GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign, Advocates for Trans Equality and more than 40 other organizations submitted a public comment on Friday against a Federal Communications Commission proposal that could apply a warning label before family-focused shows that feature LGBTQ+ characters, arguing that such a move would be “unnecessary, unhelpful, and discriminatory.”
“Together, we affirm that depictions of LGBTQI+ identities, including specifically transgender and non-binary identities, belong in our television programs,” the groups wrote in a statement. “We believe that all people — including all LGBTQI+ youth — deserve to see themselves represented in the media. And we also believe that parents and guardians, not government regulators, should be the ones deciding what their children are able to watch.”
“Content warnings that specifically single out LGBTQI+ people, including transgender and non-binary people, or mentions of gender identity on screen are unnecessary, unhelpful and discriminatory,” the statement continued. “They do not serve to inform parents or guardians; they serve to further a strategic political agenda that has targeted a minority for exclusion from public view. Requiring a content warning based solely on the identity of a character establishes a dangerous precedent, and one with a troubling historical context.”
The notice comes after FCC chairman Brendan Carr launched an inquiry into TV ratings last month, questioning whether family-focused shows featuring LGBTQ+ characters were “promoting controversial issues in kids programming without providing any transparency or disclosures to parents.”
The investigation will consider whether the TV Oversight Management Board, the industry collective that oversees how television ratings are administered, has been transparent in its ratings process and whether it should introduce new ratings to indicate the inclusion of LGBTQ+ or gender identity themes.
Additional signatories on Friday’s open letter include the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, PFLAG National, PEN America and the Committee for the First Amendment.
“This government overreach is dangerous and a threat to our community and our democracy,” GLAAD president/CEO Sarah Kate Ellis added in a separate statement. “LGBTQ people and their families deserve to see their lives represented in the media they watch. And media companies must have the freedom to create programming that appeals to their viewers and subscribers without interference from a government pursuing its own anti-LGBTQ political agenda.”
The groups’ comments were submitted ahead of the FCC’s Friday night deadline, while the public can then reply up until June 22. The FCC did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
