The notion that LGBTQ+ media can only exist as a source for historical information about the Stonewall riots, AIDS epidemic, or the Baker v. Nelson Supreme Court case is quite a common one. More often than not, these are the stories placed at the forefront of all LGBTQ+ experiences. Although this type of media is extremely important and should continue to educate people about LGBTQ+ history, it is equally as important to highlight the other side of the coin; we must understand how big of a role positive LGBTQ+ media can play in the lives of queer people. Joy is not always a major part of the depiction of queer people in mainstream media. As Pride Month begins, it is important to reflect on the diversity of LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream media and how we can make LGBTQ+ stories more diverse and accessible.

In the 1930s, Hollywood introduced the Hays Code, an unofficial ban on any neutral or positive depictions of homosexuality in film and TV, deeming it obscene and inappropriate on the basis of “sex perversion,” as Lynne Stahl, a Humanities & Interdisciplinary Studies Librarian at Wesleyan University, wrote in 2023. This code was cast aside in the 1958 Supreme Court case One, Inc. v. Olesen, which decided that homosexuality was not inherently obscene. This case discarded the idea that LGBTQ+ representation was inappropriate if it was not strictly negative in mainstream media. So, while LGBTQ+ representation remained minimal and queer characters continued to be portrayed as offensive caricatures, this case set a precedent to allow LGBTQ+ stories to eventually become a major part of mainstream media. After the progressive era during the 1960s and 1970s swept the nation, LGBTQ+ film and media greatly expanded, and gay representation emerged in popular movies like the 1985 film “An Early Frost” and the 1993 film “Philadelphia.” In the last few decades, the film industry has made even more progress. With attention paid to LGBTQ+ issues growing, queer media has spread immensely, with popular TV shows like “Young Royals,” “Heartstopper,” and “Euphoria” featuring explicitly queer coming-of-age stories. However, although mainstream media has come far from the era of Hays Code, LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream media continues to lack complete inclusivity. Some issues with media featuring the LGBTQ+ community include lack of racial diversity, misogyny, underrepresentation of lesbian couples and underrepresentation of transgender stories.

Now that the queer community has gained greater representation in mainstream media, making that representation more true to the queer experience is the necessary next step. LGBTQ+ representation must depict LGBTQ+ struggles, celebrations of queer joy, and the capability to embrace different sexual orientations and gender identities in order to properly represent the LGBTQ+ experience. This representation provides LGBTQ+ people, especially queer youth, with the realization that they are not alone in their struggles because the early LGBTQ+ experience that can include bullying, alienation, and confusion due to their sexual orientation or gender identity as well as immense joy and happiness for the community has been experienced by so many people that have come before them which could include their favorite TV characters. In addition, realistic depictions of the oppression of LGBTQ+ individuals help spread awareness of the common queer experience to those outside the community, aiding open-minded, cisgender, heterosexual individuals who aren’t very aware of the experiences within the queer community with the chance to educate themselves and become LGBTQ+ allies.

However, especially for the aforementioned queer youth, depictions of queer joy — a key part of the celebration of the LGBTQ+ community based on queer theory — are even more necessary. We need LGBTQ+ people to not only have a sense of community, but also thrive in their differences from their non-LGBTQ+ peers. The celebration of the community can be seen in pride parades as a flamboyant display of queer joy and celebration of the community as a whole as well as its millions of supportive allies. Pride Month originally marks the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City in which people of the LGBTQ+ community were attacked for who they loved. Since then, the years of trauma and concealing of sexuality that this month initially marked have been replaced by an immense celebration of our diversity and encouraging further inclusivity. It is crucial that similar sentiments of prideful celebration are depicted in mainstream media throughout the year to make sure LGBTQ+ youth thrive in their differences and that queer joy spreads positivity across our entire society.

It is incredibly important to depict queer positivity in mainstream media, especially because there is already so much censorship when it comes to queer representation and silencing of conversations surrounding queer individuals based on legislation such as the Florida “Don’t Say Gay” Bill, or the Tennessee bill that restricts drag performances. It is imperative that we spread diverse representations of the queer experiences.