Today is the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, a day dedicated to combating these toxic forces of bigotry around the world.
This
is something we’re extremely dedicated to and we believe that one of
the prime methods of challenging homophobia and transphobia - or any
prejudice - has to be through the media. No matter how many laws we
pass, if our media continues to spread messages of hate and
stereotyping, we will never be integrated into society. Media shapes our
culture, media shapes our prejudices, media perpetuates the bigotries
of our societies. We cannot talk about acceptance and respect if the
books we read and the television we watch continues to push the same
contempt, erasure
and stereotyping. We cannot talk about GBLT people as valued, equal
members of society if we continually decide their stories are not worth
telling, if we continue to put their characters in the same limited
roles and if we continue to spread hatred and derision through the media
we consume every day.
Recognising
the impact media has on our opinions of marginalised people and how
they are portrayed in the media means we are forced to criticise how
GBLT people are represented - in those few instances when they are. This
is something we have done frequently on Fangs and will continue to do
so in the future.
Other very relevant posts: