TV Helped Change the Country’s View of LGBT Life

“As television has long been a pivotal platform for addressing controversial issues, it has engendered and reflected the strides made towards LGBT equality,” begins a Paley Center press release for their 2014 gala “celebrating television’s impact on LGBT equality,” says the announcement on their website.

The president and ceo of the Paley Center, Maureen Reddy, told Xfinity’s tv blog that

For over six decades, television’s depictions of the LGBT community have helped to change the country’s perceptions and increase its understanding of the challenges facing the LGBT community. There is tremendous momentum right now moving the country toward achieving full LGBT equality, and we felt it was the perfect time to recognize and celebrate the many creative leaders, programs and companies that have made history with groundbreaking roles and historic moments on television.

Asked about Norman Lear’s effect, she said,

“All in the Family” featured the first openly gay character on an American sitcom, and “The Jeffersons” featured the first Trans character on an American sitcom. Lear accomplished both of these milestones in the early to mid-1970’s, giving the LGBT community an incredible platform since both series were amongst the most popular on television at the time.

Someone with the time could write a useful story looking at the criticism of television for its promotion of homosexuality and the way that criticism was treated as if it were obviously untrue.