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@meg_townsend

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There are fewer shows premiering about queer people, and most of them are about folks in the closet.

Overwhelmingly, these closeted characters are men, navigating hyper-masculine environments (sports, fraternities, the military), where coming out would cost them their communities, their jobs, and their reputations. (But, most importantly, their masculinity!)

Why is this happening? How is it connected to the current political and social moment? What level of responsibility do these shows bear? And is Heated Rivalry failing queer youth?

These are the questions I explore in my first Substack.

Link in bio.

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Audiences are already engaged with shows, franchises, merchandise, and experiences from brands that include LGBTQ characters in their programming. In fact, about 84 million Americans say they’re more likely to watch a show if at least one character is LGBTQ.

These outstanding shows (and more) prove that audience demand creates cultural buzz and drives viewers, retention, and revenue while telling nuanced and diverse queer stories.

@meg_townsend writes for @thewrap about the market demand for LGBTQ stories and the money left on the table when networks, streamers, and studios don’t meaningfully and authentically tell LGBTQ stories.

Link to @thewrap’s story at the link in our bio.

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Here are some more of my favorite moments of queer joy from 2024. As we head into 2025, we will continue to:
- Hold leaders accountable to We, the People.
- Empower each person to use their voice for progress with kindness.
- Correct the record.
- Shape culture.
- Change hearts and minds.
- Rise up for intersectional issues including racial justice, abortion and immigration.

Wishing you and your loved ones a happy and healthy New Year!

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🎥 Bulletproof Doc in NYC!🌟

We’re heading to the Big Apple! 🗽 Bulletproof: A Lesbian’s Guide to Surviving the Plot will have its East Coast Premiere at Dances With Films in New York City! 🌈✨

📅 When: Sunday, December 8, 2024
⏰ Time: 4:15 PM
📍 Where: Regal Union Square, NYC

This incredible festival celebrates bold voices in indie cinema, and we’re thrilled to bring our documentary about queer representation on television to its East Coast audience! Join Lindy and Regan as they explore the stories that shaped LGBTQ+ representation on screen—and the ones that continue to fight for a place in the narrative.

🎟️ Grab your tickets now and help us fill the theater with love, laughter, and resilience (link in bio).

📢 NYC friends, we’d love to see you there! Let’s make some noise for queer stories on the big screen. 💜

#DancesWithFilmsNY #dwfny #danceswithfilms #BulletproofDoc #LGBTQFilm #QueerDocumentary #queerdoc #LesbianFilm #RepresentationMatters #wynonnaearp #clexa #wayhaught #gentlemanjack #buffythevampireslayer #feelgood #xena #queerrepresentationmatters

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Last night we presented GLAAD’s 12th annual Studio Responsibility Index findings with industry leaders to meet one-on-one and discuss constructive pathways toward effective and impactful LGBTQ inclusion in film, and discuss how GLAAD can be a partner to distributors at all levels of production. 🎥🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Thank you Sherry Cola for being with us and the entire GLAAD Media Institute team for all of your efforts putting together this year’s findings!

This year’s Studio Responsibility Index shows that there is significant work to be done today if distributors hope to progress and remain relevant to a quickly growing population.

GLAAD’s SRI is an annual report which maps the quantity, quality, and diversity of LGBTQ characters in film. The Index also serves as a road map for studios, identifying priorities and opportunities to increase and improve fair, accurate and inclusive LGBTQ representation and storytelling in film.

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🎬 Our next featured voice from Bulletproof: A Lesbian’s Guide to Surviving the Plot is Megan Townsend, Senior Director of Entertainment Research & Analysis at GLAAD. Megan’s work is critical in tracking and analyzing LGBTQ+ representation on television. She leads the charge in compiling GLAAD’s annual “Where We Are on TV” report, along with their numerous findings in all areas highlighting the trends and challenges in queer representation on screen. Her expertise along with the @glaad team provides the industry with the data needed to push for more authentic and inclusive storytelling. Megan also shares that Callie Torres from Grey’s Anatomy is one of her favorite and most influential queer characters. One of ours too!

Thank you, Megan, for sharing your expertise with Bulletproof!

