GLAAD

The 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards have kicked off in Los Angeles, honoring an incredible year of LGBTQ inclusion and representation in media. The first round of winners have already been announced, including Believer for Outstanding Documentary and Variety for Outstanding Magazine Overall Coverage. Below is a complete list of the offstage winners (in bold):

 

Outstanding Documentary

Believer (HBO)

Call Her Ganda (Breaking Glass Pictures)

My House (Viceland)

Quiet Heroes (Logo)

When the Beat Drops (Logo)

Believer is a documentary that explores the relationship between the LGBTQ community and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints through the eyes of Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds. Focusing on the creation of the LOVELOUD Festival to support LGBTQ youth, the documentary seeks to bridge the gap between religion and sexuality and promote the spirit of inclusion. Dan Reynolds collected the award from presenter and guest Jameela Jamil.

 

Outstanding Individual Episode (in a series w/o a regular LGBTQ character)

“King in the North” Fresh Off the Boat (ABC)

“Prom” Fuller House (Netflix)

“Service” Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC)

“She” The Good Doctor (ABC)

“Someplace Other Than Here” The Guest Book (TBS)

“Someplace Other Than Here” is the second season finale of TBS’s anthology series The Guest Book. It follows the story of Dave, a gay man, as he gets a visit from his guardian angel on his final day to review his unhappy marriage and move on to a better after life. The episode explores the relationship between religion and LGBTQ identity.

 

Outstanding Kids & Family Programming

Adventure Time (Cartoon Network)

Andi Mack (The Disney Channel)

Anne with an E (Netflix)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (Netflix)

Steven Universe (Cartoon Network)

Steven Universe is a Cartoon Network show that focuses on Steven – who lives with the magical, alien Crystal Gems – and his friends and family as he goes on adventures and helps the Gems protect the earth. Though the show has always been significant for its LGBTQ representation, this past season was particularly memorable as it featured the first same-sex marriage on a mainstream children’s TV show.

 

Outstanding Video Game

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (Ubisoft)

The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset (Bethesda Softworks)

Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire (ArenaNet)

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire (Versus Evil)

The Sims Mobile (Electronic Arts)

The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset is the latest game in The Elder Scrolls franchise. In the new game, Summerset, a new questline was introduced in which the player helps a transgender woman reunite with her estranged twin sister. The story is a heartfelt tale of familial bonds, coming out, and acceptance.

 

Outstanding Comic Book

Batwoman, written by Marguerite Bennett, K. Perkins (DC Comics)

Bingo Love, written by Tee Franklin (Image Comics)

Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, written by Mark Russell (DC Comics)

Fence, written by C.S. Pacat (BOOM! Studios)

Iceman, written by Sina Grace (Marvel Comics)

Lumberjanes: The Infernal Compass, written by Lilah Sturges (BOOM! Studios)

Oh S#!t It’s Kim & Kim, written by Magdalene Visaggio (Black Mask Comics)

Runaways, written by Rainbow Rowell (Marvel Comics)

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, written by Kieron Gillen, Simon Spurrier (Marvel Comics)

Strangers in Paradise XXV, written by Terry Moore (Abstract Studio)

Set in America in 1953, Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles focuses on a gay Southern playwright named Snugglepuss, whose success on Broadway makes him a target by House Committee on Un-American Activities. As Snugglepuss and his friends attempt to protect their careers and livelihoods, this comic book highlights the political and social issues of the Cold War era, including the discrimination and stigma against being gay.

Outstanding Magazine Article

“21 Transgender Stars, Creators Sound Off on Hollywood: ‘I Want to Portray These Characters, and I’m Ready'” by Chris Gardner, Rebecca Sun, Lindsay Weinberg, Joelle Goldstein, Bryan White (The Hollywood Reporter)

“Can a Transgender Woman Get Justice in Texas?” by Nate Blakeslee (Texas Monthly)

“Ex-Scientologist Michelle LeClair Says Church Officials Humiliated Her After She Came Out as Gay” by Johnny Dodd, Tierney McAfee (People)

“Lena Waithe is Changing the Game” by Jacqueline Woodson (Vanity Fair)

“They are the Champions” by Katie Barnes (ESPN The Magazine)

“Can a Transgender Woman Get Justice in Texas?” by Nate Blakeslee focuses on the story of Aliah Hernandez, a transgender woman who was brutally attacked by a man for the mere fact that she is transgender. The article highlights Hernandez’s struggle towards justice in Texas and showcases the dire state of rights for transgender individuals in present-day America.  

