Motivational Mondays!

Motivational Mondays!

This blog will be updated every Monday with posts on certain LGBT characters that I feel were represented great throughout the previous week. This person could be from television, movies, or books. It just depends on what really jumps out at me.

The LGBT community is in dire need now more than ever to be represented on all different forms of media. They go through so much with current politics and lack of representation, they are bound to have some positive light in the dark world currently. I’m glad to be able to show how such representation can help the community through rough times.

This week’s motivational representation goes to: Oliver Hampton played by Conrad Ricamora. How to Get Away with Murder.

Now Oliver isn’t one of main actors on the show, but he is a very important part of the success. Without his involvement, there would be no character growth for the other main gay character, Connor Walsh. What stands out about Oliver is that he was always out and proud, which is something that I really love to see. He never doubted his sexuality, even when he did test positive for HIV.

What I focused on while watching this past week’s episode was how successful they portray him on the show, even after losing his job. Instead of staying down and just doing a standard IT job, which is his speciality, he decided to shoot for success with opening his own IT firm. With all the odds stacked against him, he didn’t care. He went for it. What didn’t matter? His sexuality, which I think is absolutely outstanding.

What How to Get Away With Murder does is have a relationship that is supportive of each other. They do so happen to be both male, but that really doesn’t effect their stories or people in the show. It is just like all the straight couples that grace the screen. I really love the representation of that. Not making a big deal is absolutely a big thing, so kudos to the show. If you haven’t, look into viewing this show. It has really great LGBT representation!

There is a blog called Invisible Bi Characters that I’ve recently found that points out hidden bisexual characters in shows and media. If you are interested, check it out!

Comment, let me know what you think about this character or even let me know what character representation that you’ve seen throughout the week that you think is motivational! I look forward to hearing from you. I will see you next Monday!

Photo source: ScreamKween

Picture of the Day

When looking at this picture, it could mean so much to any individual who takes time to actually think about it. Life can be crazy at times, and there could be difficult paths one may face when living. That person is going to have to take a step back, gather all the surroundings around them in order to make the decision on whether or not to continue forward on or down another path completely.

The media, when it comes to the LGBT representation, has to go down these paths in order to figure out what is needed or what isn't needed in society today. Sometimes the paths that are taken are absolutely correct and it is a spectacular representation. Whereas, one the other side, a bad path chosen can lead to people being offended or even hurt. This could make or break the show, movie, or book. This is why deliberation on paths chosen for characters need to be sought and planned out no matter how great the idea may sound like at the time.

I think that it is really important when deciding any decision in life to deliberate, especially when it pertains to affecting others in such an important way. One wrong move, a lot of people’s feelings can be hurt. It could absolutely make or break something that has the makings of great success or a great failure.

Some may believe in something different, or even see something different when looking at this image. Let me know what you feel about the paths taken in life and media that can affect people in big and little ways.

Image credit: jesuscm

About Gay Representation in Media

The society that we live in is constantly changing. Twenty years ago, the LGBT community was not able to have the proper representation in the media like those who are straight. They were focused to be be quiet about themselves. As the years have gone on, the representation for those who have different views from others have been growing substantially. Across all different forms of media, the community is being represented. According to GLAAD, 43 series regulars in TV shows identified as LGBT. It may not be a lot, but they are being represented. It is my job to scope them out.

This blog is to celebrate and honor what those representations mean and how they come across. Is the character being portrayed correctly? What could the show/movie/song do different in order to help support the LGBT community more or less? Is the representation too much? Too fake? Not real enough? Cliche? All of these are questions that will be answered and discussed in this blog. It is important to make sure those who want to be able to view certain aspects, like a gay or lesbian character being used as a main character, able to see what they should be looking into in order to experience the media portrayal.

Growing up I never really thought much about the LGBT community because I never had to experience it. When I got to junior high was when it hit me full force. I moved to a new school and the first person I friended was a closeted boy. We grew close, and I could see how important it was for him to feel like he wasn't different or less important than those around us. I supported him my whole high school career. He also taught me so much about the community and how unfair it was in many different aspects. I spent my whole high school career demanding rights for those who did categorize under any category different than straight. I have done so much research on the subject as well. Every opportunity I had in order to do Power Points, speeches, and papers about gay rights, I was right there doing all the work that needed to be done in order to get my point across. I have been successful in changing many's minds because of this.

This blog is another reason to be able to help those who aren't educated or unsure on the subject get informed. This is something I find a lot of interest in too, because searching for media portrayals of LGBT is something that I like to do when deciding on what new show or movie to watch. As always, it is so important for these representations to be celebrated, so that way more and more can be created for the media in the future.

I'd love to hear from others what their thoughts are on this subject. What do they like or not like? Do you agree or disagree with more representation being shown? Let me know what you think!