Stay tuned as we introduce more of our incredible interviewees! 🌈📺

Pictured: @meg_townsend

#bulletproofdoc #glaad #representationmatters #lgbtqrepresentationmatters #queerdocumentary #queerdoc #queercinema #whereweareontvreport #queerrepresentation #megantownsend #callietorres #greysanatomy #queervisibility #queerrepresentationmatters

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It was an honor to serve on this year’s @televisionacad Honors Selection Committee, helping choose seven television programs that achieve in influencing hearts and minds, and are driving positive social change through their storytelling. A joy to celebrate alongside some Academy friends and culture shakers, @glaad colleagues, and artists contributing to that canon, including my dear friend @navamau.

Congratulations and thank you to this year’s recipients:
1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed
The 1619 Project
A Small Light
BEEF
Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court
Heartstopper
Lakota Nation vs. United States

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In our documentary “Bulletproof: A Lesbian’s Guide to Surviving the Plot,” we take an insightful, immersive, and deeply personal look at Queer representation in television, and the power of the media to shape how we see ourselves. Witty, fast-paced, and laced with pop culture references, we journey across North America and beyond in our quest to understand the forces that influence the stories we see on our screens. Featuring wide-ranging conversations with television insiders, LGBTQ+ community advocates, and people who just love to watch TV.

Bulletproof: A Lesbian’s Guide to Surviving the Plot is now streaming across Canada on CBC Gem, and on the Documentary Channel (check local listings).

Our World Premiere was May 25th at the TIFF Lightbox in Toronto at the @insideoutfestival

#bulletproofdoc #insideout2024 #queerrepresentation #queerrepresentationmatters #the100 #clexa #lexa #clexaedit #wynonnaearp #earpers #katbarrell #gentlemanjack #savegentlemanjack #sortof #jann #thefosters #queerasfolk #lgbtqrepresentation #queerfilm #lgbtqdocumentary #glaad #documentaryfilm #lesbianfilm #lgbtqrepresentationmatters

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This week, our GLAAD Media Institute team presented the findings of our annual Where We Are on TV Report at @vidiots in Los Angeles.

GLAAD’s Where We Are On TV report not only propels national conversations about LGBTQ representation, but informs GLAAD’s own advocacy within the television industry. GLAAD uses this yearly data to create a clearer picture of the stories and images being presented by television networks, and to work alongside the networks and content creators to tell fair, accurate, and inclusive LGBTQ stories on screen.

Learn more at the link in our bio.

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A big thank you to the GLAAD team for all of their work on this year’s Where We Are On TV report! We presented our findings at an industry event last night at Vidiots in Los Angeles, California.

We’ve grown from 12 series regular LGBTQ characters when we started this report 28 years ago to 468 total LGBTQ characters on scripted TV. While that growth is impressive, there were 100 fewer LGBTQ characters this year compared to last year. Series with more diverse LGBTQ characters are being cancelled at a disportioncate rate - particularly as it relates to trans characters and queer people of color.

The 19th annual Where We Are on TV study provides recommendations to increase and improve inclusivity and representation: A priority for improvement across all platforms is developing inclusive new series as well as incorporating new and expanding upon LGBTQ characters in existing programming. Audiences are hungry for diverse characters with fresh and unique perspectives, specifically stories that center LGBTQ characters of color, transgender and nonbinary characters, and characters living with HIV in meaningful roles.

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Hey dear 🥰 I think my colleague contacted you some time back, hope you don't mindme reaching out again... @JunoValentina.amb would love to have you on the team & gift you (yes, totally free) some of their newest jewelry collection as a welcome package!

Please send them a DM saying “TEAM” and they will explain the amazing benefits of joining! X
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👉 @JunoValentina.amb 👈

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We were honored to be represented in the 2024 @KIDSCREEN summit in San Diego in a panel with valuable individuals from all over, including Dr. Rosemarie Truglio (Senior Vice President of Curriculum & Content for @sesameworkshop) Cathlin Goulding (Co-Director of @yuri_education) and Megan Townsend (@meg_townsend, Senior Director Entertainment Research & Analysis at @glaad) and of course, our CEO @julesdameron (who directed the 16 ASL videos for Sesame Street) — we were part of a panel covering vital topics such as how we could better approach Asian Pacific Islander representation, LGBTQ+ representation & Deaf / Hard of Hearing representation! We learned a lot together. #hypernovasexplosion #sesameASL

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