ABC Family, CW Are Most Gay-Inclusive Channels: GLADD Report

(Reuters) - The hit TV show "Pretty Little Liars" helped ABC Family win an "excellent" rating on Wednesday for its portrayal of gay, lesbian and transgender people on television, the U.S. media group GLAAD said.

In its fifth annual report on the quantity and quality of gay images on TV, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation also named another youth-oriented channel -- the CW -- as the top broadcast channel in terms of LGBT inclusiveness.

Cable channels A&E and TBS received failing ratings for the fourth year in a row, with only five percent of their original primetime programing in the 2010-11 season including characters or situations that were fair and accurate portrayals of gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people, the GLAAD report said.

On ABC Family, by contrast, 55 percent of original prime time programing had LGBT inclusive images and some gay and lesbian characters also came from racial and ethnic groups.

"Programs like 'Pretty Little Liars' and 'Greek' have woven gay, lesbian, and bisexual characters into their stories in a way that mirrors the diversity of our community and the experiences of younger generations," said Herndon Graddick, senior director of programs at GLAAD.

"Viewers expect to see television environments that accurately reflect what it's like to be a young adult, and today that includes young adults who happen to be gay," Graddick added.

On the CW, shows like "America's Next Top Model" with flamboyant runway trainer Miss J Alexander, and teen drama "90210" which features several LGBT characters, helped the network to notch up 33 percent of inclusive programing.

Fox came second among the leading U.S. networks, thanks largely to gay friends Kurt and Blaine in musical comedy "Glee", and lesbian character Santana.

CBS -- the most-watched U.S. network -- was in last place with just 10 percent of LGBT-inclusive hours but the network raised its rating to "adequate" from "failing". That was partly due to bisexual character Kalinda Sharma on "The Good Wife" and the introduction a gay brother for Julianna Margulies' lead lawyer role.

GLAAD said the one area where all networks continue to struggle is in the representation of the transgender community. It said there were no regular or recurring characters on any networks monitored in this year's report.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[LMPE]

07:18 PM on 08/07/2011

What if we go back in time and include shows that had, say, gay-esque stuff? "Bewitched", "I Dream of Jeannie", etc.

[BlackYowe]

08:00 PM on 08/06/2011

PBS I would say.

[edgeninja]

02:57 PM on 08/06/2011

"....ABC Family win an 'excellent' rating on Wednesday for its portrayal of gay, lesbian and transgender people on television...."

Ironic, given the network was founded by the one and only Pat Robertson. xD

[lacrosselamore]

10:35 AM on 08/07/2011

Less ironic than poetic justice.

[RogueJedi14]

11:32 AM on 08/06/2011

I'd be curious to know the division between gay and lesbian characters. It seems to me that most of what I see are lesbians on main stream shows and I'm kinda concerned that those are marketing ploys to bring male attention to the show. It seems like many girl kissing girl scenes are promoted or unnecessary. real genuine characters seem rare, like the show South of Nowhere. And where in all this are the male characters... or is it acceptable to use lesbianism for marketing so long as the characters are treated well?

[c-tom]

11:46 AM on 08/05/2011

How did the cable channel LOGOS rate?

[lacrosselamore]

01:59 PM on 08/05/2011

Brings in more money than Country Music Television.

[c-tom]

02:44 PM on 08/05/2011

And so it should. Any station to run all the episodes of 'Wonderfalls' is my kind of station.

[Gabrielle Linkletter]

09:29 AM on 08/05/2011

You know, the gay population may be a 'minority', but soon enough, the gay-supportive population will NOT be.

[TXanimal]

11:06 AM on 08/05/2011

We're already there. The most recent polls show that support for same-sex marriage is over 50% already...so that would mean at least the same percentage has no problem with gays.

[aviandonn]

11:11 AM on 08/05/2011

Oh, we wouldn't be where we are today if we gays were the only ones fighting for equality. There's to few of us relative to the total population to have gotten this far this fast if it was just us. The movement was in neutral for decades, going nowhere, until straight people began to get on board. We should all keep that in mind when we see anti-gay straight people on these sites. They aren't the straight people that count and we need to constantly remind ourselves that straight people aren't the problem, bigots are.

