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4 LGBTQ+ Tropes that Hollywood Needs to Abandon
Four harmful tropes I wouldn’t mind never seeing again
I’ve previously written about the problematic female and male tropes that plague modern-day movies and TV shows, but these aren’t the only people who get a bad rap. There are a lot of other marginalized groups that get an unfair portrayal in the media — especially the LGBTQ+ community. Here are five problematic LGBTQ tropes that Hollywood needs to throw in the garbage:
1. “The Gay Best Friend”
The GBF is one of those tropes that isn’t just tired — it’s exhausted. From Stanford Blatch’s character on Sex and the City to Kurt Hummel on Glee, we’ve been watching gay men take the backseat to their white female friends for decades. (Let’s not forget that GBFs also tend to be mostly white men as well).
Generally, these characters have very little development of their own. They’re only there to hash out a little bit of advice, or just to prove to the audience that the show is diverse (newsflash: token characters don’t equal diversity).
Another recent example of the GBF that comes to mind is Kevin from Riverdale. He’s best friends with one of the show’s protagonists, Betty Cooper. At the beginning of the series, the show seems self-aware that Kevin’s a GBF, and they…
