GLAAD Wants FX to Go Back to Being Good
July 31, 2009
At this time last year, FX was the leader in LGBT content according to GLAAD’s 2008 Network Responsibility Index (NRI), thanks to the presence of LGBT characters in shows like Nip/Tuck, The Shield, Dirt and The Riches. In this year’s NRI, however, the cabler’s representation of lives of LGBT people dropped 34%, the biggest decline of any of the networks. Simply, LGBT people are showing up less and less on FX. When they do show up, some images have been problematic.
Daniel Sunjata plays Franco on "Rescue Me"
Take Tuesday night’s episode of Rescue Me. For all of season five, the men of Fire Station 62 have been wondering if Franco’s girlfriend Carla was a lesbian. In Tuesday night’s episode the guys have a party to help Garrity pay his outstanding medical bills and Franco’s girlfriend invites her friends, who turn out to be lesbians. The men flirt with the women in hopes they will “score.”
The men of “Rescue Me” are lovable every-men and in this episode, they are hoping fortune finds them in the hands of a lesbian woman. To be fair, this type of sexualizing of conventionally feminine lesbians is commonplace in television. However, the show takes a problematic turn when lesbians who are less conventionally feminine enter the bar. These characters are portrayed as rogue and overly aggressive towards the men.
One of the firefighters tells the others to “batten down the hatches and put locks on the men’s room door” and then says, “I’ve got the chains, who’s got a trailer hitch.” Both statements suggest an adversarial tone between straight men and lesbian women and play to misconceptions about lesbian and straight male interaction. The reference to a truck and chains is troubling because of the aggression it implies. GLAAD’s Los Angeles office received calls from concerned viewers wanting to know our response to the show.
GLAAD has enjoyed a solid working relationship with FX. Rescue Me has worked to include stories of the lives of gay and lesbian people since its first season in 2004. Past storylines have included the gay son of the Chief talking about gay firefighters who died on 9/11; Mikey, the show’s resident nice guy, exploring his sexuality; and Tommy’s high school-age daughter Colleen dating a girl.
In response to this show and in an effort to reinvigorate FX’s position as an industry leader, GLAAD and FX Public Relations will re-open a dialogue to support the network and the show in more accurately representing the lives of lesbian characters and the different forms of gender expression.
Related Posts:GLAAD Releases Third Annual Network Responsibility Index
July 27, 2009
Today, GLAAD released its third annual Network Responsibility Index, a report that maps the quantity, quality and diversity of images of LGBT people on television. HBO ranked highest among all networks, while ABC led broadcast networks for the third year in a row.
"True Blood's" Lafayette helped make HBO the leader in LGBT representation among all networks evaluated
GLAAD reviewed all primetime programming — 4,901 hours — for inclusion of LGBT characters or issues on the five major networks (ABC, CBS, The CW, Fox and NBC) from June 1, 2008 to May 31, 2009. GLAAD also examined all original primetime programming — 1,212.5 hours — on 10 highly-rated cable networks (A&E, FX, HBO, Lifetime, MTV, Showtime, Sci Fi, TBS, TNT, and USA). Each hour was reviewed for on-screen LGBT representations. Based on the quantity, overall quality and diversity of these representations, a grade was assigned by GLAAD’s Entertainment Media Program to each network: Excellent, Good, Adequate, or Failing.
The full, detailed report can be downloaded here: http://www.glaad.org/nri2009
HBO received a Good rating and scored the highest rating of the 15 networks evaluated with LGBT characters on shows including True Blood, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and Entourage that reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of the LGBT community. Of HBO’s 14 original series, 10 included LGBT content and 42 percent of the network’s total programming hours included LGBT representation. However, representation of the lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities was minimal.
"Grey's Anatomy's" Callie and Arizona helped keep ABC tops among broadcast networks
ABC and The CW ranked first and second among the five broadcast networks, just as they have every year since GLAAD began tracking for the Network Responsibility Index. However, the rankings among the remaining broadcast network shifted with CBS dropping to last place and Fox rising to third.
The 14th Annual GLAAD Where We Are On TV report on diversity will be issued in September. This analysis will examine LGBT inclusion as well as the gender and race/ethnicity of all scripted characters scheduled to appear during the upcoming season. With brand-new LGBT-inclusive shows such as Glee and Modern Family, we are optimistic that the 2009-2010 television season could see some marked improvement among the major networks. Continue checking glaad.org and glaadblog.org for the latest on the Network Responsibility Index and Where We Are on TV, as well as further news on the coming TV season.
Related Posts:
