GLAAD
GLAAD (/ɡlæd/[1]) is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization. Originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals in the media and entertainment industries, it has since included bisexual and transgender people.
Not to be confused with GLAD.Founded
1985 (as Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)
- Vito Russo
- Jewelle Gomez
- Lauren Hinds
Discrimination in media
- New York City, New York, U.S.
- Los Angeles, California, U.S.
United States
Sarah Kate Ellis (President)
Movements[edit]
GLAAD has begun the Together Movement, which encourages all to join in support of those discriminated against including women, Muslims, immigrants and members of the LGBTQ+ community.[20]
In 2010, GLAAD launched Spirit Day. Spirit Day is an annual national day of action to show LGBTQ youth that they are not alone.[21]
In 2016, Spirit Day was the world's largest and most visible anti-bullying campaign.[21] The campaign works to bring anti-bullying resources to classrooms all around the world by inspiring educators to take action against bullying through hosting events and rallies. The campaign also created a GLAAD's Spirit Day kit for use in classrooms, which is available in 6 languages.[21]
On social media, people are encouraged to wear purple or go purple online in order to stand united against bullying. Large media companies such as NBC Universal and Viacom show support for Spirit Day on the airwaves, and change their on-air logo to purple for the day. They also enlist people who wear purple during the day's broadcast.[21] The hashtag #Spirit Day has become a trending topic on Twitter and Facebook every year. On social media, people such as Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres and President Barack Obama have shown their support for the campaign.[21]
Media consultation[edit]
GLAAD has at times worked with companies and studios in a consultative role to help with the depiction of LGBT characters and themes in specific projects. In 2004, Fox provided GLAAD with an advance copy of their reality television special Seriously, Dude, I'm Gay for review. Upon review of the special, GLAAD condemned it as "an exercise in systematic humiliation."[22] The special was shelved only hours before a scheduled meeting between GLAAD and Fox entertainment president Gail Berman to discuss the network's on-air depictions of gay men.[23] Ray Giuliani, an executive producer of Seriously, Dude, I'm Gay, largely attributed the special's cancellation to pressures that Fox faced from GLAAD.[24] Following the cancellation of the special, Fox organized another meeting with GLAAD for discussion over how to improve their on-air representations of the LGBT community.[25] Following the cancellation of Seriously, Dude, I'm Gay the executive producers of the TBS series He's a Lady consulted GLAAD for review of the transgender representation in their own program.[26]
The crossover fighting game Street Fighter X Tekken, developed by Japanese video game developer and publisher Capcom, was released in 2012.[27] The game features Poison, who is a transgender woman, as a playable character.[28] Capcom worked closely with GLAAD on the game's script[29] to ensure they do not "alienate anybody" in regard to Poison's representation, and "anything that might be offensive has been very tailored to not be".[30]
Tell Me Why is an episodic narrative adventure game developed by French studio Dontnod Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios in 2020.[31] The game focuses on twin siblings Alyson and Tyler Ronan, who is a transgender man.[31] Tell Me Why was the first Triple-A game to feature a transgender protagonist.[32] GLAAD helped in creating Tyler's character,[33] with the game's director Florent Guillaume described GLAAD as "invaluable" in developing Tyler's character and making him a "realistic hero".[32] GLAAD's director of transgender representation Nick Adams served as consultant who, amongst other areas, helped ensure that Tyler would be played by a trans actor; August Black.[31] Adams described authentic representations of trans people in media as a "powerful tool for acceptance and understanding".[34]
The third season of Young Justice consulted GLAAD on the subject of representing minority characters and narratives.[35]
