Sorry what? They didn't mention supernatural? I know there was a picture of Charlie there and I'm assuming that's why you're saying this, but it's not about supernatural. Do you know of the "kill your gays trope"? It's not real people, no, but the viewers are real people, and they deserve to see themselves represented and given happy endings. This isn't an attack on you, I'm sure you meant no harm
It's kinda of sad how shows like Steven Universe and Adventure Time portray LGBQT relationships better than most movies or reality shows. A cartoon represents real life better than actual real life. And it's sad for the people who don't like cartoons, because they have very little media that expresses gay love in a good light. More recent movies like the The Force Awakens are doing a fantastic job of showing an gay "couple" without having it end in tragedy or be the main plot. The relationship is healthy and they have good chemistry. It's not over dramatic to the point where it's not realistic. Not all gays are overexcentric, just like not all straights are strictly serious.
wait, what? TFA? Which gay couple? I know Poe is gay and Finn bi(Not canon, but did you read the Poe Dmaeron- comics?), but are we talking about their lovestory that will happen or about Kylux, ot about R2-D2 and C3PO?
Spore sims Yeah, I'm talking about Poe and Finn, in the movies they're not confirmed as canon but JJ Abrams has said that they are indeed gay. They may not appear to be a couple in the next movie however, because other countries, like China, have rules against showing homosexuals on tv and movies in the country. So they would lose money if they did that. It could still happen, but it's very unlikely. The new director might keep the ship alive with new interactions and maybe even a confession, but right now there is no guarantee that it will develop in the sequel.
anxiety attraction ah, i saw that he wants to have gay characters in Star Wars but he didn't say that Poe is gay. But on the other hand: Rian Johnson rewteeting Stormpilot-kiss-fanart... he is doing the next movie. And you know what? After TFA was released everyone was like: "OMG; it will be the successfulst movie ever. It is now in the second place, behind Avatar. It will be released in China and it will be in the first place!" But NO! Because Chiina isn't interest in Star Wars so much. So our chance for canon Stormpilot is very huge now, because they don't have to care for China so much
+Melani Pérez what? How? Ships are going to happen everywhere so I don't think the term "ship baiting" fits. Also, Pearl is gay and is confirmed to have been in a relationship with Rose, who was bisexual. It also features a non-binary character, Stevonnie. Plus the plot is great and many of the voice actors are POC. Steven Universe is probably the perfect show for representation.
ayeletdrago So, it's not ship baiting when you put romantic teases between Peridot and Amethyst but at the same time you put some between Peridot and Lapis, and Amethyst with Pearl that will never go to anywhere? It's comfirmed that Pearl was in loved with Rose but never that they were a couple. Rose dated with other guys before Greg and find humans interesting, that is also comfirmed by the "It's over, isn't it". Btw, you also have teases from Pearl and Garnet, and Lapis and Jasper. So, yes, SU puts a lot of innecesaries ships.
Girl/guy/person now let me tell you just how long I've been waitinngggg! Tbh, I don't think there will be a proper trans-representation for at least a few years seeing as the US is such a problematic excuse of a cuntry (you see what I did there?)... Smh.
Miles Upshur Sadly, I think it’ll take a while to get proper trans representation. Elliot Fletcher is the only trans actor I know. You should check him out. He was in shameless and the fosters. I’m not a fan of the fosters personally. But, his character on shameless is nice :)
I know right :( But one day at a time, on season 2, has a few trans characters that are represented, they're a bit mocked at first but after other characters actually explain they're accepted Honestly the greatest show ever for LGBT representation, I hope season 3 brings even more
Trans rep is even worse off than LGB rep unfortunately. I hate the media tbh. I've never even seen one show or movie that even hints at a trans character smh
Never forget Alana and Margot, how they walked out of that mansion with their son like bosses, alive and beautiful at the end. Hannibal and Will's love is too complex to explain on the other hand, what they have is something transcendental and doesn't conform to our understandings of relationships and love and whatever. But yeah, a dreamlike show about a cannibal has better representation than other more realistic shows.
Nearly all of the dead characters have had some kind of comeback where they tell the Winchesters that it's ok they don't mind being dead. Bobby came back as a ghost, Ellen and Joan were chilling in heaven, even Kevin came back for it. Charlie was just... dead in a bathtub.
Hi AreTheyGay! I just wanted to like Talk about the lack of femslash in fandom, the most popular ships are all male x male and I feel like sometimes I'm the only one bothered... On your channel alone, of all the ships only one is femslash, and I understand and don't blame you if these are your interest or reflect popular interest, I just mean to point out... fan slash is very very male dominated; I think that it's good to check ourselves once in a while of our faults and all, sorry
Yeah I want to put out more femslash videos, and the Bubbline video was fun to do, so I want to do more in the future, but a lot of my audience wants to see M/M ships. I made a poll that included Wolfstar, Sterek, SwanQueen, and Some miscellaneous ship in Steven Universe, and Sterek ended up winning out. I do plan to do everything on that list at some point, but I'm also trying to do what people want to see first, and its hard to balance everything when there's so little female representation to choose from and when a lot of my requests are M/M. I'm trying my best to balance it out, but I'm sorry if it takes a while. Thanks for voicing your concerns!
I agree, Im bi and crave more femslash. But tbh I find theres a lack of well developed female characters and fxf relationships. Also most women are straight, so of course they'd be more interested in mxm relationships. And straight males usually wouldn't go out their way to write and draw femslash...
I Love femslash as well but all of the shows I watch have male mains or my favorite female character dies and i endup resorting to gender swap fics. there just needs to be more female representation in shows where they arn't just the het love interest.
I don't get how there aren't more lgbt characters since you can create so much drama and struggles with them. I write sometimes and I love to do that to my characters. Sometimes I find it difficult to make characters straight xD
NOoOO Crowley is pansexual (25% of the show's recurring characters) There is a case for Cas being Asexual (That would make it 50% of the show's recurring characters LGBT+) Charlie was openly lesbian and that wasn't her story line, she was killed off (also was entirely her fault, she got killed because of her silly decisions) but so many people on SPN are anyway. There have been numerous gay/lesbian couples and individuals throughout the show's history including GOD. I'm pansexual and yes, I'd love more representation but I'm happy because SPN has a lot more than other shows. As for racial diversion, I can't say much as I'm white and I am represented on TV but I wouldn't say that SPN was bad at portraying different races. If you don't like SPN don't watch it. Jared and Jensen have both put their heart and soul into this show for 12 years now, that is a huge reason why it's still going and still going strong. Don't complain there isn't enough LGBT+ representation just because you want to see an angel and a (straight) male get together, go and read fanfics like the rest of us.
When I was younger, I was obsessed with this show called The Sarah Jane Adventures and one of the main characters, Luke, was my favourite character and I looked up to him. If TSJA had continued, it would have been confirmed that he was gay. This would have been amazing for me as a kid, seeing one of my favourite characters that I related to so much, be openly LGBT? Would have changed my life. Sadly, the show didn't continue after the death of one of the main leads. If they'd made Luke openly LGBT before it was cancelled, I would have been overjoyed. I'm still pretty bitter about it, to be honest. Generally, LGBT representation is low and constricted, but I am grateful for the characters and shows that we do have, even if I do end up with my favourite characters dead.
That was the shit! Awesome to know that one of the main characters was canonically gay. Also RIP Sarah's actress :( Can't remember her name, but I was devastated when I heard the news.
I mean.. She's not one of the main characters. She's Sarah Jane and you can't have the show without her. That's like doing Sherlock without Sherlock. But yeah we need more LGBTQ representation in TV shows and movies. Many of the few that there are are often just stereotypes and the source of jokes
Spore sims Still hoping for canon Poe/Finn relationship, since that would be even better than just having a gay character but not show them in a relationship.
lilychoux yeah, i know. I am the head (not the admin, but i am the one who post everything etc.) of a Stormpilot group on facebook. We are more then 150 people :D i also hope for canon Stormpilot :D I also love all the tweets from John Boyega (#TeamPoe), that Rian Johnson retweeted a Strompilot-kiss-fanart, and Oscar Isaac: "His interest are kind of fluid" and also John Boyega: Rey and FInn, it is just a bromance. and the rewrite of the Star Wars VIII script: "Because the fans reacted so poitiv about some things and they love the charaters so much, and thei relatinship to each other. So we rewrite the script so we can explore their relationships even more." :D :D :D and John Boyega changing his mind from "It si just a bromance" to : "Maybe there is something more" (what he said suddently after the rewrite ... so what happens in the rewrite of the script ;) )
The Moofinisms I Do! I will NOT watch films that don't have LGBTQ ppl or ppl of colour. Not as a political thing. I simply can't relate or understand all straight or all Anglo fictional worlds.
