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GLAAD responds to E!'s special Keeping Up with the Kardashians: About Bruce
On Sunday, GLAAD responded to E!'s special Keeping Up with the Kardashians: About Bruce. "When a person transitions, their family and loved ones go through their own journey to acceptance," said Nick Adams, GLAAD's Director of Programs, Transgender Media. "In these specials, Jenner's family allowed viewers a glimpse of what that process sometimes looks like. As more families learn about what it means to be transgender, hopefully more trans people will find love and acceptance from those closest to them." At the end of Part One and Part Two of the specials, E! directed viewers to the resources from GLAAD's Transgender Media Program. The resources include information on transgender people and the issues important to them, tips on how to be an ally to a trans person, resources for media professionals writing stories, and updates about all of GLAAD's work on transgender issues. GLAAD also previously released a tip sheet for journalists on how to report fairly and accurately about Jenner's transition. Since the E! specials focused so much on the family's reactions, GLAAD partnered with PFLAG to direct viewers to materials for friends and family of transgender people. On Monday and Tuesday, Nick Adams appeared on E! News to talk about how the issues raised in the specials relate to the real lived experiences of other trans people and their families. Read more here.
GLAAD works with Malaysia advocates on LGBT advocacy
GLAAD hosted Ms. Fifa Rahman, the manager of the Malaysian AIDS Council, as a part of the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program. GLAAD was able to hear about the HIV work, as well as the current state of LGBT advocacy in Malaysia. Both face considerable challenges, given low cultural acceptance, and opposition from leaders within the country. GLAAD was able to provide resources and contacts, and we look forward to continuing our work with all those advocating for the acceptance of LGBT people in Malaysia. This work is part of GLAAD's Global Voices Program, which works to accelerate LGBT acceptance across the globe.
GLAAD amplifies the voices of LGBT people in the Latino community
GLAAD's Director of Spanish-Language & Latino Media Monica Trasandes& Strategist Janet Quezada wrote a piece for the Spanish-language outlet The Huffington Post Voces about how the GLAAD Media Awards incorporated the Latino community. The team included examples of celebrities that participated in GLAAD's #Atulado campaign, which aims to amplify the voices of LGBT people and allies in the Latino community. The article also provided an overview of all of the GLAAD Media Awards winners and why their work this past year helped to accelerate acceptance for LGBT people in the Latino community. Read more here.
GLAAD's Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen receives award in Miami for transgender advocacy work
GLAAD's Donor Services Coordinator Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen received an award from the organization SAVE in Florida for his advocacy on behalf of the transgender community. GLAAD's Director of Spanish-Language & Latino Media Monica Trasandes and Strategist Janet Quezada also coordinated interviews in Miami for Heng-Lehtinen with CNN en Español's Realidades en Contexto, Telemundo's popular morning show Un Nuevo Día, and others. In these interviews, Heng-Lehtinen discussed his experience as a trans man, the level of discrimination the transgender community faces, and his mother's support. Through these interviews, Heng-Lehtinen taught viewers about transgender people's realities by sharing his own story and citing GLAAD's information and resources.
GLAAD monitors LGBT-inclusive shows on broadcast TV to write upcoming report
The five broadcast networks – ABC, CBS, The CW, FOX, NBC – held their annual upfronts events last week to present the upcoming fall and midseason lineups to press and advertisers. During this week, the networks also reveal which of their series will be renewed for new seasons or cancelled. While broadcast will be losing several LGBT-inclusive shows, the networks have also renewed a good number of inclusive series and ordered some exciting new content as well. GLAAD's full Where We Are on TV report will be released in the fall, in which GLAAD analyzes the overall diversity of primetime scripted series regulars on these broadcast networks and looks at the number of LGBT characters on cable networks for the upcoming TV season. Read more here.
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