News
2006-03-01
Report: Gay
representation lacking on the BBC
According to a
new report, British broadcasting giant the BBC is
woefully inadequate when it comes to gay and lesbian
rep
According to a
new report, British broadcasting giant the BBC is
woefully inadequate when it comes to gay and lesbian
representation. The findings, by the British gay
rights group Stonewall, suggest that LGBT people are
"almost invisible" on the channels BBC1 and BBC2,
reports the national Press Association.
In the 168 hours of television the group
monitored, only 38 minutes were devoted to gay people.
Of that amount of time, 32 minutes were considered to
be derogatory or offensive, leaving only six minutes of
positive portrayals.
The group also criticized various BBC television
hosts for their antigay remarks, including Anne
Robinson of The WeakestLink, who it said often makes fun of her
contestants by using gay innuendos.
"The BBC rarely challenges homophobia and
consistently allows its presenters to perpetuate
negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men and gay
sexuality," the report said, adding that gay men and
lesbians contribute some £190 million a year to
the network in licensing fees.
The BBC said the report considered only a narrow
sample of programming between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. each
day, adding that had it looked at a longer time
period across all of its outlets, it would have come to a
different conclusion: "We believe the researchers would have
found a great deal of richness and diversity in our
output across television, radio, and online throughout
the eight weeks they examined." (Advocate.com)
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