Hollywood needs to work on upping its LGBT representation, new study says


LGBT characters are underrepresented in films put out by major studios, a GLAAD report released Monday states. In 2015, just 17.5 percent of the 126 releases from seven major motion picture studios featured such characters. That's about the same as the organization's 2014 findings.
"Hollywood's films lag far behind any other form of media when it comes to portrayals of LGBT characters," GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. "Too often, the few LGBT characters that make it to the big screen are the target of a punchline or token characters. The film industry must embrace new and inclusive stories if it wants to remain competitive and relevant."
Of the 22 films GLAAD deemed inclusive of LGBT characters, just one of them was trans-inclusive. For more on how the numbers break down, including the racial makeup of LGBT characters on screen, head over to the full report here.
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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
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