And don’t forget: Britain’s gay characters also slam down the Koran — and set off firestorms of complaints!
This article was written by Tim Lusher, for guardian.co.uk on Thursday 22nd July 2010 06.28 UTC
Gay people were portrayed positively and realistically for just 46 minutes in 126 hours of TV programmes, a study by Stonewall has found. They were shown as predatory, promiscuous or comical stereotypes half the time they appeared.
Soaps and reality shows such as Hollyoaks, I’m a Celebrity …, How to Look Good Naked and Emmerdale gave most screen time to gay, lesbian and bisexual characters or issues, but they were almost invisible in talent shows and dramas.
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Researchers watched the 20 programmes most popular with young viewers for 16 weeks between last September and January 2010. Lesbian, gay and bisexual people were portrayed for five hours and 43 minutes in total – but 36% of that was negative, according to the report Unseen on Screen, and 31% was realistic but showed them as upset or distressed.
Stonewall monitored shows on BBC1, ITV1, Channel 4 and Five including The Bill, The X Factor, EastEnders, Blue Peter, The One Show and Strictly Come Dancing. It found that BBC1 portrayed lesbians for just 29 seconds out of nearly 40 screen hours.
The Stonewall chief executive, Ben Summerskill, said: “It’s hardly surprising that there’s still almost endemic homophobic bullying in Britain’s secondary schools when, even if gay people do appear on TV shows watched by young people, they’re depicted in a derogatory or demeaning way.”
In a 2009 YouGov poll of secondary school teachers, 71% said that anti-gay language in broadcasts affected homophobic bullying. Three in five said they regularly witnessed anti-gay bullying.
Stonewall has called on broadcasters and Ofcom to devise guidelines on how to portray gay characters positively and authentically. It said 17- and 18-year-old gay people did not relate to those they saw on TV.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2010
alejandro
the gay story on emmerdale is so good.
very realistically portrayed as well.
sam
😛 why is playing them as promiscuous bad? many are, as are many straight people, both in real life and as depicted on tv?
I don’t see a promiscuous gay or a queeny gay on tv as demeaning or unrealistic. That they’re the vast majority of gays portrayed on tv isn’t so good, but that doesn’t stop them from existing in real life >_o
Scot
“36% of that was negative,….31% was realistic but showed them as upset or distressed.”
Isn’t that also true of EVERYBODY on tv?
aalan brickman
Promiscuity isn’t evil….lying to your bf about cheating is…and dangerous too….
kae
come on, soap operas don’t represent anybody; everyone is a characature. they’re not really supposed to be realistic. upset and depressed? everyone on eastenders is upset and depressed!
Queer Supremacist
@kae: I know, but because they’re British, pretentious American anglophiles who wouldn’t be caught dead watching American daytime soaps (actually that’s 99% of the country now, not just anglophiles) watch these shows and think they’re better than their US equivalents.
paul
TV is meant to be entertaining. If everyone was happy, well adjusted and had no distinct character or problems it would be….well dull as dishwater. Bring on the queens, the sluts and the pyschopaths.