Representation

There has also been increased LGBTQ+ representation in the media. According to GLAAD, out of the 110 films counted in 2018, 18.2 percent contained LGBTQ characters, a 5.4 percent increase compared to the previous year.

According to UNT alumni Gabby De Lima Rosa, a major step was the release of “Love, Simon” in 2018.

“You can see the power of representation in media very clearly with how ‘Black Panther’ and ‘Wonder Woman’ were so important to so many people when they came out,” De Lima Rosa said. “The same thing with ‘Love, Simon’, when that came out, it was a big deal.”

Representation has also increased in pop culture. Singer Jojo Siwa went viral after she came out as LGBTQ+ on Jan. 20. Siwa posted a TikTok lip-sync video to Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.”

Junior Sydney Benson believes that Siwa coming out will help normalize being LGBTQ+, especially since her audience is mostly kids.

“All it does is help people realize, ‘Oh, queer people, gay and trans people are literally just normal people,’” Benson said. “…She’s really just a regular kid who happens to have a platform and go on tours and all this. Her being potentially gay or bi or whatever does not change any of that.”