Grey's Anatomy was the first time I've seen two women in a happy relationship on TV when I was a kid. I hadn't realised what it meant for me fully back then, but it still gives me hapinnes when I look back
Can I just like,,,point out that at this moment, Shadowhunters has only one actual couple, and it's between an Asian bisexual and a gay dude, and it's the fucking best
ayeletdrago Lmao that's what makes it good, if you look deeper there is so much that's wrong with the book. Malec is a token couple in the book and CC is taking advantage of their newfound popularity from the show to make more money
artistic Aperture late but I just want to say: just saying Alec was gay in the first book almost got it to not be published. But she fought to keeping her character as he was. No Magnus and Alec aren’t just tokens in the books- they are necessary characters and have good development. They’re just less present than the others cause 1. They’re secondary characters 2. Again, including gueer characters even only a few years ago was definitely more complicated than now
As soon as Lexa appeared I was like AHHH shit 😂 I would recommend you to watch supergirl now though, there's a really good LGBT storyline going on in season 2
Black Siren again, there are many lesbian women in tv nowadays but no gay or bi men and because we live under the LGBTQ umbrella we can't complain the lack of male homosexuality that has been normalized so much when everybody accepts that as long as there are lesbians it is enough. 😒
David Dagnino I could name quite a few gay/bi male characters on TV. I was simply stating supergirl had a good LGBT storyline going on at the moment, nothing else. Anyway, there's a lack of both male and female LGBT characters in general so the entire thing needs sorting lol
Shantel Potter I’m late but even though Clexa ended horribly it does seem realistic for Clarke to end up with Bellamy. I mean, at least they didn’t start something right away. It showed that the relationship was and always would be important to Clarke.
And this is why things like Johnlock are so important. To see to iconic characters being able to have their happy ending and for it not to be the main focus of the show would give LGBT people something to enjoy. Speaking as a bisexual woman who's parents don't think gay ships hold any water unless they are wearing pink and sticking their tongue down each other's throat, positive LGBT representation is needed in modern TV and film.
+Alpha Boy you should really look up TJLC on youtube. I was absolutely sure it's all queerbaiting, that it's never going to happen, until I watched the TJLC videos. Now i'm sure they're going to be canon, and hopefully other shows (cough, SPN) will learn from it.
I am gay, teenager and live in Britain. I get discrimination from my sexuality all the time. I don't want to have to type into google lesbian movies or gay movies. I don't want to have to go in the gay section of Netflix. But i do. Why, there are no other movies or shows that include me. So i watched Game of Thrones, i enjoyed watching a bisexual man explain to a man his sexuality, few episodes later he gets his head squashed by a bodybuilder. I need more movies that depict me and ones that end happily. The only reason i know what gay is is because i grew up in a christian primary school that was homophobic.
If you'd like recommendations for shows/movies/manga/podcasts and games that include accurate and normalised LGBTQIA representation I've come across quite a few and can recommend some (I'm thinking of making a huge masterpost list, maybe a Google doc) If you need someone to talk to you can also find me on Tumblr at : what-it-means-to-be-human.tumblr.com And Deviantart: whatitmeanstobehuman.deviantart.com I'm not lgbtqia (well, still figuring out the asexual part) but tons of my friends are and it's a subject dear to me.
Lucy Thompson IT GETS BETTER LUCY! As one gay Irishman, I can tell u real gay life is nothing like how we r shown in media. Telly and films taught me to be afraid of getting killed, to fear for my life and to think there are fewer of us than there really are. Yet in real life, most of the time we can just live normal adult lives (well, if u like normal.) Try not to get sucked into the poor portrayals of our people on telly/in films. I mean like, if u consider TV's idea of us, u might think we are all Anglo cis gender men who die young. IRL we are diverse and beautiful and many of us live well into old age. It gets better, Lucy! x
And here's why I'm thankful for Yuri!!! on Ice. That is representation. It is representation done right, done so very very right and not just with the lgbtq+, but with the entire cast of diverse characters as well. We need shows like that, we deserve shows ike that!
I'm completely speechless because you took the words right out of my m o u t h. When I was little I thought gay was a b a d w o r d. A swear. Something you can't say without covering your mouth and looking surprised, because everyone I knew the tv shows I watched made it feel like a taboo. I hope I grow old and see that television won't see gay or LGBT as a taboo but as normal, and that people of LGBT community (especially the youth) see that they are not weird or bad, they are people and human. They're not different, they're normal human beings. It's not a different love just BECUASE you love SOMONE of the same gender, both genders, or no gender at all. You are valid, you are normal, and that you're not alone.
Thanks for this video. I used to tell people I would die in a gutter when I was 8 years old. I would laugh and say that it was because I wanted to be a writer and writers don't make money, but honestly, I think that it's because I knew there was something different about me and that people who were different like me didn't get happy ending. At least, not in the 80s. So deep down, even that young, I knew that my life would be a struggle and I would never be happy (which isn't true, of course). It matters so much what we show our youth about themselves, it changes the outlook they have on their entire lives.
We are getting some great lgbtq+ storylines atm though with supergirl, shadowhunters, skam (norwegian series), yuri on ice (anime). It's just quite depressing that immediately when we get introduced to a lgbtq+ couple or a character, we get afraid that it gets killed off.. :( It shouldn't be like this.
Charlie... *sobs* OK but this video is both very sad and very interesting. It also made me really happy to know that I've found Greys Anatomy which probably has some of the best LGBTQ+ characters &a character representation which is so complete and also shows how they are way more than their sexuality. It's so great, like they even say LGBTQ on the show instead of just LGBT. Callie is probably one of the best represented LGBTQ characters ever. It was because of her I got the courage to come out myself. She is such a kickass woman and she's so caring and one of the best examples of a bisexual woman. Not only that, but we get to see how she slowly realizes it herself - and gosh I could go on, what I'm saying is that y'all should definitely watch Greys Anatomy, not only does it have an amazing LGBTQ characters but also very strong and intelligent female and POC characters.
OKAY BUT IM SO HAPPY YOU INCLUDED THE WAY HE LOOKS, cause it's a Brazilian production, independent and has a happy ending. Also the first gay centered movie I ever saw in my mother language.
lgbt representation is so important, especially for lgbt kids because it may be the only way of telling them that not being straight/cis is normal and valid
Im 13 and not out as bi to anyone but some close friends, the only REAL representation ive ever seen of myself is Rosa Diaz from Brooklyn 99. ONE PERSON! Im so sad by this world we live in. One of my all time favourite shows is Andi Mack, which includes (SPOILER ALERT!!!) a gay boy named Cyrus. It was and is revolutionary and at the end (MAJOR SPOILER) dates another boy named TJ. They hold hands. Thats it, not hug or kiss or even “i love you” or “i like you”. Ugh, sorry for my little rant, ik no ones gonna read this anyways.
I never realised that I was bi until about less that a year ago because all my life I never saw lgbt representation so I didn't know that being bi was a thing.
Ok, I fucking love your channel. I have watched every single one of your videos at least twice, the destiel video probably 4 times, the queerbaiting video and the subtext 3. You convinced me to watch Brokeback Mountain and broke my heart in the best way. Just letting you know I appreciate all the effort you put into these videos, it's incredibly important and your channel really is special to me. So yeah. btw, like someone said in the comments, I think a great video to make would be on the pairing of Buffy/Faith from BtVS. Buffy is canonically bisexual (it's revealed in the comics which are considered canon), and they have a really unique relationship, which I think would make them interesting to cover in your videos.
Screams because omg The Way He Looks was THE BEST FILM I HAVE EVER SEEN EVER SOBS (lmao sorry but you put a picture of it in and my hype went crazy xD) Also, absolutely love this video. Wish it existed when I had to do my coursework in English Language. Could have shown how not much, sadly, has changed over the years in accordance to LGBT+ representation!
