Guardian Writer Congratulates Fox Network on ‘Excellent’ Rating for Gay Inclusiveness, Urges More
If you’re looking to find gay characters and representations on television, where do you turn? Logo, the all-gay cable channel owned by Viacom? MTV, long a supporter of gay rights? Showtime, once the home of The L Word and Queer as Folk?
No, it turns out the answer is Fox. Yes, as in Fox News. According to the annual Network Responsibility Index compiled by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Fox was the only broadcast network to receive an “excellent” rating, with 45% of their primetime programming featuring gay representation. The only channel to score higher was cable network ABC Family, with 74% inclusion in primetime programming.
But as far as the networks were concerned, they all received at least “adequate” ratings from GLAAD, with stodgy CBS trailing behind with 27%. They may be the most-watched network, but they’re always a little behind the times. However a quarter of all their programming included a gay man or lesbian (or bisexual – don’t forget the bisexuals) in some way. That sure is a marked improvement from the days when the only LGBT character you might run into was lisping Uncle Arthur on Bewitched or maybe Charles Nelson Reilly doubling his entendres on The Match Game.
Read the article “Guardian Writer Congratulates Fox Network on ‘Excellent’ Rating for Gay Inclusiveness, Urges More” on theguardian.com.