Arts & Entertainment
Study finds LGBT inequality ‘entrenched’ in Hollywood
only one transgender character found in 2015
Cate Blanchett as the title character in Todd Haynes’ ‘Carol.’ (Photo courtesy Weinstein Productions)
A new study has found rampant inequality in Hollywood for LGBT people, women and minorities.
Los Angeles Times reports the Media, Diversity and Social Change Initiative at University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism released a study on Wednesday that assessed actors, directors and writers in mainstream films from 2007 through 2015.
The study showed LGBT characters make up less than one percent of speaking parts or 32 out of 35,205 characters. In 2014 there were no transgender characters, but the number increased to one in 2015.
LGBT character representation increased in 2015, but only two characters were depicted as parents.
The study also found that there was a ratio of 2.2 men with speaking roles for every woman making females 31.4 percent of speaking characters in 2015. The numbers were estimated to be about the same back in 2007.
The number of black, Latino and Asian characters also did not significantly increase from 2007 to 2015 with 12 percent black, five percent Latino and four percent Asian characters found.
“We’re seeing entrenched inequality,” Professor Stacy Smith, the study’s author, said about the findings. “Whether we’re studying gender, race, ethnicity, LGBT or characters with disabilities, we’re really seeing exclusionary forces leaving out anybody that’s not a straight, white, able-bodied man. Despite all the chatter and all the activism and all the press attention, it’s another year where the status quo has been maintained.”
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
HIV/AIDS group NMAC is ‘destabilized’ and in financial crisis: sources
Madonna announces release date for new album
Senegalese court issues first conviction under new anti-LGBTQ law
Evan Glass is leaning on his record. Is that enough for Montgomery County’s top job?
D.C. bar, LGBTQ+ Community Center to mark Lesbian Visibility Week
An effort to increase the number of psychiatrists of color
Comings & Goings
Trump budget targets ‘gender extremism’
Minimal version of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ heading to Dupont Underground