[ez duz it]

11:38 AM on 08/05/2011

Hear, hear!

[AudreyLee]

10:45 AM on 08/06/2011

F/F Brilliantly true post.

[pangai]

02:20 PM on 08/04/2011

I am curious of what GLAAD thinks of "Family Guy" and "American Dad". These shows regularly makes fun of gay people (including all of the stereotypes) but at the same time is very supportive of gay marriage and other gay-friendly or gay-related issues. (Theses shows make fun of EVERYONE demonstrating a lack of bias). All my gay friends think they are very funny, but I am not sure that GLAAD believes the same.

[lacrosselamore]

11:17 AM on 08/05/2011

GLADD is made up of Gay people like your friends. I have always found GLADD to be generaly reflective of the Gay Community at large. Like any group we are diverse, so it's hard for any Orginization to speak for everyone on every issue.
I find Family Guy, American Dad and South Park funny and not at all offencive for the reason you suggest - they make fun of everybody equally. South Park does an especially good job of being fair to GLBT characters - they were among the first to get an Award.

[pangai]

12:35 AM on 08/08/2011

Thank you for the reply. When I was at UC Davis I worked for the Entertainment Board Films, which meant that we were co-sponsors with many different groups to help them raise money. We worked with many gay groups (Gay student union, the lesbian network, etc.) Some were outstanding to work with (the gay student union was fantastic) while others were not. Sometimes in the media it is hard to keep up with the different groups. I was curious about GLAAD because they seem to be the most "mainstream" but I never read about what they thought of such shows. As a Hebrew all the shows mentioned make fun of my people all the time, but as you said they make fun of EVERYONE so there are no sacred cows (pardon the pun). I find all the aforementioned shows hilarious and extremely well-written (comedy is very difficult to write for). I was just curious about how GLAAD, as an organization, felt about the shows.

[Atwill]

02:21 PM on 08/06/2011

they make fun of everyone , that is the difference.

[Chuck Varrick]

01:59 PM on 08/04/2011

I'll make sure I don't watch them.

[AudreyLee]

10:46 AM on 08/06/2011

Good. They are too intellectually advanced for you, Chuck. Wouldn't want your brain to melt.

[LMPE]

07:13 PM on 08/07/2011

What makes you think that Chuck has a brain at all?

[BarbGiano]

01:57 PM on 08/04/2011

Yep, it's being shoved down our throats weather we like it or not. I get it already!!!!

[peach1436]

01:59 PM on 08/04/2011

Don't watch it, I don't.

[grayplace]

01:59 PM on 08/04/2011

If you don't like it, then don't watch it. Then it won't be "shoved down your throat".

[frankerin]

01:41 PM on 08/04/2011

Young adults who happen to be gay are not being highlighted in proportion to their numbers in fact but in numbers intended to push this preference front and center and the new way to act out in the public's face. These decisions are made by all the back office types who write, direct produce and pitch these shows. What percentage of these people who find they are dictators of american media culture are gay or lesbian? It's time since now they are counting themselves, that we count them as well

[TBJ]

01:55 PM on 08/04/2011

"Young adults who happen to be gay are not being highlighte­d in proportion to their numbers"

From what I could find, about 3-4% of series regulars on the main networks' programs are gay/lesbian. That's fits within the typical 3-5% of the population that's gay (though there will never be a great estimate of that due to people being closeted). I don't see why you're so worked up about this.

[frankerin]

04:30 PM on 08/05/2011

There is gay, and there are gay cultures, note the plural, many of which are being deliberately integrated into common television programs by these folk with confusing and deletorious messages. You are likely well familiar with these cultural excesses many of which, like Mardi Grai, permit excesses to rise above the horizen. It is a fifth column approach and is becoming visible

[TXanimal]

02:04 PM on 08/04/2011

Television and popular media tend to reflect current social and political issues, and controversy generates viewers and dollars.

