The De-Gayification of American Media
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"Television is a reflection of society, but the broadcast networks are not doing enough to fairly represent the diversity of their audience," said GLAAD Entertainment Media Director Damon Romine. "We are still too often portrayed as stereotyped caricatures, and the reality of our lives and relationships is largely ignored."

GLAAD's analysis also showed another disturbing TV shortcoming -- the lack of diversity even among gay characters. Of the 16 LGB characters on network TV, 13 are white, with one gay character each representing African Americans, Latinos and Asian Pacific Islanders.

"If you're looking at network television to see a good cross section of our community, you're not going to find it. What you will find is primarily gay white males," Romine says.

The picture is a bit brighter on cable, where there are 25 LGBT characters, 10 of them on Showtime's "The L Word." These include 10 lesbians, seven gay males, five bisexual females, two bisexual males, and one female-to-male transgender character who will be introduced this season on "The L Word." In addition, there are several characters on HBO's "Rome" who may not identify as gay or straight, but are portrayed as having both same-sex and opposite-sex relationships. "Deadwood" creator David Milch has said in interviews that he will likely add a gay or bisexual character to the Western series this season.

"Cable remains the place where we can find multi-dimensional, complex LGBT characters, as well as gay and lesbian people of color," Romine says. "There continues to be a big disconnect between cable and the broadcast networks. Successful and popular cable programs seamlessly weave our stories and relationships into the fabric of shows that have a broad and mainstream audience, reflecting how our lives intersect with the larger culture. This holistic approach to character development leads to richer, more diverse representations - the kinds of images that help Americans understand and embrace their LGBT family members, friends and neighbors in a more meaningful way."

It's not all bad news, though. When "Will & Grace" ends next year after eight years, we'll lose the only comedy on network television with two gay leads. Promisingly, however, there are four new comedies with gay or lesbian characters in their ensemble casts. On CBS, there's the fall sitcom "Out of Practice," which includes a lesbian ER doctor in a family of physicians, and the midseason replacement "Love Monkey," featuring a character who is a gay former pro baseball player. ABC is planning two midseason entries with gay characters: "Crumbs," about a failed, closeted gay actor returning home to run the family business, and "Emily's Reasons Why Not" about a woman whose gay best friend helps her navigate life and relationships.
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