This was a key reason that the LGBTQ+ community is a group highlighted in the Paramount “In America” series, which includes Black In America, Latinx In America and Asian In America. As Karen Vega, Paramount’s, Vice President, Audience Impact & Intelligence – Marketing and Operations shared, the “In America” series is part of an overarching “Content For Change” initiative which has been set to ensure change but also measure impact.
The idea was to not take a traditional approach to research but to truly understand the “lived experiences” of traditionally marginalized communities. The team had subjects share personal stories and looked at how historical circumstances have led to present-day behaviors.
But traditionally marginalized is just part of the story. For trans people in particular, there is an acute and significant amount of discrimination happening at the moment. And the media isn’t helping in many cases. Bellon also goes on to say that anti-trans murders don’t get as much attention as they probably should. All told, there have been 43 minutes spent on coverage of trans-related murders on the news. And that means there are more incidents that occur than minutes spent covering those incidents.
“Talking about the shared experiences of growing up LGBTQ+, and it differs, depending on your family’s level of acceptance, their religion, where you grow up, the community… but there’s a lot of shared experiences that we have as people that connect us.”
Stating that although it is widely claimed that those that identify as LGBTQ+ comprises 7% of the American population- as noted above, the entire community accounts for much more. Bellon noted statistics that 70% of heterosexuals have a connection with someone who identifies as LGBTQ+ so much so that they note that they “care and love” that person. Friends, family members, colleagues and allies add up, “the network becomes so much bigger.” Thus prioritizing the LGBTQ+ community can affect a significant portion of the population.
