GLAAD Urges Hollywood to Include More LGBT Characters in Movies

Members of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) have urged Hollywood bosses to step up the number of gay characters in films amid fears the community is woefully under-represented in movies.

GLAAD bosses have released their second annual Studio Responsibility Index in which they analyze the number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) characters seen on screen.

They suggest that out of 102 major films released last year, only 17 included gay characters, and the advocacy group’s members have also singled out a number of movies for particular criticism over their depiction of the LGBT community.

The report targets Mark Wahlberg’s thriller Pain & Gain for featuring a gay priest who is beaten up, and The Hangover Part III, which is branded offensive for the inclusion of potentially-gay character Mr. Chow as a “walking joke”.

GLAAD national spokesman Will Cruz says, “What’s disheartening for me and to all of us in GLAAD is when it comes to major studio films, LGBT people are basically invisible. And when we do show up, it’s largely a part of comedies as caricatures to service a joke that’s at the expense of the character… There seems to be this vicious circle, where studios saying they weren’t getting scripts that were inclusive, while writers were telling us the studios weren’t interested in making films (with) LBGT (people) in them.”

Photo Credit: GLAAD