GLAAD Trans Images On TV Report Finds Portrayals Of Transgender Characters Are Improving Slowly

Is TV Finally Giving Transgender Characters The Recognition They Deserve?
Erika Ervin seen at Premiere Screening Of "American Horror Story: Freak Show" - Arrivals at TCL Chinese Theatre on Sunday, October 5, 2014, in Los Angeles, Calif. (Photo by Tonya Wise/Invision/AP)
Erika Ervin seen at Premiere Screening Of "American Horror Story: Freak Show" - Arrivals at TCL Chinese Theatre on Sunday, October 5, 2014, in Los Angeles, Calif. (Photo by Tonya Wise/Invision/AP)

The portrayal of transgender characters on television is improving slowly but substantially, according to a new report.

GLAAD's 2014 Trans Images on TV survey found that no transgender characters were portrayed as villains, while only one episode portrayed a trans character as a victim, in 2014.

The GLAAD report have top honors to the "Identity Crisis" episode of Lifetime's "Drop Dead Diva," and the "Variable and Full of Perturbation" installment of BBC America's "Orphan Black," which were called "outstanding" in their portrayal of transgender men.

Meanwhile, the survey also had special praise for the portrayal of transgender characters as seen on ABC Family's "The Fosters," Fox's "Glee" and Showtime's "House of Lies." Also lauded was the casting of transgender actresses Laverne Cox and Erika Ervin in non-trans roles on MTV's "Faking It" and FX's "American Horror Story: Freak Show," respectively. Also cited the was "groundbreaking" material of Amazon's "Transparent" and Netflix's "Orange is the New Black."

Of course, there's still work to be done: although the number of scripted television episodes deemed defamatory toward the transgender community dropped, 39 percent of episodes contained problematic language.

The report comes on the heels of GLAAD's Network Responsibility Index, which rates TV networks on overall lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) inclusive content, and the "Where We Are On TV" report, an annual "character count and analysis" of scripted LGBT characters on television.

You can read more about the Trans Images on TV report here.

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GLAAD's 2014 Network Responsibility Index

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