A homosexual activist group is complaining that there has been a decrease by two-thirds this season of the number of homosexual characters on primetime network television.
According to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the Fall 2002 season includes only seven lesbian and gay characters on primetime shows and no bisexual or transgender characters, compared with last year, when 20 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters graced primetime network programming.
The fall network lineup features only six shows with lesbian and gay characters. They are “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Dawson’s Creek,” “ER,” “NYPD Blue,” “Will and Grace” and “MDs,” a new offering from ABC.
The group pointed out that 11 shows from last season that featured homosexual characters have been canceled, including “Spin City,” “Felicity,” “Once and Again,” “The Ellen Show” and “Dark Angel.” In addition, “That 80s Show” and “The Education of Max Bickford,” which featured a bisexual and a transgender character, were also canceled after last season.
Maranatha Christian Journal (MJC), noted, however, that cable television has made up for the decline in perverse fare on network TV, offering “a far heavier concentration of gay characters on a smaller number of shows.”
There are more than 20 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender portrayals on six cable shows this season: “Oz,” “Sex and the City,” “The Shield” and “Queer As Folk.”
While GLAAD expressed concern over the decrease in the presence of homosexuals on television, Andrea Sheldon Lafferty, executive director of the conservative watchdog group Traditional Values Coalition, told MJC that the entertainment industry’s promotion of homosexual lifestyles seems to be increasing.
“While it is true that American public is tired of having the homosexual cause pushed on them, it is also sadly true that people are becoming more and more desensitized to homosexuality in media,” Lafferty said.
(EP)
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