Contrary to what Hollywood wants its audience to believe, when it comes to the LGBTQ community, things are not getting better: in fact, on the train of diversity, LGBTQ artists are not allowed to hop on. Every year, GLAAD reports bring to everybody’s attention the lack and the struggle for LGBTQ representation, especially on the big screen and every year, accordingly, I can’t help but wonder: does it really start with representation? Is LGBTQ representation the first goal to aim at when there’s barely any LGBTQ employment? Personally, it feels reductive to blindly focus our attention on representation, whether it’s us asking for it or maniacally looking for it on every piece of art we’re being offered on a daily basis.

Metaphorically speaking, representation is just like a 2 years old baby: they’re simply not going to feed themselves unless somebody feeds them with a spoon, and these babies rarely trust the spoon that is feeding them unless they trust who is handing them the spoon. If you apply the same scenario to LGBQT representation, you’ll notice the similarities: somebody feeds us pieces of work with LGBTQ characters in it and if we trust who is behind the work, we swallow it but in most cases, we’re forced to eat what we’re being fed and quickly digest it without really stopping for a minute and take a critical look at it.

Who is feeding us LGBTQ representation? Who is not to trust? The answer is the same for both: STRAIGHT PEOPLE. That’s a fact, not just my opinion: 90% of the movies that are being put out there with some LGBTQ representation in it, are being served to us through the lens of straight people, addressing LGBTQ themes in an era where diversity is slowly shaping our culture and society as a whole, leading to new spaces where, hopefully, artists (that are not exactly straight white men) can flourish and succeed. Unfortunately, that is not happening with LGBTQ people. LGBTQ artists exist, they’re out there but they’re just not allowed to have a platform where they can succeed with telling stories beloging to our community. No matter how many conversations about diversity are happening out there, there’s never a seat for LGBTQ people at these tables.

What’s so upsetting is that these straight directors/producers/writers/actors have the time to go around building their image as LGBTQ allies but not a single minute to show their allyship through concrete actions. I won’t name names but how many actors-turned-producers advocate for more diversity but end up financing and working on projects written, directed and starring the same four straight men? I know a few of them, saldy. Or even worse, in my opinion, how many times a straight director takes on an LGBTQ story to write and produce because he believes in telling LGBTQ stories but there’s not a single LGBTQ artist involved in it? And when they’re included, they’re basically extra roles being promoted as key parts to the movie just to cover the appriopriation of the story, like with movies such as BOY ERASED? How many times a straight actor has to go out there to defend the casting of straight actors for LGBTQ actors with dumb statements like recently with Cate Blanchett, when the real issue is: why only straight actors are allowed to play everything while lgbtq actors are not even given the chance to audition for roles we should have a better understanding of? The truth is that LGBTQ people can be their friends, their families, their make-up artists, their hairdressers but nothing more than that. The truth is that Hollywood is trying to build a progressive image of itself on the backs of marginalized groups, sucking the life out of their stories without never really offer them a platform. They want our stories but not us. They seek our pain but not our tears. They ask for our pictures but not our photographers. They want our shoes but not our footprints. They need something from us but not somebody from our community.

What I really believe is that in order to provide LGBTQ representation, we should employ LGBTQ artists. Both behind and in front of the camera, we need to give jobs to LGBTQ artists, give them the same shot straight white men get every single time. EMPLOY LGBTQ ARTISTS AND WE’LL HAVE A MORE DIVERSE LANDSCAPE IN MEDIA, ONE THAT FEELS LIKE US… FOR REAL.

Domenico Russo