LGB campaign group Stonewall have today published a new report looking at representation of lesbian, gay and bisexual people on television. “Unseen on screen” focuses on television aimed at young people and finds it overwhelmingly negative in its portrayals of LGB people.
Stonewall boss Ben Summerskill says in his introduction to the report that, “Out of 126 hours of programming monitored in a range of genres, lesbian, gay and bisexual people were positively and realistically portrayed for just 46 minutes. More disturbing was that so much of the remaining five hours which featured them did so in such a derogatory or negative way.”
It observes a split between L, G, and B of 77% gay and 21% lesbian. That doesn’t leave much bi representation – and the report notes that
“Bisexual people were portrayed for just five minutes and nine seconds in the entire monitoring period and were not portrayed in a positive and realistic manner at all”
However the reports findings are disappointing in a way all too common with Stonewall speakers and media releases – frequently talking about gay people and homophobia but leaving bisexuality and biphobia to one side. For example:
Programme makers should be given guidance on how to avoid casual or inadvertent homophobia and also on how to challenge homophobia appropriately where it arises.
As the report’s subtitle, “Gay people on youth TV”, suggests – once again bisexuals are an afterthought for the UK’s biggest LGb campaign group.
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