Trending
- NEW VIDEO: The Casts of “Queer Eye” Joined Vice President Kamala Harris to Close Out Pride Month: “The true measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up.”
- GLAAD Amplifies What’s at Stake for LGBTQ Voters Following the First Day of the RNC
- Fact Sheet: Donald Trump on LGBTQ Issues: Education
- Fact Sheet: Donald Trump on LGBTQ Issues: Climate Change
- Fact Sheet: Donald Trump on LGBTQ Issues: Abortion
- RuPaul’s Drag Race Announces “RuPaul’s Drag Race Global All Stars” to Stream on Paramount+, See the Global Cast Ru-veal!
- Pop-Sensation Meghan Trainor to Compete for GLAAD in New Episode of “Celebrity Family Feud”
- Orville Peck & Beck Drop “Death Valley High” Music Video Featuring Sharon Stone and Gigi Goode
Where We Are on TV 2023-2024
In 2023, a study from the USC Norman Lear Center and non-profit Gold House analyzed the top 100 streaming film and television titles from 2022 for Asian representation, and found 347 Asian characters, with 99 of them in major roles. The report analyzed those 99 characters and found that only one of them was queer. Though that study looks at a far different sample from this report, the result is unequivocally the same: LGBTQ Asian representation is extremely limited.
There was a welcome increase of LGBTQ Asian and Pacific Islander (API) characters on primetime scripted broadcasts this year. Six of 64 (nine percent) of LGBTQ characters were API, an increase of three percentage points from last year. These characters include bi+ doctor Mika Yasuda on Grey’s Anatomy, nonbinary dog walker Nico on ABC’s Will Trent, queer characters Khia and Cathy on The CW’s Run the Burbs, gay investigator Dhan on NBC’s Found and Dr. Devi on NBC’s Transplant.
Cable saw a slight percentage decrease of API representation year over year. Of the 77 LGBTQ characters on cable, four (five percent) are API. This is a decrease of one percentage point, and four less characters than the previous year. Two of the four characters appear on the final season of Good Trouble, while the other characters are on series that will hopefully see new seasons: Disney Channel’s Hailey’s on It! and Syfy’s Reginald the Vampire.
After an increase last year, streaming saw a decrease in API representation. Of the 327 LGBTQ characters counted on streaming, 29 (nine percent) are API. Highlights include a nonbinary character on Max’s dramedy Girls on the Bus, protagonist Sabi on the final season of Max’s Sort Of, bisexual character Ah Toy on Max’s Warrior, asexual character Sarah on the final season of Netflix’s Sex Education, and more. Warrior, Sort of and Sex Education will not be returning next year.
In totality, of the 468 LGBTQ characters on broadcast, cable, and streaming, 39 (eight percent) are API. That is a decrease of one percentage point, and a disturbing trend that must be significantly reversed.
Representation of API LGBTQ Characters
- Of the 64 LGBTQ characters counted on the five broadcast networks, nine percent (six) are API.
- Of the 77 LGBTQ characters counted on cable networks, five percent (four) are API.
- Of the 327 LGBTQ characters counted on eight streaming services, nine percent (29) are API.
- Of the 468 LGBTQ characters counted on all platforms, eight percent (39) are API.
No Data Found
Table of Contents
Share this
View Past Years’ Reports
MEASURE THE MOVEMENT
Your gift allows us to track the impact of our work, helping us better understand the state of acceptance and address the gaps with advocacy — like pushing for more trans representation in movies.
More Publications from GLAAD
The Where We Are on TV report analyzes the overall diversity of primetime scripted series…
Stonewall 50: A Journalist’s Guide to Reporting on the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall and the Legacy of Pride seeks to inform journalists about the history of the Stonewall Uprising and its impact on the LGBTQ movement into the modern day. The guidebook covers several topics: story ideas when covering Stonewall 50, a history of the Stonewall Inn, an overview of significant events in the modern LGBTQ movement, and a focused discussion on the issues the LGBTQ movement faces today– both in the USA and around the world.
Fifty years after the Stonewall uprising, the LGBTQ community has great reason to celebrate the many advancements that have created greater visibility and legal protections for LGBTQ Americans, but the fight for 100% acceptance is far from over.
Last year the Accelerating Acceptance Index, a national survey among U.S. adults conducted on GLAAD’s behalf by The Harris Poll, saw an erosion in LGBTQ acceptance. Although this year’s Index reports that the drop in LGBTQ acceptance has been stemmed, a growing number of young people ages 18-34 report being less comfortable around LGBTQ people in certain personal situations. At the same time, the Trump administration continues to attack the LGBTQ community through discriminatory policies and targeted rhetoric, and LGBTQ Americans are becoming more vulnerable to hate crimes and violence, which GLAAD documents here. GLAAD’s Accelerating Acceptance Report provides us with an urgent reminder that LGBTQ people and allies should continue to remain visible and vigilant on the fight for 100% acceptance of LGBTQ people.
The GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index (SRI) maps the quantity, quality and diversity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) characters in films released by the seven major motion picture studios during the 2018 calendar year. GLAAD researched films released by 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros., as well as films released by four subsidiaries of these major studios. The report is intended to serve as a road map toward increasing fair, accurate and inclusive LGBTQ representation in film.