I don’t think anyone except a Cubs fan thinks that 2016 has been an okay year.
While we have more queers than ever on TV (4.8% on network TV in the US, which is the highest ever) we also have a new record for deaths, and 2016 isn’t over. Of course, our numbers are always a little off, since we count by calendar year and not the US endemic concept of a ‘season.’
Highlights from their “Where We Are on TV” report:
- 4.8% of all series regulars on broadcast scripted primetime programming are LGBTQ
- Streaming media is, per usual, doing way better than broadcast
- Transgender characters have doubled their representation across the board
- Lesbians are down to 17% of all LGBTQ characters on broadcast (and 20% on cable)
- Bisexuals are up to 30% on broadcast (10 percentage points!) and 36% of all LGBTQ characters on cable
- Bisexual women still outnumber bisexual men, and most representations of bisexuals involve harmful tropes about being bi… still
- Gay men make up 49% of all LGBTQ characters
- Diversity in LGBTQ is still the pits – 71% are white on TV which ain’t right
They go on to talk about gender and race representation (which basically still sucks). You can download the full report and peruse it.
Keep in mind, they no longer list all the LGBTQ characters for you. But that’s why we’re here.
