My view

The LGBTQ+ community has had a long journey, not only about legal matters for their human rights to be respected but also to have a proper representation in the media. Illustrating human complexity in the different social channels can be challenging and at some point almost impossible. Nevertheless, the industry must create content that can educate and empower humanity. Media has as their main goal to entertain the audience, but the social responsibility should never be forgotten. As stated by Erick Qualman (2014) "We do not have the choice on whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it".

Queer media includes websites, films, periodicals, and other cultural goods created by our queer individuals (Media Smarts, 2012). Currently, the representation of the queer community is still limited. For instance, "In the United States,14.2 percent of series regulars on The CW were LGBTQ characters in the 2020-21season, followed by ABC with a share of 9.9 percent. By contrast, on CBS LGBTQ characters accounted only for 2.2 percent." (*U.S.: broadcast networks by LGBTQ character inclusion 2021 | Statista*, 2021). Generally, the media generation learns about public concerns like homosexuality via characters and scenarios shown in films, television shows, fashion magazines, and commercial commercials, rather than from direct interaction with gay individuals, their parents, teachers, and classmates (Chung, 2007). Queer representation in the media is not anymore about representation, but about educating next generations on concepts such as gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and every single member of the LGBTQI+ community. As explained by Chung (2007) people can use media literacy art education to carefully study and analyze media texts, giving them the crucial knowledge they need to resist problematic portrayals. Learners can use images from the media to question stereotypical representations and investigate prejudiced social behaviors (Ibid.).

Moreover, seeing ourselves represented in movies or even the radio can be described in my personal opinion as a magical experience. As explained by Chhotalal, a junior at Cape May Technical High School In New Jersey, “We need to see people that look like ourselves and can say, ‘Oh, that looks like me!’ or ‘I identify with that,’”( As cited in PBS NewsHour, 2019). Media should be a realistic portrayal of the world. The world is not back or white, we have a world made full of colors that should be part of the content that we see every day. Diversity is a reality and the media urges us to be an active part of building a world more tolerant and open-minded. In conclusion, we must not forget that we are the media itself, as an audience, our requirements are vital to change the media, when being inclusive becomes part of us, the change will be seen. As Harvey Diamond said, "If you don't know what you want to achieve in your presentation, your audience never will.”. Queer community matters and the media is on the right path to change portrayals for more positive and transcendent ones, as the cultivation theory explains media matters more than we may realize.