Watch this film for context on how the anti-trans backlash could affect entertainment media
While there seems to be very little agreement about how Donald Trump managed to pull off another election victory, one thing seems certain: ads attacking transgender rights were central to the GOP’s strategy down the homestretch. Republicans – led by Trump’s campaign – spent an astonishing quarter of a billion dollars on ads attacking transgender rights during the 2024 election cycle.¹
While it’s still unclear whether this accelerating backlash against transgender rights had any measurable impact on how people voted, observers of the entertainment industry are already debating its potential impact on the kinds of stories and characters we’ll be seeing in Hollywood movies and TV shows.
Some are predicting a radical narrowing of LGBTQ representations and storylines in entertainment media. “If the analogy is a five-alarm fire, this is a 15-alarm fire,” TransLash Media founder Imara Jones told The Wrap. “You’re going to see a big impact for sure. It is hard for people to imagine the scale of the challenges and the scale of the crackdown that we’re going to see on trans identity.”
Other industry observers are predicting exactly the opposite. “I’m actually already seeing a backlash to the backlash, on cable news and among my friends,” John Griffiths, the founder of the LGBTQ critics organization GALECA, told The Wrap. “At least when it comes to the focus on trans issues and representation.”²
If you’re looking for a classroom resource to help explore the larger context at work here – especially the back-and-forth swings between increasing LGBTQ visibility and the accelerating cultural and political backlash against LGBTQ rights – don’t miss media scholar Katherine Sender’s timely and acclaimed new documentary Beyond the Straight and Narrow.
Featuring scores of media clips and incisive analysis from leading scholars, journalists, actors, and activists, Beyond the Straight and Narrow untangles the cultural, economic, and technological forces that have helped open up space for queer and transgender TV representations over the past few years. At the same time, the film considers the real-world implications of this new media landscape, setting it against the backdrop of an accelerating right-wing backlash against LGBTQ visibility in our electoral politics, schools, athletics, and public spaces.
Along the way, Beyond the Straight and Narrow shines invaluable light on the political economy of mass media, the systemic and social forces that shape media representations, and long-fought battles over who gets to exist in our national imagination.
Beyond the Straight and Narrow is now available to purchase in a variety of formats.
(1) “Trump and Republicans Bet Big on Anti-Trans Ads Across the Country,” by Shane Goldmacher, New York Times, Oct. 8, 2024.
(2) “Pro-Trump forces flood airwaves with ads attacking Harris over past transgender stances,” by Steve Contorno and David Wright, CNN.com, Oct. 18, 2024.
PRAISE FOR BEYOND THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW
“The previous Straight and Narrow films established a gold standard for educational docs, and true to its title, Beyond the Straight and Narrow is even better. A wonderful addition to your classroom and/or viewing queue, it ranges across a huge number of LGBTQ+ representations with commanding brilliance, incisive commentary, and a refreshingly welcome focus on intersectional depictions.”
— Jonathan Gray | Hamel Family Distinguished Chair in Communication Arts, University of Wisconsin – Madison
“Beyond the Straight and Narrow does an excellent job of exploring how LGBTQ representation in [a] complex and ever-changing world has often shifted for the better, and how it is at once empowering and yet still so fragile across multiple media domains.”
— Yasmin Nair | Writer, Activist, Academic, and co-founder of the radical queer editorial collective Against Equality
“Beautifully explains how mainstream media functions, and for whom. If you want to genuinely, accurately understand queer images today watch [this film].”
— Michael Bronski | Professor of the Practice in Activism and Media Studies of Women, Gender and Sexuality at Harvard University and author of A Queer History of the United States
“Richly entertaining as well as informative, Beyond the Straight and Narrow weaves together a complicated account of progress and remaining limitations.”
— Amanda Lotz | Professor at Queensland University and author of The Television Will Be Revolutionized
“Nuanced … Makes clear that we cannot assume that mainstream representation of LGBTQ people simply improves over time or that we can take any gains seen for granted.”
— Adrienne Shaw | Associate Professor of Media Studies and Production at Temple University
“Offers an outstanding compendium of television and streaming shows featuring queer, bisexual, gay, lesbian, trans and nonbinary characters and content, accessibly framed by experts in queer media studies….Will be of great use to secondary school educators as well as those in media studies and LGBTQ+ studies at more advanced levels.”
— Finn Enke | Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies, History, LGBTQ+ Studies at University of Wisconsin, Madison
“Taking us on a journey through fictional dramas, reality shows, children’s cartoons, web series, and telenovelas, Beyond the Straight and Narrow proceeds with hope and caution to offer an absorbing take on the complex historical development [of LGBTQ representation].”
— Lukas Szulc | Senior Lecturer in Digital Media and Culture at the University of Manchester
“Television, historically so suppressive of and hostile towards LGBTQ representations, is now swimming with them. Compelling and entertaining, Beyond the Straight and Narrow offers a clear-eyed, smart, and nuanced account of how we got here and why it matters.”
— Joshua Gamson | Professor of Sociology at University of San Francisco and author of Freaks Talk Back: Tabloid Talk Shows and Sexual Nonconformity
