Media portrayal of LGBTQ people

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Historically, the portrayal of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people in media has been largely negative if not altogether absent, reflecting a general cultural intolerance of LGBTQ individuals; however, from the 1990s to present day, there has been an increase in the positive depictions of LGBTQ people, issues, and concerns within mainstream media in North America.^[1] The LGBTQ communities have taken an increasingly proactive stand in defining their own culture, with a primary goal of achieving an affirmative visibility in mainstream media. The positive portrayal or increased presence of the LGBTQ communities in media has served to increase acceptance and support for LGBT communities, establish LGBTQ communities as a norm, and provide information on the topic.^[1]

Research has used quantitative results to show the “positive direct effects of LGBQ+ television exposure on resilience and identity affirmation.” ^[2]

Gwendolyn Audrey Foster stated,^[when?] "We may still live in a world of white dominance and heterocentrism, but I think we can agree that we are in the midst of postmodern destabilizing forces when it comes to sexuality and race."^[3] In her book Imitation and Gender Insubordination (1991), Judith Butler argues that the idea of heteronormativity is reinforced through socio-cultural conditioning, but even more so through visual culture which promotes homo-invisibility.^[4]