LGBTQ+ Women and Representation in the Media

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 LGBTQ+ Women and Representation in the Media

 

            It does not come as much of a surprise to women of any minority across the spectrum that LGBTQ+ women have been adamantly underrepresented over the years. Today, we’ll discuss that underrepresentation and even pick out some individuals or tv programs that have helped shape the imminent growth of representation among LGTBQ+ women. 

 

            Women of the LGBTQ+ community have not only been vastly underrepresented they have often been simultaneously oversexualized and often the victims of incredibly atrocious acts of violence. One statistic that perpetually pains me and many other women of the LGBTQ+ community to hear is that “in the past five years, 80% of transgender homicides were black women, and less than half of those cases led to arrests” as stated by Jessica Richardson (2020). It may be a bold assumption to correlate lack of media representation and such atrocious statistics to one another but it all boils down to one key aspect, awareness. Awareness of the societal issues which surround you in every which direction, at any point in your daily life is crucial to making a viable change in society. More often than not, these cases are kept under a low profile or only discussed in an “activist setting,” an environment that specifically addresses these topics. If the media were to openly discuss topics like this and create a sense of social awareness it could bring impact to these types of situations. 

 

            Representation goes a long way by allowing people of all ages to see something other than heteronormativity and compulsive heterosexuality. Exposing people especially those of younger ages to the idea that we do not come in a one-size-fits-all package would be extremely beneficial to raising adults who are aware of diversity as opposed to haphazardly teaching it along the way. Representation within the media whether that be through modern-day influencers, activists, or even through characters in TV shows and movies can have a lasting impact on the knowledge attained by generations of people. A couple of characters that exemplify representation in different ways include Laverne Cox as Sophia Burset on Orange Is the New Black, Isabella Gomez as Elena Alvarez on One Day at a Time, and Teri Polo and Sherri Saum as Stef and Lena on The Fosters. These women all display a diverse approach to LGBTQ+ representation in ways that are beneficial to the audience to recognize. 

 

Laverne Cox as Sophia Burset on Orange Is the New Black


 

    Laverne Cox has been an activist about the issues of intersectionality and the black transgender women’s experiences in society. In Orange Is the New Black, she demonstrates realistic ways in which transgender women are treated within the prison system and the struggles that they encounter. There is a range of multidimensional ways that the audience could look at Sophia Burset’s struggles being an openly transgender black woman in a system that consistently disregards more than one facet of her identity. Laverne plays this role beautifully and is extremely representational towards the struggles that black women face and transgender women face when their identities have intersecting oppression. 

 

Isabella Gomez as Elena Alvarez on One Day at a Time



            Isabella Gomez plays the role of Elena Alvarez, daughter of Cuban immigrants who comes out as a lesbian within the show. This transition from questioning her sexuality to embracing it and the culture behind it is truly inspirational to young Hispanic girls who may be encountering a similar situation. In my own experiences, being anything other than straight in a Hispanic household or in any household where the norm is perceived to be heterosexuality can be incredibly difficult. Isabella Gomez does an amazing job at exemplifying what is like to face such struggles, backlash, and healing processes within one’s own family.

 

Teri Polo and Sherri Saum as Stef and Lena on The Fosters



            Stef and Lena on the Fosters made an immense impact on the way that lesbian family dynamics were perceived. Seeing as LGTBQ+ women are often sexualized and disregarded in terms of serious commitment and family life, these two women demonstrated to many viewers across the world that family does not have to be biologically based nor strictly heterosexual in order to be legitimate. The parenting style, problem-solving, and household that Stef and Lena upheld was one that altered the perspectives of many people who had never witnessed it before. The power of representation is in the way they demonstrate these characters and avoid demeaning stereotypes that would only backtrack the overall understanding of what means to be part of the LGBTQ+ community.  

 

 

Reference: https://legalcouncil.org/blacktranswomeninamerica/

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