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Below you’ll find a collection of links to news articles, studies and blog posts related to the state of LGBT representation in the media.

Lexa kom Trikru’s demise was a shock that feels like it’ll never fade–and it’s something that matters immensely. [TALK NERDY WITH US]

Masses of lesbian viewers looked up to Lexa. On a show that claimed to push boundaries—or at least, they pushed the same-sex couple—I am so unspeakably sorry for every single viewer promised the hope of good LGBT representation and found it crushed within fifteen minutes. Did they perhaps stop to consider that in killing off a prominent LGBT character in the clichéd way they did, it wouldn’t upset the LGBT community? That it wasn’t a massive show of disrespect for arguably one of the show’s most popular heroes to be killed in such a soap-opera fashion? I don’t think this argument will ever be as simple as ‘well, everyone dies on The 100! We’re a really dark! DARK SHOW!’ this is a matter of representation. This is a matter of those thousands and thousands of viewers who empathized with Lexa, who wanted an LGBT character to be treated justly and with honor and valiance—and received the opposite.

The point is, is that Lexa was representation; Lexa was a character people aspired to, admired, respected, adored, saw themselves in…and they are losing that in her cheaply-written death. This isn’t just about having a favorite character killed off, or having part of a ship dead—this is grieving that once more, LGBT representation was dangled and teased in front of the viewer and was ripped away unapologetically by the writers.


Talk Nerdy With Us

“The 100” Proves There’s Nothing New Under The Sun [AUTOSTRADDLE]

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Well, I feel dumb. I feel dumb for calling Clarke and Lexa our bookend couple when their storyline is so reminiscent of so many tragedies from more twenty years ago. Things aren’t different. They’re so much the same.

My problem is that instead of seeing Lexa die in Clarke’s arms, I see the strings around them. Instead of hearing “I don’t want another commander, I want you,” I hear “contractual obligations” and “plot device.” I didn’t even start to feel sad about Lexa’s death until two hours later, and still in a mixture of anger and hurt about what this means in the bigger picture.

Because we have to consider the bigger picture here. This is not a twist: it is only surprising how awfully familiar it is. We feel this in our bones. Science fiction television isn’t written in space: writers are just as surrounded by this media as we are. This isn’t new. There is a mass communication theory called cultivation theory that assumes there are common themes in all of television and hypothesizes that heavy viewers will begin to perceive reality as it is portrayed. What does it say when so many lesbian storylines end in tragedy? When the theme here is that lesbians must die to move a story forward. It has been cultivated in us for decades. The writers and producers have to acknowledge where their story falls in this narrative. And what effect can it have on us?


Autostraddle

Featured

Sex(uality) Sells: Hollywood is capitalizing on LGBTQ+ characters, for better or worse

(Blastr) – Characters who happen to be gay have become a brand new form of tokenism. They are not, themselves, token characters – their characterization exists outside of their gayness – but they are being used to appeal to a certain demographic. Rather than serving the role of traditional token characters, Trini and LeFou do not support tired stereotypes or to allow the creators an out for borderline jokes at their expense. But, much like their token predecessors, these characters also do not exist because said creators think representation is important or meaningful. They get butts in seats, they stir…


Blastr

Ryan Murphy on the Hollywood closet: “I was traumatized but I didn’t realize it” [VOX]

(Vox) – Murphy recently appeared on the debut episode of Vox culture critic Todd VanDerWerff’s new podcast, I Think You’re Interesting, and he related a painful and personal story about the obstacles and homophobia he had to face before he could represent queer characters onscreen. […] They were interested in gay people who were tragic. They were interested if you were gay and you would kill yourself. Or if you would try and commit suicide. They weren’t interested in gay sensibility, or the language of being gay, which is sometimes not just gay characters.


Vox

GLAAD Report: 2016 Was A Year Of Representation But Also, Mostly, Murder For Lesbians On TV [AUTOSTRADDLE]

(Autostraddle) – I think one of the reasons Lexa’s death caused so much outrage is that she seemed like the ultimate symbol of queer women having arrived. She hadn’t come onto The 100 as a Queer Character; her relationship with Clarke evolved naturally, the way it would between any straight characters. She was complicated and layered and beloved. Her death, and the landslide of lesbian/bi deaths that came after it, were crushing because they shook the hope out of us. And it was more than just a feeling. One of the bleakest things about this year’s Where We Are On TV…


Autostraddle

TV Is Better for L.G.B.T.Q. Characters than Ever—Unless You’re a Lesbian [VANITY FAIR]

(Vanity Fair) – There are more L.G.B.T.Q. characters on TV than ever, on a wider range of platforms, and playing a huge array of roles. It’s never been a better time to be a queer person looking to see yourself on TV—that is, unless you’re a lesbian. GLAAD’s annual report on L.G.B.T.Q. representation is out for the 2016–2017 season, and as always, it’s a mixed bag of good news and bad news. Nearly 5 percent of all TV characters are L.G.B.T.Q.; trans representation alone has more than doubled. But the report also confirms that Dead Lesbian Syndrome has been very…


Vanity Fair

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