Just over a year ago, I volunteered to chair the Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Working Group at the 主播大秀 and shortly thereafter,听听into the听.听
As the most comprehensive piece of research ever carried out in this area by the 主播大秀 and perhaps any other media organisation, it was not without trepidation that I took on this project. The portrayal of LGB audiences can be a polarising issue for many but I have a strong belief in the importance of fully understanding all of our audiences and in turn reflecting and celebrating that diversity in all the content that we make and broadcast. That is the reason why we commissioned this study and why in the past two years we have also commissioned studies and research on disability and how our audiences outside of London feel that are represented across 主播大秀 television, radio and online.
The 主播大秀 worked with research companies 2CV and Kanter Media to develop this study and we interviewed or surveyed 2,000 people from across the UK. To ensure that all voices and views were heard, we talked and listened not only to lesbian, gay and bisexual people - those who are already out, those who have just come out and those who were still dealing with the challenges and fears about their own sexual identity - but also heterosexual people. And again we subdivided - heterosexual people who were comfortable with portrayal; heterosexual people with children of various ages and people who were uncomfortable with any portrayal at all.
All of the participants of this nationally representative sample were given the same stimulus - both video and audio clips of content from a range of broadcasters - and were asked the same questions covering a broad range of topics. These included the level of portrayal, authenticity, humour and language, intimacy, talent and genre. We complemented this substantial study with a public consultation online, which took place online and yielded 9,400 responses. We published the full results of both the research and consultation online.
We've published the full听, so I won't detail each and every finding here, but to paint a broad picture let me begin by saying that many of the people who participated were surprised with the level and quality of existing portrayal across both the 主播大秀's services and that of other broadcasters. The 主播大秀 fares relatively well with its portrayal of LGB people, but there is certainly more to be done. We also found that the clear majority of the UK population are either comfortable with, or do not feel strongly either way about, the portrayal of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people.
Naturally, we found that lesbian, gay and bisexual audiences want to see more, and greater diversity within portrayal. We also learned that context is critical to how all audiences perceive the portrayal of LGB people and that intimacy, both emotional and physical, is the primary concern for people who are uncomfortable with LGB portrayal.
This project was not about creating a shopping list, or ticking boxes with our content but there are clear commitments we are taking from this study. First and foremost the 主播大秀 has a commitment to achieve accurate and authentic portrayal across all our services. To that end we have already begun to share this research with content teams across the 主播大秀. They need to be aware of the opportunities for both incidental portrayal that reflects LGB audiences in everyday life and more overt, landmark content and have the confidence to reflect the diverse audiences around them. What this research will do is provide the confidence, knowledge and foundation to ensure that creatively - and if it is appropriate in terms of the context and the genre - that LGB inclusion is considered and if it is included that it is authentic. We also commit to review progress following this research and consultation in two years. And finally, the 主播大秀 Working Group, of which I am Chair, will monitor on an ongoing basis the implementation of these recommendations on behalf of the 主播大秀 Diversity Board.
I want to thank each and every one of the participants across the UK for their time and candour and I look forward to updating you further on our progress in the portrayal of LGB audiences on the 主播大秀.
Tim Davie is the 主播大秀's Director of Audio and Music
This year, as part of the 主播大秀's diversity strategy, we carried out research and consultation on the portrayal of lesbian, gay and bisexual people across broadcast media including the 主播大秀.听.
See the听听on the Gay Rights movement.
Read Tim Davie's听听on the 主播大秀.
听