This is why, with all it's actually kind of helpful life lessons and philosophy, I really want Girl Meets World to show some kind of representation for the struggle of minorities. It's interesting that, to me at least, it seems like shows and movies made for children seem to completely ignore LGBT+ people's very existence. Most shows I've seen that have LGBT+ people are all geared for teenagers and up, like being LGBT+ has to be expurgated for children. As well as, even if there are LGBT+ people, they tend not to be the main character without making the show or movie all about being LGBT+. I was really happy when I saw The 100 was an exception to that, but then you know, s3 ep7 happened... I should do some more research though, maybe i'll find something different.
This is why I read books. TV is great but books have more freedom to include more representation. It really depends on the author(and maybe an agent or publisher, but I think that's it. Correct me if I'm wrong I have no idea what the hell I'm talking about)
I got to be honest, you're the first one who made me really understand this problem. Of course I noticed how few LGBTQ+ people exist on tv and in movies and it did bother me, but I didn't know how many die and I didn't know how much it actually bothers some people and why exactly. Now I can understand this whole issue better. Thank you.
Thank you for creating this video. I completely agree with everything you've said, it always bothers me to an extreme extent that that there are never LGBT+ characters in movies, television, games, etc. And when there are LGBT+ characters, they're either jokes on the stereotype, minor to the point of being irrelevant, or they're killed off entirely. A great example of this is Chloe Price from Life Is Strange. At the end of the game, you have to choose to either sacrifice her to save your hometown from being destroyed, or sacrifice the town to save your best friend from childhood and soulmate. It's only in the ending where you sacrifice Chloe that it's confirmed that you love each other. And then you have to watch her die. I hope that there will be more LGBT+ characters, and that they all get to be happy with the people that they love. I don't think that's too much to ask for.
I'm so glad you made this video. Now I can actually link people to something when I'm trying to explain why lack of (positive) LGBTQ representation in media is a problem and why it matters. I'm mostly interested in video games now (BTW, have you thought about doing video games eventually too?) because I became really drawn into RPGs like Dragon Age and Mass Effect where you can pick your (currently only cis) gender and skin tone and proceed to have an epic adventure while also expressing your love for someone of the same sex. Said games are often still problematic in who the creators have allowed to be romanced and by which gender, the gameplay mechanics associated with this, and these characters' overall representation. And then video game communities are much more overtly and overly vicious or apathetic to queer representation. Still, it was really uplifting and freeing in a way to be able to actually relate to the characters I'm playing in game for so many hours, to have that agency to (sort of) make my own story with my own strong, positive, queer character.
As someone who writes (doubting any of it will be seen or experienced by others, but nonetheless), the characters I create become as real to me as my closest friends - it's like I know them. I don't decide who or what they are gonna like and not, but once I figure out who a character is (and I rarely know where those personalities come from - someone that I've forgotten, still lurking around in my subconscious?), the image is stuck in my head. This also goes for how they would react to the other established characters - for example, I recently worked on a story where the main character would probably fall for her best friend - because of who they both are and what they are like. I didn't decide that just because they were both female, just like I didn't decide in my other story idea that a guy should be with the female main character. It just happens. I can clearly not speak for everyone, but knowing how I work, I would rather write a convincing love story than one that is made simply for representation. I want them to be good, damnit. And I do think we need more representation - many good stories are already written out there, but get stuck in the process because the film industry (especially lately, with all the reboots happening) does seem more keen on grabbing easy money with little to no risk taking. I hope that changes... SKAM (Norwegian tv-show) is one of the best things I've seen this year for example with its third season dealing with a guy coming to terms with his sexuality and finding love, and it has become a phenomenon that not even Hollywood and the rest of the US film industry can ignore anymore (the rights to an American version has already been sold - I'm a bit worried about that, though, as it would be hard to try and make something better than the fantastic original). When these stories are made and made well, they will find their audience - I just hope the (likely, at least I assume) older people in charge of large portions of the industry (books, films, tv - ANY kind of storytelling-industry) realise that in 2017, LGBT+ stories and characters are not a "risk" anymore - they're a part of realistic storytelling, and audiences are seeking them out to have something to relate to. I also apologize in advance if I messed something up here - it may seem weird if I start by saying that I write, and then go on to fuck up grammar or spelling. I write stories in my native language, just to clarify. I also hope this isn't too ignorant or in some way offensive - I'm a curious person and I don't know if I in any way added to the discussion, or if it's all been discussed and explained by people smarter than me already.
Great commentary! Here's hoping that we get more rep in 2017. Me, while I'd be happy with any good rep, I'd like to see more alive WLW, more non-greedy or evil or cheating bi/pan characters, and more ace characters. Also, non-cis characters.
see, I don't think people get how important this is. I was aware that gay people existed at first in the third grade because of modern family (dang that show has been on for a long time) but up until middle school, I had some weird distorted vision that all gay people were ugly and loud and weird because I never saw them! I feel like I would've been able to figure out my sexuality a lot sooner than high school if I had had some LGBT characters to look up to as a younger child.
aaahhh since I see some people bringing up supergirl: they got a great lesbian storyline in season 2 with Alex coming out, so you could cover that, because it's really sweet, but I'd actually like you to do an "Are they gay?" about Kara and Lena ("Supercorp"). because there's so much potential there, but it's being ignored as always for the sake of heteronormativity. from all the things they've shown between these two so far, if one of them were a guy, literally _everything_ they do for each other would be interpreted as romantic and they'd likely already be on their road to becoming canon.
this was amazing and incredibly shocking. thank you so much for making this video. I'm glad I learned something from it... that it seems us LGBT+ people are rare when it comes to literally anything. I was shocked by the amount of LGBT+ people in those statistics. It's really unfair. Especially when fans will have a theory that a character is LGBT+ but directors will instantly shut it down. Gah it's so frustrating and genuinely dumb and absurd. I wish the film industry would change their views already...
This video is enormously important. I, as a member of the LGBT+ community, thank you endlessly for creating such an impactful video that accurately describes LGBT+ representation in the media. This is simply amazing.
I recommend One Day At A Time for anyone interested in more LGBT+ series. One of the main characters is a lesbian, from season 2 on she has a non-binary SO. The show also covers a lot of issues in a very respectful way, despite the fact that it’s a sitcom.
amazing video! brings up some issues which are sometimes (most of the times to be completly honest) swept under the rug. you explain it rather brilliantly. videos like this are the reason why your channel in in my top 5 youtube favourites! keep doing what you're doing! btw im sorry if my english isnt the best for i am still learning the language :)
I think saying that LGBT people shouldn't die because it's a miss representation is kind of stupid. I'm Bi myself and when a gay or Bi person dies in a film or series I see them as character dying not a gay character dying. Shows like Supernatural and The Walking Dead are bad examples to use. Of course they're going to meet a bad end because EVERYONE does!!
Dean and Sam died? So I am mistaken when I think Supernatural is still alive, well and kicking as a show?The "death" doesn't really count when they are back shortly after. Also maybes rather than actual facts doesn't work. I also thought half of the lesbian characters that died would survive and look where we are right now so unless Rick actually dies and stays dead or pretty much all of the main characters in TWD die and stay dead, that argument holds no weight.
Great video!!! I totally agree with all of your points and I really hope that....mainstream media will take note...Not really related but I'm wondering if you could talk about Yuri on Ice in a video one of these days?
the last sentence though! great video! great work! important message! I really hope in the future there will be more representation for us. for all of the minorities tbh...
THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT VIDEO. Thank you, so much, for making this. It's important to acknowledge the more solemn statistics of LGBT in media, along with possible relationships and funny things like that. Thank you. You are so important.
I only become interested in stuff with lgbt rep, specifically of women in love, so it’s really frustrating to have such limited options. Thank you for presenting this data so well, it’s useful
4:30 AM I THE ONLY ONE FREAKING OUT THAT HE WATCHED "THE WAY HE LOOKS"? IT'S LIKE, MY PERSONAL PRIDE MOVIE, CAUSE, WELL, all that numbers you showed up in this video are nothing compared to things here in Brazil. LGBTQ+ folk are reduced to jokes in most of film and television, and "The way he looks" is such a touching and delicate movie, that made me realise how "O.K." and Pure love between two boys can be. I'm just geeking out about it. Sorry. And Thanks for the video.
I love The Walking Dead. It's one of my favourite shows ever. I'm bisexual. And despite only 4.2% LGBTQ characters, it's nowhere near as bad as Supernatural.
lol I haven't watched supernatural in 2 years but I still read loads of destiel fic just because the show built such a good foundation for a relationship without actually following through
I think Supernatural only has 2 confirmed LGBT characters (if you don't count that one random couple near the beginning), and one of those two people are dead.
