Let’s not throw bells on the fly. Diversity and parity in fiction are still far from representing reality off screen. But not everything is (so) bad, since the upward progression of some percentages gives wings to optimism. This is what has happened in a hundred Spanish series and movies 2021 that the Observatory of Diversity in Audiovisual Media (ODA) has analyzed and whose data has been released by the Ministry of Equality. In total, the sample is made up of 51 films, 43 fiction series and 1,141 characters.
The lesbian kiss of ‘Lightyear’ is the exception: family cinema hides sexual diversity
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The bulk of the report focuses on LGTBI representation and in this case there is a slight advance to celebrate. If the previous year there were 7.1% of characters in the group, in 2021 that figure rose to 9.3%, with 106 characters. The text warns that most of them, 71, belong to the series. Of course, half are concentrated in only six series: Elite, Everything Else, The Boarding School: Las Cumbres, El Pueblo, HIT Y Tell me how it happened.
In cinema, more than two thirds of these roles are concentrated in three films –CUT!, Where Two Fit and Polyamory for Beginners–, “which confirms that the creation of LGBTIQ+ content is still highly polarized,” says ODA. It is fair to point out that the increase in the total percentage is facilitated by improvement on the big screen: from a representation of 11 characters it has gone to 35 characters in just one year.
The observatory has warned that, when an LGTBI character is introduced, “it is to give weight to the plot and explore its narrative possibilities.” In fact, 12.2% of the main characters are part of the group in movies and 16.4% in series.
Lesbian representation has tripled in cinema, with 9 representatives compared to three last year. Five of these women also have their own plot, while in the series they are 9 out of 15. “For too many decades we had to learn to accept ourselves with references like the neighbor of the fifth or wicked lesbians destined for a cruel death. We had to resign ourselves and live with silence in the infamous darkness of the closet”, she pointed out in the presentation. Boti G. Rodrigo, general director of Sexual Diversity and LGTBI Rights of the Ministry of Equality.
It also improves the presence of gay characters, who for the first time are similar in number to bisexuals, with the Bob Pop series standing out. lost fagot. There are 39 characters compared to 28 last year. For their part, there are 38 bisexuals and the majority are women, who concentrate 26 roles. However, the report criticizes that “the hypersexualization of women and the stereotypes of promiscuity are still very present” in them. They also highlight parallel mothersby Pedro Almodovar, and where two fit as good examples of inclusion of bisexuality.
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