 

Outstanding Magazine Overall Coverage

Billboard

Ebony

Entertainment Weekly

GQ

Variety

Variety’s coverage in 2018 helped to bring light to LGBTQ representation and accelerate acceptance for LGBTQ individuals in entertainment. Variety features op-eds from LGBTQ leaders in the entertainment industry as well as breaking news about LGBTQ actors and creators. Variety’s August 2018 cover story focused on trans representation in Hollywood, including a roundtable with transgender actors who discussed the discrimination against the trans community within the industry. A letter signed by more than 50 leaders in the entertainment industry calling to improve the quality and quantity of transgender stories debuted in the issue.

 

Outstanding TV Journalism – Newsmagazine (Spanish-Language)

“Denuncian trabas migratorias contra la comunidad transgénero” Un Nuevo Dia (Telemundo)

“Entrevista con Luis Sandoval para National Coming Out Day” Despierta América (Univision)

“No es fácil en EEUU ser un gay latino” Noticias Telemundo Mediodía (Telemundo)

“La primera escuela para niños transgénero de Chile” Nuestro Mundo (CNN en Español)

In the segment, Luis Sandoval, a regular correspondent on the very popular Univision morning show Despierta América, came out to viewers and shared his experiences as a young man. Sandoval also spoke frankly and movingly about the importance of family and community love and support. He was joined on set, as a surprise, by his beautiful mom who advised parents to never allow the judgment of others to interfere with their relationships with their LGBTQ kids.

 

Outstanding Digital Journalism (Spanish-Language)

“Apoyo y recursos para jóvenes LGBTQ y sus familias” por Virginia Gaglianone (LaOpinion.com)

“Así pinta la televisión hispana a los personajes LGBTQ, una representación preocupante” por Daniel Shoer Roth (ElNuevoHerald.com)

“Dallas: Para jóvenes LGBT con DACA, la lucha ha sido salir de dos clósets” por Jenny Manrique (AlDiaDallas.com)

“De la censura a la celebración: la historia de una exposición queer en Brasil” por Ernesto Londoño (NewYorkTimes.com/es)

“Desaliento y miedo en medio de celebración del Orgullo LGBT en NYC” por José Martínez (ElDiarioNY.com)

Daniel Shoer Roth’s article “Así pinta la televisión hispana a los personajes LGBTQ, una representación preocupante” delves into some of the stereotypes and tropes in Spanish-Language entertainment, as outlined in a GLAAD report. Thanks to the care taken assembling the story and accompanying video package, many more readers of El Nuevo Herald gained a far deeper understanding of how impactful and damaging it can be  portrayed in stereotypical ways.

 

Special Recognition

Nanette (Netflix)

In her Netflix special Nanette, Hannah Gadsby uses her experience as a lesbian and a gender non-conforming woman to deconstruct stand-up comedy itself. By focusing on the self-deprecating nature of comedy from the perspective of marginalized people, Gadsby’s non-stand-up stand-up sheds a light on a litany of issues faced by LGBTQ people and minorities, using both clever comedic writing and serious commentary to do so.

 

Special Recognition

TransMilitary (Logo)

The GLAAD Media Institute-sponsored documentary TransMilitary follows the lives of four individuals serving in the U.S. military who risk their careers and their livelihoods by coming out as transgender in hopes of gaining the equal right to serve. The documentary brings to light the issues facing about 15,000 trans people currently serving in the military, whose futures hang in the balance as President Trump tries to reinstate the ban on trans service members.

 

Special Recognition (Spanish-Language)

House of Mamis (INTOmore.com)

INTO’s docu-series House of Mamis follows the lives of a group of young, queer voguers in Mexico City. The series highlights the queer culture of Mexico City itself and showcases how LGBTQ Latinx people use voguing to express themselves and embrace a chosen family.

 

Additional categories including Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Film – Wide Release, and Outstanding Reality Program will be announced tonight in Los Angeles.

Additional categories will be announced ats the 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards continue in New York City on May 4, where Madonna will honored with the Advocate for Change Award. Sarah Jessica Parker will also present the Vito Russo Award to Andy Cohen at the New York ceremony. Other special guests include Don Lemon, the Cast of FX’s Pose, and Samantha Bee.

The 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards are supported by Presenting Partners Delta Air Lines, Gilead, Hyundai, Ketel One Family-Made Vodka, and Wells Fargo. GLAAD is also grateful to: Official Partners Bud Light and Google; Titanium Partner AT&T and WEN; Platinum Partners Comcast NBCUniversal-Telemundo, Creative Artists Agency, Disney ABC Television Group, Facebook/Instagram, HBO, Hulu, Kaiser Permanente, MetLife, NBA & WNBA, Netflix, Omnicom Group, PRG, Sheppard Mullin, Turner; Gold Partners CBS/Showtime, Nielsen, PWC, UM, Univision, and VER; and Silver Partners Allstate, Coca-Cola, Morgan Stanley, and Warner Bros.

To receive the latest updates on the GLAAD Media Awards, follow @glaad on Twitter and use the hashtag #glaadawards.