I really enjoyed watching this video! Luckily 2018 started off as an amazing year for LGBT cinema, and as a gay teen with questionably supportive parents, the only one I've got to see this year is Love, Simon, and even though I did miss a bit of it (bc i was making out with my boyfriend most of the time lol) I felt so happy to see it, this book that I had loved for years and helped me discover my identity, turned into a movie that was actually just as good as the book, reached wide audiences, and is hopefully paving the way towards more acceptance in the world.
To be honest, I think BBC's Sherlock is trying to include the subject more and more. I'm not just talking about the undertones of JohnLock (to all you peeps out there who ship it, it's cool), but also when it comes to something like Erus, Sherlock's sister in Season 4. When Sherlock and Erus first meet, she notes that she has had sex, but the fact that it was a woman, not a man as probably first assumed, isn't dug into completely, and is mentioned as if it was as normal, as the sun rising at dawn. Some people might see the briefness in it as being 'ignoring' it, but I see it as not making an unnecessary big deal about it, like "Oh look we're BBC and we are including LGBT people in our shows woo look at us and our diversity." And there are more examples to take from, both Sherlock and other BBC produced shows.
There's a popular theory that Sheldon is actually asexual - and therefore LGBT+. There's lots of evidence to support this in the actual show, even if the creators deny it. That's another point to add - that the people that make the show might subconsciously make characters LGBT+, but feel compelled to deny it when they're placed under pressure from their audience. There's still a strong anti-LGBT movement, especially in America, which might contribute to the fewer gay, bi, lesbian, ace, trans etc characters we get shown on television. America does have a large grasp on the world's entertainment, so maybe we're looking at the wrong people to blame? Rather than looking to the creators of the show, who do need to make money so they can live and thrive as people themselves, we should perhaps look more closely at the social background of the places and situations they come from - you're more likely to make an LGBT+ character if you're sure it won't get massive amounts of social media backlash. Just blame Donald Trump really, he's going to make it all worse.
You should do a video on Black Sails (It's a prequel to Treasure Island, about young John Silver and Captain Flint). Not many people watch it, but it does have good LGBT+ representation.
I'm straight (and I support the LGBTQ+ community) so I'm not the right person to say how they should be portrayed in media, but from my persprctive I do like the way they portrayed Alex Danvers on supergirl. It's refreshing to see a character going through the journey of coming to terms with who they really are and all the ups and downs that go with it. It's probably one of the most intimate portrayals of a LGBTQ+ characters I've seen on a TV show (then again I don't watch too many shows lol but yeah I love Alex)
Just a random thought.. but how about a list of characters that could be gay or bi without it conflicting anything written in the past while being organic. So the likes of Iron Man and Superman are out of the picture. While for example Sonic in the videogames has technically never had his sexuality asserted and is a dude with a free spirit who rolls around at the speed of sound and follows his rainbow.
This comment is mostly rambling. I wouldn't say that the lack of LGBTQA+ representation is the TV or film studio openly telling us that we don't exist/matter. That's a pretty extreme way of looking at it. But I will agree that there should be more representation, for the sake of queer children. I am bi. After I found out, I didn't think that suddenly I don't matter. No one was bi in the Disney and Dreamworks movies, on the Saturday morning cartoons, etc. Even so, I never had the feeling that my sexuality meant I didn't matter. What made me feel like I might not matter because of my sexuality was my mom. My mom falls into the category of "Ally until it's my child", i.e., "I support the rights of gays, lesbians, and transgender people, but as soon as it's my kid... let's just say they better sleep with one eye open." Not helping is the fact that she doesn't think bisexuality exists. She thinks you're gay or you're straight, no ifs, ands, or buts. Not helping THAT is the fact that my sister is the same way. The only reason I felt brave enough to come out was because all my friends had shown to be supportive in the past, and my high school was extraordinarily LGBTQA+ friendly, like a student could start the year a boy and suddenly become the girl she was always meant to be and nobody would bat an eye. So personal story aside, what I'm trying to say is that the media can help validate a queer child's identity of their self, it more so falls on the environment in which they are raised. However, as I mentioned, it can't HURT to have positive representation. It would be FANTASTIC! But like I said, positive. Not only would it let queer youth know that it's okay to be who they are, but it would let less informed people understand what queer people are really like. I have one friend who wanted a gay best friend because she thought they could go shopping and talk about boys together. I rolled my eyes a bit, but I wasn't mad because she didn't know any better. Her parents aren't 100% okay with the fact that gay and trans people exist, but I wouldn't go so far as to say they're homophobic. She hadn't really known any openly gay or trans people. She didn't have any close relatives who were openly gay or trans. While we do have one friend who experiments with their gender identity, I was really the first person to be out to her as bi, and therefore was her first real "gay best friend". So yeah, that's just my midnight ramblings very, very, very loosely tied to the subject.
Coming from a bi person, what's the huge deal with numbers? People shouldn't look to tv to figure out they can have a happy life and that they're normal. To be honest that's stuff that people should learn and understand as they grow and develop.
The lesbian or bi death number was really jarring.Over 2/5 of all lesbian or bi characters being killed off is just depressing.
Sorry what? They didn't mention supernatural? I know there was a picture of Charlie there and I'm assuming that's why you're saying this, but it's not about supernatural. Do you know of the "kill your gays trope"? It's not real people, no, but the viewers are real people, and they deserve to see themselves represented and given happy endings.
This isn't an attack on you, I'm sure you meant no harm
It's kinda of sad how shows like Steven Universe and Adventure Time portray LGBQT relationships better than most movies or reality shows. A cartoon represents real life better than actual real life. And it's sad for the people who don't like cartoons, because they have very little media that expresses gay love in a good light. More recent movies like the The Force Awakens are doing a fantastic job of showing an gay "couple" without having it end in tragedy or be the main plot. The relationship is healthy and they have good chemistry. It's not over dramatic to the point where it's not realistic. Not all gays are overexcentric, just like not all straights are strictly serious.
wait, what? TFA? Which gay couple? I know Poe is gay and Finn bi(Not canon, but did you read the Poe Dmaeron- comics?), but are we talking about their lovestory that will happen or about Kylux, ot about R2-D2 and C3PO?
Spore sims Yeah, I'm talking about Poe and Finn, in the movies they're not confirmed as canon but JJ Abrams has said that they are indeed gay. They may not appear to be a couple in the next movie however, because other countries, like China, have rules against showing homosexuals on tv and movies in the country. So they would lose money if they did that. It could still happen, but it's very unlikely. The new director might keep the ship alive with new interactions and maybe even a confession, but right now there is no guarantee that it will develop in the sequel.
anxiety attraction ah, i saw that he wants to have gay characters in Star Wars but he didn't say that Poe is gay. But on the other hand: Rian Johnson rewteeting Stormpilot-kiss-fanart... he is doing the next movie.
And you know what? After TFA was released everyone was like: "OMG; it will be the successfulst movie ever. It is now in the second place, behind Avatar. It will be released in China and it will be in the first place!" But NO! Because Chiina isn't interest in Star Wars so much.
So our chance for canon Stormpilot is very huge now, because they don't have to care for China so much
+Melani Pérez what? How? Ships are going to happen everywhere so I don't think the term "ship baiting" fits. Also, Pearl is gay and is confirmed to have been in a relationship with Rose, who was bisexual. It also features a non-binary character, Stevonnie. Plus the plot is great and many of the voice actors are POC. Steven Universe is probably the perfect show for representation.
ayeletdrago So, it's not ship baiting when you put romantic teases between Peridot and Amethyst but at the same time you put some between Peridot and Lapis, and Amethyst with Pearl that will never go to anywhere? It's comfirmed that Pearl was in loved with Rose but never that they were a couple. Rose dated with other guys before Greg and find humans interesting, that is also comfirmed by the "It's over, isn't it". Btw, you also have teases from Pearl and Garnet, and Lapis and Jasper. So, yes, SU puts a lot of innecesaries ships.
Where
Is
The
Trans
Representation?
Girl/guy/person now let me tell you just how long I've been waitinngggg! Tbh, I don't think there will be a proper trans-representation for at least a few years seeing as the US is such a problematic excuse of a cuntry (you see what I did there?)...
Smh.
