In television, 12.5 percent of series regular characters on broadcast networks from 2021 to 2022 were LGBTQ with a significant increase in the percentage of LGBTQ characters of color but a decrease in the percentage of LGBT characters with disabilities. While the percentage of LGBTQ characters of color increased slightly in 2021, no transgender or non-binary characters were added. According to the 2021 GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index, 22.7 percent of films released by Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, STX films, United Artists Releasing, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Studios, and Warner Bros.
However, LGBT members continue to be underrepresented and typecast. In 2018, Love, Simon was recognized as the first film from a major Hollywood studio that familiarized young male homosexuality and its accompanying hardships to a larger, non-specialized audience. In 2016, Moonlight, a coming-of-age drama about a young African American man's struggle with identity and sexuality, became not only the first LGBT movie to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, but also the first LGBTQ film with an all-black cast.
While there may not be many prominent LGBT characters in the current mainstream media, the community has achieve significant milestones in recent years. The media has made some progress toward more equitable representation of members of the LGBT community.
