[3] There have been both positive and negative representations of gay people across popular media, including film, television, literature, press, etc.
[6] Namibian LGBTQ organization The Rainbow Project has broadcast the radio show Talking Pink in the country since 1999.
In 1982, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence published Play Fair!, a brochure about safe sex for gay men.
In 1981, the lesbian feminist S/M organisation Samois, based in San Francisco, published the anthology Coming to Power.
Gay characters in this time period were represented very negatively, whether that meant they were dangerous and suicidal, or predatory and violent.
Examples of such movies include The Children's Hour, The Boys in the Band, Midnight Express, and Vanishing Point.
[3] In 1977, American director Arthur J. Bressan Jr. released Gay USA, thought to be the first documentary by and about LGBTQ people.
In the 1990s, films that included LGBTQ themes, such as The Birdcage, Philadelphia, To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Flawless and In & Out were quite popular.
[citation needed] 2005, Brokeback Mountain grossed over $178 million[13] and in 2017, Moonlight won the Academy Award for Best Picture along with Actor in a Supporting Role and Adapted Screenplay.
According to Helene Shugart, writing in Critical Studies in Media Communication, homosexuality is recoded and modified in these films to approve sexism and heteronormativity.
[23] In the 1980s, LGBTQ public access programs spoke frankly about the HIV/AIDS crisis, sharing information and educating viewers on the disease.
[24] After this, there was an increase in shows that included recurring gay characters such as Will & Grace, Dawson's Creek, Spin City, ER, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Nightline, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Queer as Folk, The Young and Restless, Ugly Betty and Glee.
Reality TV shows have also frequently represented openly gay people, such as MTV's The Real World, CBS's Survivor and The Amazing Race.
[citation needed] In recent years, there has been a notable increase in the portrayal of LGBTQ+ characters and storylines across a wide range of television genres.