By Edie Bellingham
From widely acclaimed shows like Steven Universe and Heartstopper, to less well-known shows like The Owl House and Andi Mack, there has finally been an increase in LGBTQ+ representation through characters and plot lines in the media of the 21st century. Representation — whether it’s of sexuality, gender identity, race, etc. — is extremely necessary and pertinent for not only the respective community itself, but everyone as a whole.
Ineffective Representation in Media
According to Ofcom, children aged 3 to 4 years old in the year 2019 were found to have watched 12.7 hours of television weekly on average, with later ages up to 17 years watching a maximum of 46.1 hours a week (“Representation Matters”) . When figuring out who you are and what you like or should not like, impressionable young kids and teens will sample and adhere to what they observe around them in order to “fit in”. Hence, knowing that a person’s experience in childhood can shape their perspectives and beliefs when they are an adult, it evidently expresses the importance of having positive representation in the media of oppressed and demonised communities, such as the LGBTQ+ community.
In 2021, The Trevor Project conducted a national survey that found 42% of LGBTQ+ adolescents having seriously contemplated committing suicide in the previous year (Cejer), with reasons surmising to the struggle in politics over legalizing same-sex relations in many countries to the general lack of acceptance. Internalised homophobia is also a prevailing problem not just among straight people, but queer people themselves; they have been made to believe that this key part of their identity is something to be ashamed of and ridiculed for. The establishment of an unaccepting and discriminatory environment perpetuates a never-ending cycle of hate towards queer individuals that do not fit “the norm”, as expressed in heteronormative media platforms. When queer people do not see themselves being represented, or only being represented for the sake of brand monetization and recognition for being ‘inclusive’, what that essentially conveys to them is that they are undervalued, invisible, and that they as a person do not matter as much as cishet individuals. Thus, one of the main reasons why representation is so important is so queer children and even adults can see themselves being greatly and authentically represented on wide-stream media. This enables them to find comfort in their personal identity and sexuality, decrease feelings of loneliness, and help to solidify and validate themselves as a person. Essentially, if LGBTQ people are able to see people like them on TV or in movies, it can help them to realise that there is absolutely nothing ‘unnatural’ or ‘wrong’ about them; that their identity, and hence them as a person, is valid.
Normalizing it
It is not just a matter of creating something relatable for queer people, but also about furthering the process of normalizing marginalized groups to EVERYONE by seeing queer characters living the same life as their straight, cisgender counter-parts. As discussed previously, the media is especially influential when it comes to moulding one’s opinions and viewpoints of specific matters, and a lack of representation — or even just poor representation — for communities can aid in fostering negative stereotypes. Fiona Swanson, a GSA leader, supported the idea that positive representation can help to remove the stigma that comes with not being cishet: she revealed to The Eagle Times that “Having kids realize that gay/trans people are normal and equal to cishet people is so important in creating better allies and reducing mental illnesses and suicide rates in queer kids. Having queer kids see characters they love and look up to in media that are like them is so, so important” (LeVeque). In essence, the only way to normalise queer people is to treat it as if it is already the norm! LGBTQ+ representation also holds importance in family viewing when parents, friends, or other familial figures want to understand better or be more supportive of the queer community, and get rid of any harmful stereotypes of, for example, same-sex couples being over-sexualised or seen as ‘sinful’.
Alongside the LGBTQ+ community, there are still a plethora of other marginalized and/or minority groups, like people of color, neurodivergent people, people with mental/physical disabilities, etc. (to name a few) who have yet to be consistently and positively represented! Now that we know of its importance, it is ridiculous and disheartening that audience members were and still are prevented from seeing such representation. Hopefully, companies and studios will learn to make amends by recognising its importance and finally giving viewers the representation they deserve.