GLAAD Commended 'ABC Family' Channel for its Representation of LGTB
An annual report by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation commended theABC Family cable channel for its representation of gay, lesbian and bisexual characters in its programming and for the racial diversity of those characters. In its fifth annual Network Responsibility Index, which Glaad issued on Wednesday, the organization gave a rating of “Excellent” to ABC Family, whose shows include “Pretty Little Liars,”“The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” “Greek” and “Switched at Birth,”and said that 55 percent of that channel’s 103 hours of original programming from June 2010 through May 2011 included “LGBT-inclusive images.” Herndon Graddick, the senior director of programs at Glaad, said in a statement, “Viewers expect to see television environments that accurately reflect what it’s like to be a young adult, and today that includes young adults who happen to be gay.”
Elsewhere in the report Glaad’s rankings of gay representation on the broadcast networks during the 2010-2011 season was unchanged from last year, with CW at the top (with 33 percent of its hours deemed LGBT-inclusive) and CBS at the bottom (with 10 percent). NBC, which was ranked second to last (15 percent), was said to feature the most racial diversity among its imagery, though the report said that 36 percent of those impressions were from Latino characters due largely to Oscar Nunez, who plays the gay character Oscar Martinez on “The Office.” ABC had the least racial diversity: 85 percent of its gay characters were white, the report said, with the few exceptions being characters like Dr. Callie Torres (the “Grey’s Anatomy” role played by Sara RamĂrez) and Alejo Salazar (played by Anthony Ruivivar on the now-canceled series “The Whole Truth”).artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com
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