: Media often used gay characters for "comic devices," "erotic titillation," or to "depict deviance". Censorship, like the 1934 Production Code , largely removed gay themes from mainstream cinema until the early 1960s.
: A major shift began in the 1990s, notably with Ellen DeGeneres's coming out on the sitcom Ellen in 1997.
: Recent reports note growth in LGBTQ+ characters of color, though characters with disabilities or those living with HIV remain severely underrepresented.