Gay Characters-Exit Stage Left

With the advances in social awareness over the last few years it would seem that the public is becoming more comfortable with alternative lifestyles. However, a study done by GLAAD uncovers that the depiction of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered characters on network television has gone down from last season. According to the Associated Press, there are five shows that have gay main or supporting characters and four out of the five come from ABC. The shows that take up residence on the alphabet network are "Ugly Betty," "Brothers and Sisters," "Desperate Housewives" and the midseason show "Cashmere Mafia." The other show is NBC's "The Office." There are seven regularly seen gay characters in the 2007-2008 season, which is down from nine last season and 10 the year before that.

"While we acknowledge there have been improvements made in how we are seen on the broadcast networks, most notably on ABC, our declining representation clearly indicates a failure to inclusively reflect the audience watching television," GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano said in a statement.

Although the trend is downward, for networks it seems that there is an increase in recurring characters who are gay, which would mean that writers are warming to the idea of incorporation, but are hesitant to put all their eggs in one basket. Most of the shows featuring gay main or supporting characters were at one time recurring and moved up to full season regulars. Also, the study showed that there is an increase in the appearance of gay characters on cable networks like Showtime and HBO.