A quick look through popular media platforms and recent films would suggest a growing acceptance LGBTQ+ people across the United States. Certainly blatant discrimination exists still in more conservative and religious regions, but social attitudes overall appear to be opening up. In fact, most major streaming services such as Netflix or Hulu now include a special category of media characterized by its depiction of LGBTQ+ stories. However a closer look at this media reveals an interesting story: most of those queer characters are portrayed by straight and/or cisgender actors. Popular films featuring queer individuals such as “Carol”, “The Danish Girl”, “Call Me By Your Name”, “Moonlight”, “Love Simon”, and “Rocketman” are all prime examples of this phenomenon. This issue is not limited to just Hollywood however. In the recent film adaptation of the Broadway hit “The Prom” James Cordon portrays a gay man in a excessively flamboyant performance that has been described by some as “gayface.” Perhaps most ironic of all, the straight actor Sean Penn received an Oscar for Best Actor after his portrayal of the famous gay rights activist Harvey Milk in “Milk.” Now this is not to say that each of these films are terrible or poorly made — many audiences queer and straight alike love these films deeply for their representation and quality. But it can’t be disputed that something is lost in the process of making a story without authenticity. The site Pride.com sums up the issue perfectly: Hollywood loves queer stories, but apparently not queer actors.
So clearly the issue America has with its LGBTQ+ population is not with the stories themselves — these films are award winning and blockbuster sellouts. But why are these films being made, time and again, by people whose own experiences do not reflect that of their characters? The now controversial topic has received a lot of attention in recent years as several straight and cis actors have pledged to stay away from queer roles. But the dialogue around the issue within the acting industry remains heated. Many claim it is merely “another role” and an invaluable experience at that to portray a life so different from one’s own. This view strikes me as naive at best; at worst a mockery of the real trauma and devastating discrimination many LGBTQ+ people continue to face, not to mention the ever growing number of attacks against Black trans women. As long as queer identities are oppressed and targeted, queer roles will never just be “another role” for the actor selected. These films must be made to further liberation for us all and to continue to change the narrative around conformity and acceptance.
Hollywood has an opportunity in this moment to strive towards creating real social change. I hope they take it.