GLAAD’s latest count finds just 11 disabled characters among 369 LGBTQ characters tracked across television platforms. The figures vary across broadcast, cable and streaming, but the bigger gap is clear: some experiences remain almost invisible. For viewers, that matters because television can shape what people know about disability and HIV, not just who they see on screen.
Essential Takeaways
- A small share: GLAAD counts 11 disabled characters among 369 LGBTQ characters, or 3 per cent.
- Platform split: The count includes two characters on broadcast, two on cable and seven on streaming.
- A missing story: GLAAD reports no LGBTQ characters living with HIV in this tally.
- Why visibility matters: GLAAD says media portrayals can help audiences learn about HIV and feel more comfortable interacting with people living with it.
Just 11 characters make the count
The headline figure is stark: only 11 of 369 LGBTQ characters tracked by GLAAD have a disability. That amounts to 3 per cent, a slight rise from 2.5 per cent in the previous year, even though the total number of disabled characters is down by one.
The examples span conditions that aren’t always visible. GLAAD includes recovering addiction, cancer and clinical depression alongside autism, Down syndrome, epilepsy and physical disability. It’s a useful reminder that disability on screen doesn’t have one look or one story.
Streaming leads, but the totals stay low
Streaming accounts for seven of the 11 characters, while broadcast and cable each have two. The broadcast total is double the previous year’s one character, cable is unchanged, and streaming is down by two characters despite a slight increase in its share.
The characters named by GLAAD include Evan “Buck” Buckley from 9-1-1 and Laila Jackson from Murder in a Small Town on broadcast, and Maura from Half Man and Linus Bean from American Classic on cable. Streaming examples include Quinni from Heartbreak High, Nathan from My Life with the Walter Boys and Stevie from Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair.
Disability is more than what viewers can see
GLAAD’s count covers a broad range of experiences, including conditions that may not be immediately apparent. That matters when comparing representation: a character living with depression or recovering from addiction may face a different set of challenges from a wheelchair user, but both can be part of the picture.
An earlier GLAAD report also tracked a varied set of disabilities, including anxiety, depression, autism, epilepsy and physical disability. Taken together, the reports show why counting characters is only a starting point; the variety and depth of their stories matter, too.
The HIV gap carries its own warning
GLAAD says there are no LGBTQ characters living with HIV in this count, after only one was tracked in each of the previous two years. That absence is especially troubling because the organisation argues that television should show present-day experiences, including information about prevention and treatment.
There’s a difference between remembering the HIV stories of the 1980s and 1990s and showing what life looks like now. Both belong on screen, but one shouldn’t stand in for the other.
Why familiar stories can change understanding
GLAAD’s 2024 State of HIV Stigma report found that the share of Americans saying they had seen people living with HIV in film or television fell from 39 per cent in 2023 to 35 per cent in 2024. It also reported that seeing such stories can increase comfort interacting with people living with HIV.
That survey doesn’t verify the supplied article’s separate claim about 2025, but it does underline the broader point: visibility can affect what audiences know and how they relate to others. A fuller range of characters would give viewers more than a rare glimpse.
For audiences and programme-makers alike, the next step is not simply more characters, but more room for varied, contemporary lives.
Keep an eye out for stories that make space for the people television too often leaves out.
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