I f r i c k i n k n o w m a t e
Miles Upshur Sadly, I think it’ll take a while to get proper trans representation. Elliot Fletcher is the only trans actor I know. You should check him out. He was in shameless and the fosters. I’m not a fan of the fosters personally. But, his character on shameless is nice :)
I know right :(
But one day at a time, on season 2, has a few trans characters that are represented, they're a bit mocked at first but after other characters actually explain they're accepted
Honestly the greatest show ever for LGBT representation, I hope season 3 brings even more
Trans rep is even worse off than LGB rep unfortunately. I hate the media tbh. I've never even seen one show or movie that even hints at a trans character smh
Never forget Alana and Margot, how they walked out of that mansion with their son like bosses, alive and beautiful at the end. Hannibal and Will's love is too complex to explain on the other hand, what they have is something transcendental and doesn't conform to our understandings of relationships and love and whatever. But yeah, a dreamlike show about a cannibal has better representation than other more realistic shows.
Yes. I frickin love Hannibal.
I see gay, I come running.
same
Discorded Spectrum ah me too. Nice profile picture by the way :p
Victor is life...
yess
I mean, I'm literally reading a YOI fanfic right at this moment... I may be obsessive..
To be fair, no one has a happy ending on Supernatural
Castiel haha true
Nearly all of the dead characters have had some kind of comeback where they tell the Winchesters that it's ok they don't mind being dead. Bobby came back as a ghost, Ellen and Joan were chilling in heaven, even Kevin came back for it. Charlie was just... dead in a bathtub.
Well apparently there have been 860+ deaths on the 12 seasons of Supernatural so far...
Actually it might be more like 30, 000+, but that may just be things that have died in general, mentioned, implied, and shown.
Well I think that there are definitely 100+ characters on Supernatural and at least 86% of them are dead or have died.
Hi AreTheyGay!
I just wanted to like
Talk about the lack of femslash in fandom, the most popular ships are all male x male and I feel like sometimes I'm the only one bothered...
On your channel alone, of all the ships only one is femslash, and I understand and don't blame you if these are your interest or reflect popular interest, I just mean to point out... fan slash is very very male dominated; I think that it's good to check ourselves once in a while of our faults and all, sorry
Yeah I want to put out more femslash videos, and the Bubbline video was fun to do, so I want to do more in the future, but a lot of my audience wants to see M/M ships. I made a poll that included Wolfstar, Sterek, SwanQueen, and Some miscellaneous ship in Steven Universe, and Sterek ended up winning out. I do plan to do everything on that list at some point, but I'm also trying to do what people want to see first, and its hard to balance everything when there's so little female representation to choose from and when a lot of my requests are M/M. I'm trying my best to balance it out, but I'm sorry if it takes a while. Thanks for voicing your concerns!
+Clementine Hetherington yes! although personally i'm a spuffy fan, i think buffy/faith had a ton of potential
I agree, Im bi and crave more femslash. But tbh I find theres a lack of well developed female characters and fxf relationships. Also most women are straight, so of course they'd be more interested in mxm relationships. And straight males usually wouldn't go out their way to write and draw femslash...
You can't always blame the fans though, there aren't really that many female characters to ship like that in the first place
I Love femslash as well but all of the shows I watch have male mains or my favorite female character dies and i endup resorting to gender swap fics. there just needs to be more female representation in shows where they arn't just the het love interest.
I don't get how there aren't more lgbt characters since you can create so much drama and struggles with them. I write sometimes and I love to do that to my characters. Sometimes I find it difficult to make characters straight xD
Luka Hordijk literally me. i always have to put some sort of gay/bi/ace twist on things.
Same, in what I’m writing now, all of the characters are some part of the LGBT community. There’s only one strait character and he’s trans.
fr
*sees charlie from spn* LONGEST YEAH BOI *realizes she's dead*..... shortest yeah boi...
+ShewolfAlpha exactly
Chair Why is that me
once cas and dean fuck im good. they need to realize iTS WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT
Chair me asf
NOoOO Crowley is pansexual (25% of the show's recurring characters) There is a case for Cas being Asexual (That would make it 50% of the show's recurring characters LGBT+) Charlie was openly lesbian and that wasn't her story line, she was killed off (also was entirely her fault, she got killed because of her silly decisions) but so many people on SPN are anyway. There have been numerous gay/lesbian couples and individuals throughout the show's history including GOD. I'm pansexual and yes, I'd love more representation but I'm happy because SPN has a lot more than other shows. As for racial diversion, I can't say much as I'm white and I am represented on TV but I wouldn't say that SPN was bad at portraying different races. If you don't like SPN don't watch it. Jared and Jensen have both put their heart and soul into this show for 12 years now, that is a huge reason why it's still going and still going strong. Don't complain there isn't enough LGBT+ representation just because you want to see an angel and a (straight) male get together, go and read fanfics like the rest of us.
Your content is very much appreciated! ❤️
When I was younger, I was obsessed with this show called The Sarah Jane Adventures and one of the main characters, Luke, was my favourite character and I looked up to him. If TSJA had continued, it would have been confirmed that he was gay. This would have been amazing for me as a kid, seeing one of my favourite characters that I related to so much, be openly LGBT? Would have changed my life. Sadly, the show didn't continue after the death of one of the main leads. If they'd made Luke openly LGBT before it was cancelled, I would have been overjoyed. I'm still pretty bitter about it, to be honest.
Generally, LGBT representation is low and constricted, but I am grateful for the characters and shows that we do have, even if I do end up with my favourite characters dead.
Q Bond WAIT SRSLLY
IS THIS TRUE OMG
Awww, The Sarah Jane Adventures.. I Loved that show. RIP Elisabeth :(((
That was the shit! Awesome to know that one of the main characters was canonically gay. Also RIP Sarah's actress :( Can't remember her name, but I was devastated when I heard the news.
I mean.. She's not one of the main characters. She's Sarah Jane and you can't have the show without her. That's like doing Sherlock without Sherlock. But yeah we need more LGBTQ representation in TV shows and movies. Many of the few that there are are often just stereotypes and the source of jokes
this is very useful- i'll be remembering this next tine i argue with someone about representation!
Lily Foley Same for me :) This is gonna be so useful
*Notices Charlie Bradbury*
Me: DO NOT FEAR THE SPN FANDOM IS HERE
Omg yes! I was so excited when he put her in it!
I love how in SPN even God is bi
Same. It's basically saying, "Hey we ARE here. We DO exist. Get over it."
*is proud of Robbie*
... wait a minute do you actually have the picture of an infamous school shooter as profile pic ?????
still hoping for a gay Poe Dameron!
Spore sims Still hoping for canon Poe/Finn relationship, since that would be even better than just having a gay character but not show them in a relationship.
Yes! I was given hope when the actor playing him said he was playing their scenes from a romantic angle. Good on him.
lilychoux yeah, i know. I am the head (not the admin, but i am the one who post everything etc.) of a Stormpilot group on facebook. We are more then 150 people :D i also hope for canon Stormpilot :D I also love all the tweets from John Boyega (#TeamPoe), that Rian Johnson retweeted a Strompilot-kiss-fanart, and Oscar Isaac: "His interest are kind of fluid"
and also John Boyega: Rey and FInn, it is just a bromance.
and the rewrite of the Star Wars VIII script: "Because the fans reacted so poitiv about some things and they love the charaters so much, and thei relatinship to each other. So we rewrite the script so we can explore their relationships even more." :D :D :D
and John Boyega changing his mind from "It si just a bromance" to : "Maybe there is something more" (what he said suddently after the rewrite ... so what happens in the rewrite of the script ;) )
One of the reasons why I am so picky about movies :/
Amizing do u only watch films with LGBT characters in?
The Moofinisms Nah, but I try to support those with lgbt+ characters more.
The Moofinisms I Do! I will NOT watch films that don't have LGBTQ ppl or ppl of colour. Not as a political thing. I simply can't relate or understand all straight or all Anglo fictional worlds.
+Panda Panda
Wow, now that you put it that way, I'm actually kinda glad I'm straight and white.
