How are LGBT+ characters represented on Video-on-Demand platforms?

Abstract

In recent years the consumption of audiovisuals on video-on-demand platforms has grown exponentially. Paul Julian Smith (2017) highlighted the impressive impact and cultural richness of the Spanish TV industry, which has seen its content become widely popular on a global scale due to the rise of video-on-demand platforms. At the same time, the study of the representation of LGBT+ characters has also gained interest, shifting the focus from what percentage of characters are LGBT+ to the study of how these characters are represented. Multiple studies (e.g., Madzarevic & Soto-Sanfiel, 2019; Rössler & Brosius, 2001; Schiappa et al., 2006) have found evidence supporting the positive impact of audiovisual media on attitudes towards homosexuality. Exposure to “positive” representation of gay and lesbian characters has also been shown to decrease prejudice and influence the formation of identities (Gomillion & Giuliano, 2011; Meyer, 2003). However, further research is needed in this field to build a more comprehensive understanding, especially in VOD which is a relatively new phenomenon. This study aims to study how LGBT+ characters are represented in Original Spanish Video-on-Demand Series. For this study, a content analysis was conducted on a random episode of each of the 38 Original Spanish video-on-demand series produced in Spain between 2020 and 2021. A team of 9 researchers coded the sociodemographic and psychological characteristics of 749 characters (43.9% female). Regarding the percentage of LGBT+ characters compared to the percentage of LGBT+ people in the general population, we can say no underrepresentation was found in the percentage of trans characters. Despite of this, all the characters were trans-female. Moreover, there is an underrepresentation of non-heterosexual characters: only 4% of the characters have been coded as non-heterosexual when it is estimated that in the general Spanish population it is 10%. Moreover, among the nonheterosexual people, 63% were gay-cis-man, thus making other types of realities invisible. In terms of how these characters are represented, in trans-female characters we found that they were more hypersexualised and had more health problems. In this sense, trans women are also the recipients of more violence, and the perpetrators of violence tend to be cis-men. In terms of sexual orientation, we found fewer differences. Specifically, we found that heterosexual characters had fewer conversations about family than non-heterosexual characters. In conclusion, we found that there is still an underrepresentation of trans-male and LGB+ characters in video-on-demand series. Furthermore, the representation of non-heterosexual characters is basically focused on gay-cismale characters. It is important to note that in terms of how these characters are represented, we did find important differences between trans-female characters but not in terms of the sexual orientation of the people.

Publication
IAMCR 2023 Lyon