GLAAD: Where We Are on TV 2014

GLAAD released their 2014 report on LGBT on TV and the Where We Are report has some interesting stats.

Overall, women and lesbians are down in representation compared to last year, but people of color are up.

• Women make up just 40% of series regulars, compared to 43% last year and 45% the year prior.
• Of all LGBT characters on broadcast TV, 28% are lesbians and 15% are bisexual
• Of all LGBT characters on cable TV, 25% are lesbians and 20% are bisexual
• There are no MTF characters on any TV show at this time
• There is one FTM character and it’s Cole from The Fosters

The report was written before Chicago Fire killed off Shay, so NBC is about to lose points.

Download the full report

It does provide us with some information to look forward to:

• Faking It will introduce new lesbian, Reagan
• The Flash will introduce two gay characters, one male, one TBD
• The Mindy Project will see the arrival of Dr. Jean Fishman who is a lesbian
• One Big Happy will feature Lizzy, a lesbian who decides to have a baby with her best friend through insemination

An overview of new lesbians we got last year:

• Arrow: Sara and Nyssa are set to recur next season
• Chasing Life: Brenna and Greer are teenagers in love
• Crossbones : Lesbian pirate Nenna and bisexual sex worker Rose
• The Following: FBI agent Gina Mendez is lesbian recurring character
• Hannibal: A lesbian character named Margot
• Hart of Dixie: Crickett, the co-leader of the Belles, a local historian group, is a lesbian who is married to a man rumored to be gay.
• Getting On: Patsy the nurse came out
• Gotham: Lesbian detective Renee Montoya and her bisexual ex-girlfriend Barbara Kean.
• Masters of Sex: Secret couple Betty and Helen was revealed
• Parenthood: Haddie was revealed to have dated a woman in college
• Switched at Birth: Literary editor Lydia is a lesbian

HBO also included lesbian, gay and bisexual characters on Shameless, Nurse Jackie, Episodes, Ray Donovan, House of Lies and Web Therapy.  So they’re basically the gayest network around right now. Spanish-Language media seems to be getting more inclusive with gay men, but less women. The online world is way more gay-friendly, of course. Last year, Netflix premiered Orange is the New Black, which contains more lesbian, bisexual and transgender characters than nearly any broadcast or cable series currently on the air.

Looks like we’ve got our documentation work cut out for us!

About Mika A. Epstein

Mika has been deep in fandom since she could say 'Trekkie.' With decades experience in running fansites, developing software, and organizing communities, she's taken on the challenge of delving into the recesses of television for queers long forgotten. Making this site with Tracy is nothing short of serendipity. Mika lives with her wife in Southern California. Of course she has a hybrid, but she'd rather ride her bicycle.

 Read all 475 articles by Mika A. Epstein.

 Favorite Shows: A League of Their Own, Batwoman, One Day at a Time, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Willow, Xena: Warrior Princess