling good about themselves and their identity. Further, significant portions of Gen Z and Millennial audiences – a group which combined range from 18 to 44 and are key ticket buyers for themselves and their children – are LGBTQ. LGBTQ young people deserve to see themselves affirmed in age appropriate stories which also build understanding and empathy among their peers. The Williams Institute reports that 18% of LGBTQ American adults (2.57 million) are raising someone under 18 years old in their household, an estimated five million children in the U.S. This underserved audience should be represented in the films they are taking their families to see.

When Americans see people living with HIV in the media, comfortability with real people grows by up to +15%. There continue to be zero LGBTQ characters living with HIV included in films from major distributors whose slates dominate the box office and cultural conversation.

As was the case in the previous edition of the SRI, no LGBTQ characters living with HIV were counted in the 250 films tracked in this study. At a time when lifesaving resources and research on HIV are being delayed and defunded, telling these stories in film can provide a vital lifeline. According to GLAAD’s 2024 State of HIV Stigma, there was a decrease in Americans who saw people living with HIV in TV shows and film, down to 35% from 39% in 2023. This continued decrease could have long-lasting effects, as Gen Z is already the least knowledgeable generation about HIV. Film provides a medium to tell impactful and meaningful stories to counteract hateful narratives, and is currently being underutilized.