@@ApollosDagger I think this is sarcastic but if not that's stupid
Grey's Anatomy was the first time I've seen two women in a happy relationship on TV when I was a kid. I hadn't realised what it meant for me fully back then, but it still gives me hapinnes when I look back
although the walking dead doesn't have many lgbtqa+ characters, it does have good representations where they're more than just gay ect
Can I just like,,,point out that at this moment, Shadowhunters has only one actual couple, and it's between an Asian bisexual and a gay dude, and it's the fucking best
I want to watch it a lot but I heard it's not accurate to the books
ayeletdrago Lmao that's what makes it good, if you look deeper there is so much that's wrong with the book. Malec is a token couple in the book and CC is taking advantage of their newfound popularity from the show to make more money
artistic Aperture late but I just want to say: just saying Alec was gay in the first book almost got it to not be published. But she fought to keeping her character as he was. No Magnus and Alec aren’t just tokens in the books- they are necessary characters and have good development. They’re just less present than the others cause
1. They’re secondary characters
2. Again, including gueer characters even only a few years ago was definitely more complicated than now
As soon as Lexa appeared I was like AHHH shit 😂 I would recommend you to watch supergirl now though, there's a really good LGBT storyline going on in season 2
Black Siren YESS ok SUPERGIRL is so good and I love the Lgbt+ characters and ahh it's so good
Black Siren again, there are many lesbian women in tv nowadays but no gay or bi men and because we live under the LGBTQ umbrella we can't complain the lack of male homosexuality that has been normalized so much when everybody accepts that as long as there are lesbians it is enough. 😒
David Dagnino I could name quite a few gay/bi male characters on TV. I was simply stating supergirl had a good LGBT storyline going on at the moment, nothing else. Anyway, there's a lack of both male and female LGBT characters in general so the entire thing needs sorting lol
Black Siren yeah and then the writes kill her off and Clarke of course will probably end up with Bellamy smh i was so pissed when she died
Shantel Potter I’m late but even though Clexa ended horribly it does seem realistic for Clarke to end up with Bellamy. I mean, at least they didn’t start something right away. It showed that the relationship was and always would be important to Clarke.
And this is why things like Johnlock are so important. To see to iconic characters being able to have their happy ending and for it not to be the main focus of the show would give LGBT people something to enjoy. Speaking as a bisexual woman who's parents don't think gay ships hold any water unless they are wearing pink and sticking their tongue down each other's throat, positive LGBT representation is needed in modern TV and film.
+Alpha Boy you should really look up TJLC on youtube. I was absolutely sure it's all queerbaiting, that it's never going to happen, until I watched the TJLC videos. Now i'm sure they're going to be canon, and hopefully other shows (cough, SPN) will learn from it.
I am gay, teenager and live in Britain. I get discrimination from my sexuality all the time. I don't want to have to type into google lesbian movies or gay movies. I don't want to have to go in the gay section of Netflix. But i do. Why, there are no other movies or shows that include me. So i watched Game of Thrones, i enjoyed watching a bisexual man explain to a man his sexuality, few episodes later he gets his head squashed by a bodybuilder. I need more movies that depict me and ones that end happily. The only reason i know what gay is is because i grew up in a christian primary school that was homophobic.
If you'd like recommendations for shows/movies/manga/podcasts and games that include accurate and normalised LGBTQIA representation I've come across quite a few and can recommend some (I'm thinking of making a huge masterpost list, maybe a Google doc)
If you need someone to talk to you can also find me on
Tumblr at : what-it-means-to-be-human.tumblr.com
And Deviantart: whatitmeanstobehuman.deviantart.com
I'm not lgbtqia (well, still figuring out the asexual part) but tons of my friends are and it's a subject dear to me.
Thank you, that would help. My tumblr is called Weathersex.
Lucy Thompson IT GETS BETTER LUCY! As one gay Irishman, I can tell u real gay life is nothing like how we r shown in media. Telly and films taught me to be afraid of getting killed, to fear for my life and to think there are fewer of us than there really are. Yet in real life, most of the time we can just live normal adult lives (well, if u like normal.) Try not to get sucked into the poor portrayals of our people on telly/in films. I mean like, if u consider TV's idea of us, u might think we are all Anglo cis gender men who die young. IRL we are diverse and beautiful and many of us live well into old age. It gets better, Lucy! x
Although I'm not the original person you replied to, I'm also interested in your recommendations!
Lucy Thompson We're here for you, Lucy. Happy Holidays!
Could you please post the list of the 8 movies of 2016 that passed the Vito Russo test?
And here am I ... Being asexual and aromantic and having no representation at all xD
And here's why I'm thankful for Yuri!!! on Ice.
That is representation.
It is representation done right, done so very very right and not just with the lgbtq+, but with the entire cast of diverse characters as well. We need shows like that, we deserve shows ike that!
I'm completely speechless because you took the words right out of my m o u t h. When I was little I thought gay was a b a d w o r d. A swear. Something you can't say without covering your mouth and looking surprised, because everyone I knew the tv shows I watched made it feel like a taboo. I hope I grow old and see that television won't see gay or LGBT as a taboo but as normal, and that people of LGBT community (especially the youth) see that they are not weird or bad, they are people and human. They're not different, they're normal human beings. It's not a different love just BECUASE you love SOMONE of the same gender, both genders, or no gender at all. You are valid, you are normal, and that you're not alone.
Thanks for this video. I used to tell people I would die in a gutter when I was 8 years old. I would laugh and say that it was because I wanted to be a writer and writers don't make money, but honestly, I think that it's because I knew there was something different about me and that people who were different like me didn't get happy ending. At least, not in the 80s. So deep down, even that young, I knew that my life would be a struggle and I would never be happy (which isn't true, of course). It matters so much what we show our youth about themselves, it changes the outlook they have on their entire lives.
And then came Yuri on Ice to save the LGTB+ community from a bad representation on the media! My dorks are making history :D
We are getting some great lgbtq+ storylines atm though with supergirl, shadowhunters, skam (norwegian series), yuri on ice (anime).
It's just quite depressing that immediately when we get introduced to a lgbtq+ couple or a character, we get afraid that it gets killed off.. :( It shouldn't be like this.
The Way He Looks is honestly my favorite movie on Netflix.
Charlie... *sobs*
OK but this video is both very sad and very interesting. It also made me really happy to know that I've found Greys Anatomy which probably has some of the best LGBTQ+ characters &a character representation which is so complete and also shows how they are way more than their sexuality. It's so great, like they even say LGBTQ on the show instead of just LGBT. Callie is probably one of the best represented LGBTQ characters ever. It was because of her I got the courage to come out myself. She is such a kickass woman and she's so caring and one of the best examples of a bisexual woman. Not only that, but we get to see how she slowly realizes it herself - and gosh I could go on, what I'm saying is that y'all should definitely watch Greys Anatomy, not only does it have an amazing LGBTQ characters but also very strong and intelligent female and POC characters.
OKAY BUT IM SO HAPPY YOU INCLUDED THE WAY HE LOOKS, cause it's a Brazilian production, independent and has a happy ending. Also the first gay centered movie I ever saw in my mother language.
This video spoke to me. I've been wondering a lot about this and I'm glad someone put it in numbers for me. Keep it up.
YESSS! This is why Disney should give Elsa a girlfriend!
lgbt representation is so important, especially for lgbt kids because it may be the only way of telling them that not being straight/cis is normal and valid
Im 13 and not out as bi to anyone but some close friends, the only REAL representation ive ever seen of myself is Rosa Diaz from Brooklyn 99. ONE PERSON! Im so sad by this world we live in. One of my all time favourite shows is Andi Mack, which includes (SPOILER ALERT!!!) a gay boy named Cyrus. It was and is revolutionary and at the end (MAJOR SPOILER) dates another boy named TJ. They hold hands. Thats it, not hug or kiss or even “i love you” or “i like you”. Ugh, sorry for my little rant, ik no ones gonna read this anyways.
I never realised that I was bi until about less that a year ago because all my life I never saw lgbt representation so I didn't know that being bi was a thing.
Ok, I fucking love your channel. I have watched every single one of your videos at least twice, the destiel video probably 4 times, the queerbaiting video and the subtext 3. You convinced me to watch Brokeback Mountain and broke my heart in the best way. Just letting you know I appreciate all the effort you put into these videos, it's incredibly important and your channel really is special to me. So yeah. btw, like someone said in the comments, I think a great video to make would be on the pairing of Buffy/Faith from BtVS. Buffy is canonically bisexual (it's revealed in the comics which are considered canon), and they have a really unique relationship, which I think would make them interesting to cover in your videos.
My wednesday is saved.
Screams because omg The Way He Looks was THE BEST FILM I HAVE EVER SEEN EVER SOBS (lmao sorry but you put a picture of it in and my hype went crazy xD)
Also, absolutely love this video. Wish it existed when I had to do my coursework in English Language. Could have shown how not much, sadly, has changed over the years in accordance to LGBT+ representation!