[larryberglof]

05:16 PM on 08/04/2011

No,television and popular media tends to project a grotesque caricature of current social and political issues. That's why so many impressionable young people today have such a skewed, unrealistic view of life.

[wl944s]

01:39 PM on 08/04/2011

Many here are saying "gays have been around since the beginning of time." You'd think that at some point in the evolutionary process, God (or mother Nature) would have eliminated the sperm and egg that homosexuals produce since it is entirely unnecessary for them since they won't be procreating. Yet nature provides these for species survival, This proves beyond all doubt that homosexuality is a lifestyle CHOICE.

[rebchguy]

01:48 PM on 08/04/2011

What? Where in heavens name did you come up with that? Using your analogy, people who are sterile are gay, People who cannot get pregnant for any reason are gay, right? People who elect not to have children, should be gay, right? What has sperm or egg production got to do with being straight or gay? What has the ability to produce children got to do with being straight or gay? People like you are responsible for so much ignorance being passed around

[larryberglof]

05:26 PM on 08/04/2011

Wow, w1944s' hypothesis was just plain goofy, but you didn't even come close to "getting it".

[TBJ]

01:50 PM on 08/04/2011

No. There are several genetic factors that come into play, as well as hormonal development in the womb.

I know that there are several gay people on my mom's side of the family, and that's a trend that comes up frequently. Not to mention that for identical twins, there's a 50% chance of, if one of them is gay, the other is as well, regardless of upbringing. It's about 22% for fraternal twins.

This means that there isn't a genetic on/off switch for being gay, but there's way too much evidence to support a genetic component to say otherwise.

Not to mention, there's absolutely no hard evidence that sexual orientation can be willfully changed.

[AudreyLee]

10:51 AM on 08/06/2011

ff

[jfsinc1929]

01:24 PM on 08/04/2011

I don't know the percentage of the gay population, but it seems that it's not as high as the gay population in television shows.

[lacrosselamore]

11:35 AM on 08/05/2011

Since you admit that you don't know anything why don't you just stop making a fool out of your self and stop posting nonsense

[jfsinc1929]

06:44 AM on 08/08/2011

I didn't say I don't know "anything", I just don't know the exact percentage of the gay population. You should learn to not only "read" a sentence but then try to "understand" it. Perhaps youre the one that doens't know anything. I do know that suddenly there is gay television that has an all "gay" cast which is definitely higher than the "population". You're probably not old enough to understand anything!

[jfsinc1929]

01:23 PM on 08/04/2011

It's said that homosexuality is not a choice but a design by God. I can believe it either way. But I think that with the influence of "GLAAD" based shows and with them being "youth oriented", is there an agenda here? I honestly can't see a man "choosing" to be gay. But I have seen women "choose" to experiment. My wife says I'm a homophobe but I'm not, I'm just tired of it being crammed down our throats. Sao Paula (?) is having a "heterosexual day parade" in South America as a spoof of the gay rights parades. I mean, come on. The clowns in the gay rights parades don't dress like that in any normal situation so why do it for the parade. It is just another bad image of the gay community. And I have at least 2 gay nephews (on each coast).

[David Momper]

01:37 PM on 08/04/2011

Those nephews could get farther away from you if they tried.

[TBJ]

01:40 PM on 08/04/2011

"crammed down our throats." Cramming what? And why the provocative imagery?

I'd suggest you listen to your wife. You shouldn't be this obsessed with gay people.

[vamborools714]

01:22 PM on 08/04/2011

and the award for the most homophobic channel is..... fox news

[frankerin]

01:44 PM on 08/04/2011

Who wrote your daily insult bro, but even politically it is lame. Time to get a job, you have too much time on your hands, unless of course you work for CNN or MSNBC

[peach1436]

02:01 PM on 08/04/2011

Bravo.

[AdamWest1313]

02:26 PM on 08/04/2011

That's all you've got?

[jcg3918]

01:11 PM on 08/04/2011

Oh, how sweet...