A new “Where We Are on TV” study from GLAAD found LGBTQ representation on TV to be at an all-time high, reported ABC News.
The report looks at diversity across primetime scripted series. LGBTQ regulars make up 8.8 percent of characters on TV, up 2.4 percent from last year.
Of these LGBTQ characters, the representation among men and women is almost perfectly even. The study also found that there are more LGBTQ characters of color than white for the first time ever.
There was a large amount of growth among streaming services Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon. The report shows that the number of recurring and regular LGBTQ characters among these streaming services increased more than 50 percent from last year to 112.
Cable networks also contributed to the growth, with FX portraying the most LGBTQ characters. As for all broadcast networks, the CW topped the list.
“The main takeaway is we are absolutely heading in the right direction,” Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President and CEO, told Good Morning America. “We are seeing purveyors of culture step up and help with telling stories and humanizing people, especially diverse people.”
Ellis and GLAAD set goals and make recommendations after each study. For the first time, they’re setting their sights on double digits.
“We’ve given them a target of 10 percent by the year 2020,” Ellis said. “We think it’s a number that everybody is ready for.”
Ellis also noted her amazement at the equality of male/female LGBTQ representation, as well as the fact that people of color made up more LGBTQ characters than white.
“We’ll see if that sustains,” she said. “That’s going to be an interesting part.”
“To be able to tell an LGBTQ story, you have to tell a diverse story,” she continued. “We are everywhere. We are the one group that’s the intersection for all marginalized identities.”