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The damage done by lacking representation stretches well beyond the screen.
Transgender actress Laverne Cox and other queer media stars of color are shining a light a troubling trend: a decrease in screen time and representation for Black LGBTQ+ figures in TV and movies.
“And it’s never been about positive or negative representations,” Laverne Cox said at a panel discussion on August 9. “It’s about more, because everyone’s not going to connect to everything, but the more we have, the more possibilities that people can see themselves in representation.”
Cox was speaking at the 24th Martha’s Vineyard African-American Film Festival on a panel titled “Reel Change: Black Film, Culture, and the Stories That Shape Us.” Presented by GLAAD and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the panel talked about how “visual storytelling can shape culture, influence perception, and expand what is possible for Black communities.”
In particular, Black and queer representation can challenge harmful stereotypes and increase visibility for marginalized voices. Joining Cox were Bithiah Lafontant from ViiV Healthcare, podcast host Ryan Mitchel, filmmaker and activist Nneka Onuorah, and Dr. Felicia DeHaney Russell of the W.K. Kellog Foundation.
The panel comes in the wake of GLAAD releasing their Where We Are on Film annual report, which depicted a grim picture of LGBTQ+ representation in the US. While there was a decrease in representation for LGBTQ+ people across the board, it was naturally worse for intersectional representation of marginalized groups.
GLAAD analyzed 225 movies released by major studios and found a 36% decrease in the number of LGBTQ+ characters of color compared to the previous year. Only two characters had HIV and they appeared in the same movie — a notable problem as reports from ViiV Healthcare show that 37% of new HIV cases happen within the Black community (despite them making up only 12% of the US population), Gayety reports. Across all 225 movies, there were zero trans characters.
Lafontant highlighted how problematic it is to have worsening representation for LGBTQ+ people on screen at a time when LGBTQ+ are struggling naturally: “I think … in this moment, we need to see stories where people are just who they are, and it doesn’t have to be a story of trauma.”
Lafontant when on to highlight that we don’t just need representation depicting struggles, but uplifting representation that shows queer people of color just existing in society: “Where are the love stories? Where are those moments where people just see themselves living, happy, peaceful, joyful, the whole human experience?”
Similarly, Onuorah spoke about the importance of representation that depicts struggles but in the context of hope and the ability to repair bridges.
“So a lot of my work is showing us what hope looks like,” Onuorah said. “So the work that I’m doing is focusing on us getting active about our healing and showing what love could look like if we all come together on our differences.”
She said that one of her films that played Martha’s Vineyards Film Festival, Truth Be Told, is about the LGBTQ+ experience in the Black Church. “There’s a lot of oppression within churches and within religion that kills us from the inside and kill our families from the inside,” Onuorah said.
Cox also shared a story that highlighted the importance of queer stories beyond letting people know they’re not alone: they help people to work through trauma and grief that has been caused by social attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community.
“A dear friend of mine said, when he watched Pose, because he was in New York, during the height of the AIDS crisis, he said there was trauma that he hadn’t even processed,” Cox said. “Because he was in a space where people were dying every other day, he watched all of that trauma, and he hadn’t given himself space to process it until 30 years later while watching Pose. He let himself cry, he let himself grieve, and that is the power of beautiful art.”
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Faefyx Collington is a British American author who writes about LGBTQ+ issues, politics, popular culture, and their intersection. You can find Faefyx Collington on socials and the wider internet by googling their unique name.
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See more: Arts & Media, Black LGBTQ Nation, GLAAD, Laverne Cox, Martha’s Vineyard African-American Film Festival, Representation, Trans LGBTQ Nation, Trans Representation, Transgender, Where We Are on Film
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Laverne Cox & filmmakers say decline in Black LGBTQ+ media representation harms everyone – LGBTQ Nation
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