WHAT ABOUT MALEC!!!!! They're a very awesome day couple in Shadowhunters
I'm waiting for Yuri!!!On Ice in style with this video.
This is why, with all it's actually kind of helpful life lessons and philosophy, I really want Girl Meets World to show some kind of representation for the struggle of minorities. It's interesting that, to me at least, it seems like shows and movies made for children seem to completely ignore LGBT+ people's very existence. Most shows I've seen that have LGBT+ people are all geared for teenagers and up, like being LGBT+ has to be expurgated for children. As well as, even if there are LGBT+ people, they tend not to be the main character without making the show or movie all about being LGBT+. I was really happy when I saw The 100 was an exception to that, but then you know, s3 ep7 happened... I should do some more research though, maybe i'll find something different.
Disney really said: no ❤️
This is why I read books. TV is great but books have more freedom to include more representation. It really depends on the author(and maybe an agent or publisher, but I think that's it. Correct me if I'm wrong I have no idea what the hell I'm talking about)
Every time I see Clexa I shed a single tear
I got to be honest, you're the first one who made me really understand this problem. Of course I noticed how few LGBTQ+ people exist on tv and in movies and it did bother me, but I didn't know how many die and I didn't know how much it actually bothers some people and why exactly. Now I can understand this whole issue better. Thank you.
Thank you for creating this video. I completely agree with everything you've said, it always bothers me to an extreme extent that that there are never LGBT+ characters in movies, television, games, etc. And when there are LGBT+ characters, they're either jokes on the stereotype, minor to the point of being irrelevant, or they're killed off entirely.
A great example of this is Chloe Price from Life Is Strange. At the end of the game, you have to choose to either sacrifice her to save your hometown from being destroyed, or sacrifice the town to save your best friend from childhood and soulmate. It's only in the ending where you sacrifice Chloe that it's confirmed that you love each other. And then you have to watch her die.
I hope that there will be more LGBT+ characters, and that they all get to be happy with the people that they love. I don't think that's too much to ask for.
I'm in Georgia and hella gay
I'm so glad you made this video. Now I can actually link people to something when I'm trying to explain why lack of (positive) LGBTQ representation in media is a problem and why it matters. I'm mostly interested in video games now (BTW, have you thought about doing video games eventually too?) because I became really drawn into RPGs like Dragon Age and Mass Effect where you can pick your (currently only cis) gender and skin tone and proceed to have an epic adventure while also expressing your love for someone of the same sex.
Said games are often still problematic in who the creators have allowed to be romanced and by which gender, the gameplay mechanics associated with this, and these characters' overall representation. And then video game communities are much more overtly and overly vicious or apathetic to queer representation. Still, it was really uplifting and freeing in a way to be able to actually relate to the characters I'm playing in game for so many hours, to have that agency to (sort of) make my own story with my own strong, positive, queer character.
As someone who writes (doubting any of it will be seen or experienced by others, but nonetheless), the characters I create become as real to me as my closest friends - it's like I know them. I don't decide who or what they are gonna like and not, but once I figure out who a character is (and I rarely know where those personalities come from - someone that I've forgotten, still lurking around in my subconscious?), the image is stuck in my head. This also goes for how they would react to the other established characters - for example, I recently worked on a story where the main character would probably fall for her best friend - because of who they both are and what they are like. I didn't decide that just because they were both female, just like I didn't decide in my other story idea that a guy should be with the female main character. It just happens. I can clearly not speak for everyone, but knowing how I work, I would rather write a convincing love story than one that is made simply for representation. I want them to be good, damnit. And I do think we need more representation - many good stories are already written out there, but get stuck in the process because the film industry (especially lately, with all the reboots happening) does seem more keen on grabbing easy money with little to no risk taking. I hope that changes... SKAM (Norwegian tv-show) is one of the best things I've seen this year for example with its third season dealing with a guy coming to terms with his sexuality and finding love, and it has become a phenomenon that not even Hollywood and the rest of the US film industry can ignore anymore (the rights to an American version has already been sold - I'm a bit worried about that, though, as it would be hard to try and make something better than the fantastic original). When these stories are made and made well, they will find their audience - I just hope the (likely, at least I assume) older people in charge of large portions of the industry (books, films, tv - ANY kind of storytelling-industry) realise that in 2017, LGBT+ stories and characters are not a "risk" anymore - they're a part of realistic storytelling, and audiences are seeking them out to have something to relate to.
I also apologize in advance if I messed something up here - it may seem weird if I start by saying that I write, and then go on to fuck up grammar or spelling. I write stories in my native language, just to clarify. I also hope this isn't too ignorant or in some way offensive - I'm a curious person and I don't know if I in any way added to the discussion, or if it's all been discussed and explained by people smarter than me already.
Great commentary! Here's hoping that we get more rep in 2017. Me, while I'd be happy with any good rep, I'd like to see more alive WLW, more non-greedy or evil or cheating bi/pan characters, and more ace characters. Also, non-cis characters.
see, I don't think people get how important this is. I was aware that gay people existed at first in the third grade because of modern family (dang that show has been on for a long time) but up until middle school, I had some weird distorted vision that all gay people were ugly and loud and weird because I never saw them! I feel like I would've been able to figure out my sexuality a lot sooner than high school if I had had some LGBT characters to look up to as a younger child.
aaahhh since I see some people bringing up supergirl:
they got a great lesbian storyline in season 2 with Alex coming out, so you could cover that, because it's really sweet, but I'd actually like you to do an "Are they gay?" about Kara and Lena ("Supercorp"). because there's so much potential there, but it's being ignored as always for the sake of heteronormativity. from all the things they've shown between these two so far, if one of them were a guy, literally _everything_ they do for each other would be interpreted as romantic and they'd likely already be on their road to becoming canon.
This was succinct and excellently argued. Shame no one listens to us.
this was amazing and incredibly shocking. thank you so much for making this video. I'm glad I learned something from it... that it seems us LGBT+ people are rare when it comes to literally anything. I was shocked by the amount of LGBT+ people in those statistics. It's really unfair. Especially when fans will have a theory that a character is LGBT+ but directors will instantly shut it down. Gah it's so frustrating and genuinely dumb and absurd. I wish the film industry would change their views already...
This video is enormously important. I, as a member of the LGBT+ community, thank you endlessly for creating such an impactful video that accurately describes LGBT+ representation in the media. This is simply amazing.
I recommend One Day At A Time for anyone interested in more LGBT+ series. One of the main characters is a lesbian, from season 2 on she has a non-binary SO. The show also covers a lot of issues in a very respectful way, despite the fact that it’s a sitcom.
amazing video! brings up some issues which are sometimes (most of the times to be completly honest) swept under the rug. you explain it rather brilliantly. videos like this are the reason why your channel in in my top 5 youtube favourites! keep doing what you're doing! btw im sorry if my english isnt the best for i am still learning the language :)
Omg the 100 is my favorite. It was THE FIRST show to have a bisexual leading character ^^
I think saying that LGBT people shouldn't die because it's a miss representation is kind of stupid. I'm Bi myself and when a gay or Bi person dies in a film or series I see them as character dying not a gay character dying. Shows like Supernatural and The Walking Dead are bad examples to use. Of course they're going to meet a bad end because EVERYONE does!!
"Everyone dies" Except the straight white male leads. tbh the only show that can truly and honestly claim that saying is Grey's Anatomy.
DarkAnge3714 oh sweetie. Rick is gonna die, Dean and Sam have died how many times and pretty much all of the main character in TWD are going to die.
Dean and Sam died? So I am mistaken when I think Supernatural is still alive, well and kicking as a show?The "death" doesn't really count when they are back shortly after. Also maybes rather than actual facts doesn't work. I also thought half of the lesbian characters that died would survive and look where we are right now so unless Rick actually dies and stays dead or pretty much all of the main characters in TWD die and stay dead, that argument holds no weight.
Great video!!! I totally agree with all of your points and I really hope that....mainstream media will take note...Not really related but I'm wondering if you could talk about Yuri on Ice in a video one of these days?
the last sentence though!
great video! great work! important message! I really hope in the future there will be more representation for us. for all of the minorities tbh...
THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT VIDEO. Thank you, so much, for making this. It's important to acknowledge the more solemn statistics of LGBT in media, along with possible relationships and funny things like that. Thank you. You are so important.
