A new study commissioned by the American Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Screen and Radio Actors has found that LGBTI actors in Hollywood still face considerable discrimination.
The survey sought the opinion of over 5,600 union members and found that a third of those who were gay or lesbian had witnessed ‘disrespectful’ treatment, a similar number of non gay/lesbian performers had also witness unfair treatment of gay and lesbian workers.
Nearly half of gay and lesbian performers and twenty seven percent of bisexual respondents ‘strongly agreed’ that producers thought LGBTI actors were less marketable.
While two thirds of respondents noted that playing a gay character had not lead to type casting or a reduction in opportunities, nine percent of actors who are LGBTI reported that they had been turned down for roles because of their own sexuality.
Of the 5,692 participants, 465 identified as gay men, 61 as lesbians, and seven as transgender. Another 301 people described themselves as bisexual.
OIP Staff, image: YayMicro Porbital
