After the release of the Williams Institute’s study on discrimination of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender actors, does an actor share their gender expression or sexuality when asked?
Over the last few years, the entertainment industry has seen a growing presence of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender actors and characters in movies and on television.
[wp_charts title=”LGBT Series Regular Characters” type=”bar” align=”alignleft” width=”70%” scaleOverride=”true” scaleSteps=”5″ scaleStartValue=”0″ scaleStepWidth=”1″ datasets=”1.3,1.1,2.6,3,2.9,4.4,3.3″ labels=”2005-2006,2006-2007,2007-2008,2008-2009,2010-2011,2011-2012,2012-2013″]According to a recent report by GLAAD, the number of recurring characters in scripted prime time television has increased from just above 1% in 2006 to a record high of 4.4% in 2012. Although there was a decrease from 2012 to 2013 season, the trends lead towards an increase in number of LGBT characters. (GLAAD, Where We Are on TV Report 2013)
The trend in entertainment portrays a growing number of LGBT characters and actors. However the report by SAG-AFTRA and the Williams Institute, released in 2013, about discrimination for actors in the entertainment industry, shows that discrimination of LGBT actors remains prevalent in the entertainment industry.
According to the report, gender nonconforming gay and bisexual men, as well as men who were “Out” professionally, are more likely to experience discrimination.
An example of this happened in 2013. BET Networks hired B. Scott, the gender non-conforming blogger, as a style reporter on the red carpet of the BET Awards. During this appearance, BET removed B. Scott during the live broadcast because they were dressed too feminine. The dismissal of B. Scott during the awards show red carpet resulted in a $2.5 Million Lawsuit for “Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity/ Gender Expression and Sexual Orientation under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act.” B. Scott’s experience is aligned with that of the report.
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Diversity in Entertainment
Although B. Scott is fighting BET Networks over gender identity discrimination, this battle is not uncommon in the entertainment industry. Elise Collins, Producer at Tri-M Entertainment, was hired to work on Black Girls Rock. Collins is a masculine presenting female. Before she could take a flight to New York for the event, she met with an officer of the network. During this meeting, Collins was asked to “tone down” her appearance, wear a dress and makeup in order to have this job. This resulted in Collins stepping down from the position because of the uncomfortable position this meeting left her in.
Discrimination is not isolated to the entertainment industry. In 2011, Mia Macy applied to an opening at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. While still presenting as male, Macy was assured that she had the position, pending background check. After notifying the contractor responsible for hiring her about her transition, she was informed that they were no longer filling the position. Later in the year, Macy learned that the agency filled the position with someone else. This caused her to file an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint against the agency. The Macy v. Holder case resulted in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruling that Title VII cover gender-identity discrimination.
theater, and television” – Mark O’Connell
Prior to Macy v. Holder, the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity laws protect the citizens of the United States from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, age, and disability. At present, there are not any federal laws to protect people from workplace discrimination that specifically outlaws workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the private sector. However, organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD are lobbying for the passage of ENDA or the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
The purpose of ENDA is to expand on Title VII and include sexual orientation and gender identity. The passage of ENDA would make it illegal to refuse to hire or promote, fire, or harass an employee based on any of the attributes listed in Title VII, as well as sexual orientation and gender identity. The goal is to prevent cases similar to Glenn v. Brumby, a case where the employer deliberately terminated an employee because they were uncomfortable with the employee’s transition, from happening in the future.
Note: I reached out to members of GLAAD and Lambda Legal to discuss the impact of ENDA on the entertainment industry. When members of either organization comments, I will update this article.