I only become interested in stuff with lgbt rep, specifically of women in love, so it’s really frustrating to have such limited options. Thank you for presenting this data so well, it’s useful
have you heard of hit the floor? it's a TV series based on a basketball and cheerleaders, and one of the main character is gay and another bisexual.
And then... there was Arthur 😏
4:30 AM I THE ONLY ONE FREAKING OUT THAT HE WATCHED "THE WAY HE LOOKS"?
IT'S LIKE, MY PERSONAL PRIDE MOVIE, CAUSE, WELL, all that numbers you showed up in this video are nothing compared to things here in Brazil. LGBTQ+ folk are reduced to jokes in most of film and television, and "The way he looks" is such a touching and delicate movie, that made me realise how "O.K." and Pure love between two boys can be.
I'm just geeking out about it.
Sorry.
And Thanks for the video.
but can we talk about trans representation cuz...
YESS
Sense8 is like the only show ive found ever with a trans person in it.
@@lili_yaps and orange is the new black
This is beautiful. People don't fetishise gay ships as hets like to think, we just want to see representation where it's hard to find.
That was really interesting and it really puts things into perspective (also seeing a bit of The way he looks made me really happy)
I love The Walking Dead. It's one of my favourite shows ever. I'm bisexual. And despite only 4.2% LGBTQ characters, it's nowhere near as bad as Supernatural.
lol I haven't watched supernatural in 2 years but I still read loads of destiel fic just because the show built such a good foundation for a relationship without actually following through
I think Supernatural only has 2 confirmed LGBT characters (if you don't count that one random couple near the beginning), and one of those two people are dead.
Wait which 8 films were they? I want to go watch them (if I haven't already).
I'm guessing Carol and The Danish Girl are two but that's just my guess
Watch the way he looks on Netflix!! It's super cute. It's in puerto rican I think but there are always captions.
Blurry Birb I've seen it :)
Blurry Birb And its in Portuguese I believe
Oh, I got it.
TARA TARA TARA TARA TARAAAAAAAAA *hyperventilates*
This vid made me tear up. Thank you.
I really enjoyed watching this video! Luckily 2018 started off as an amazing year for LGBT cinema, and as a gay teen with questionably supportive parents, the only one I've got to see this year is Love, Simon, and even though I did miss a bit of it (bc i was making out with my boyfriend most of the time lol) I felt so happy to see it, this book that I had loved for years and helped me discover my identity, turned into a movie that was actually just as good as the book, reached wide audiences, and is hopefully paving the way towards more acceptance in the world.
I love your videos, dude. I have been binge watching since I found it few hours ago. Keep it up.
To be honest, I think BBC's Sherlock is trying to include the subject more and more. I'm not just talking about the undertones of JohnLock (to all you peeps out there who ship it, it's cool), but also when it comes to something like Erus, Sherlock's sister in Season 4.
When Sherlock and Erus first meet, she notes that she has had sex, but the fact that it was a woman, not a man as probably first assumed, isn't dug into completely, and is mentioned as if it was as normal, as the sun rising at dawn. Some people might see the briefness in it as being 'ignoring' it, but I see it as not making an unnecessary big deal about it, like "Oh look we're BBC and we are including LGBT people in our shows woo look at us and our diversity."
And there are more examples to take from, both Sherlock and other BBC produced shows.
There's a popular theory that Sheldon is actually asexual - and therefore LGBT+. There's lots of evidence to support this in the actual show, even if the creators deny it. That's another point to add - that the people that make the show might subconsciously make characters LGBT+, but feel compelled to deny it when they're placed under pressure from their audience. There's still a strong anti-LGBT movement, especially in America, which might contribute to the fewer gay, bi, lesbian, ace, trans etc characters we get shown on television.
America does have a large grasp on the world's entertainment, so maybe we're looking at the wrong people to blame? Rather than looking to the creators of the show, who do need to make money so they can live and thrive as people themselves, we should perhaps look more closely at the social background of the places and situations they come from - you're more likely to make an LGBT+ character if you're sure it won't get massive amounts of social media backlash.
Just blame Donald Trump really, he's going to make it all worse.
You should do a video on Black Sails (It's a prequel to Treasure Island, about young John Silver and Captain Flint). Not many people watch it, but it does have good LGBT+ representation.
I'm straight (and I support the LGBTQ+ community) so I'm not the right person to say how they should be portrayed in media, but from my persprctive I do like the way they portrayed Alex Danvers on supergirl. It's refreshing to see a character going through the journey of coming to terms with who they really are and all the ups and downs that go with it. It's probably one of the most intimate portrayals of a LGBTQ+ characters I've seen on a TV show (then again I don't watch too many shows lol but yeah I love Alex)
Was watching this for fun and realised it sounded familiar. This video was played in my gay society club in school. Lit my dude
OKAY I saw the Arthur pic at the beginning and was immediately hooked.
This is why I am so proud of Supergirl right now. Alex and Maggie are gay and together and are not going to die anytime soon and it's beautiful.
Just a random thought.. but how about a list of characters that could be gay or bi without it conflicting anything written in the past while being organic. So the likes of Iron Man and Superman are out of the picture. While for example Sonic in the videogames has technically never had his sexuality asserted and is a dude with a free spirit who rolls around at the speed of sound and follows his rainbow.
Totally agree, far too little good quality and happy endings...
WHAT IS THE THUMBNAIL?!?!? I NEED TO KNOW!!!
*It's called "The 100" but not to spoil anything the girl on the right does die so,
Hannah Doll FUCK
Thank you for this video! It's clear how much effort it took to make
This comment is mostly rambling.
I wouldn't say that the lack of LGBTQA+ representation is the TV or film studio openly telling us that we don't exist/matter. That's a pretty extreme way of looking at it. But I will agree that there should be more representation, for the sake of queer children. I am bi. After I found out, I didn't think that suddenly I don't matter. No one was bi in the Disney and Dreamworks movies, on the Saturday morning cartoons, etc. Even so, I never had the feeling that my sexuality meant I didn't matter. What made me feel like I might not matter because of my sexuality was my mom. My mom falls into the category of "Ally until it's my child", i.e., "I support the rights of gays, lesbians, and transgender people, but as soon as it's my kid... let's just say they better sleep with one eye open." Not helping is the fact that she doesn't think bisexuality exists. She thinks you're gay or you're straight, no ifs, ands, or buts. Not helping THAT is the fact that my sister is the same way. The only reason I felt brave enough to come out was because all my friends had shown to be supportive in the past, and my high school was extraordinarily LGBTQA+ friendly, like a student could start the year a boy and suddenly become the girl she was always meant to be and nobody would bat an eye. So personal story aside, what I'm trying to say is that the media can help validate a queer child's identity of their self, it more so falls on the environment in which they are raised.
However, as I mentioned, it can't HURT to have positive representation. It would be FANTASTIC! But like I said, positive. Not only would it let queer youth know that it's okay to be who they are, but it would let less informed people understand what queer people are really like. I have one friend who wanted a gay best friend because she thought they could go shopping and talk about boys together. I rolled my eyes a bit, but I wasn't mad because she didn't know any better. Her parents aren't 100% okay with the fact that gay and trans people exist, but I wouldn't go so far as to say they're homophobic. She hadn't really known any openly gay or trans people. She didn't have any close relatives who were openly gay or trans. While we do have one friend who experiments with their gender identity, I was really the first person to be out to her as bi, and therefore was her first real "gay best friend".
So yeah, that's just my midnight ramblings very, very, very loosely tied to the subject.
I love The Way He Looks! Great video.
have you seen eyewitness,, I recommend it if you're looking for a good show with gay characters
mariah bethke my god I just saw this and it was amazing!
i really love your voice
Thomas Barrow in Downton Abbey is a great lgbt character, he’s not a stereotype he’s complicated and he’s definitely not a stereotype.
The Way He Looks!!!! Such a heartwarming LGBT movie
man i just love this channel. keep up the great work
MAKE THIS A SERIES
I'm glad i watch Yuri on ice for that.
plz upload more u give me life truly
It's so hard find GOODS gay movies with a Happy ending! The way he looks is one of my faves because of that
Nice editing ! realy liked the video ^w^ thanks 8D
Coming from a bi person, what's the huge deal with numbers? People shouldn't look to tv to figure out they can have a happy life and that they're normal. To be honest that's stuff that people should learn and understand as they grow and develop.