With the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) going after LGBTQ programming in Brendan Carr‘s latest crackdown on media, community leaders are showing strength in numbers.
On Friday, more than 40 organizations filed comment with the FCC in opposition of Carr’s proposed TV rating system that would require a “warning label” on programming with LGBTQ characters, stories or themes, even those currently rated appropriate for all ages, calling on the TV Oversight Management Board (TVOMB) to alert viewers about “transgender and gender non-binary programming” and “the discussion or promotion of gender identity themes.”
“Together, we affirm that depictions of LGBTQI+ identities, including specifically transgender and non-binary identities, belong in our television programs,” the organizations wrote in a joint statement. “We believe that all people—including all LGBTQI+ youth—deserve to see themselves represented in the media. And we also believe that parents and guardians, not government regulators, should be the ones deciding what their children are able to watch.”
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They added, “Content warnings that specifically single out LGBTQI+ people, including transgender and non-binary people, or mentions of gender identity on screen are unnecessary, unhelpful, and discriminatory. They do not serve to inform parents or guardians; they serve to further a strategic political agenda that has targeted a minority for exclusion from public view. Requiring a content warning based solely on the identity of a character establishes a dangerous precedent, and one with a troubling historical context.”
Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE), GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund and PFLAG National filed the public comment to the FCC on behalf of more than 40 organizations, including Advocates for Youth, AIDS UnitedAutistic Self Advocacy Network, California LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network, CenterLink: The Community of LGBTQ Centers, Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues, COLAGE, Color Of Change, Committee for the First Amendment, Equality California, Equality Federation, Feminist Majority Foundation, Gender Justice, Georgia Equality, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law), Global Justice Institute, Immigration Equality, interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth, Japanese American Citizens League, Lambda Legal, Movement Advancement Project, National Center for LGBTQ Rights, National Hispanic Media Coalition, National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, National LGBTQ+ Bar Association, NBJC, Oasis Legal Services, PEN America, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Reproductive Freedom for All, Rocky Mountain Equality, SAGE, Silver State Equality, The Center for Constitutional Rights, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, The Trevor Project, Transathlete, Transgender Law Center and United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry.
In April, Brendan Carr’s FCC launched a new inquiry into the TV ratings system, including whether issues of gender identity are being included in children’s programming without flagging that content to parents, the latest scrutiny he’s placed on program content.
“Recently, parents have raised concerns that controversial gender identity issues are being included or promoted in children’s programs without providing any disclosure or transparency to parents,” reads an FCC public notice. “Specifically, the industry guidelines that parents rely on are rating shows with transgender and gender non-binary programming as appropriate for children and young children, and doing so without providing this information to parents, thereby undermining the ability of parents to make informed choices for their families. Consistent with Congress’s vision for the ratings system, we seek comment on whether the industry’s approach is continuing to provide the information that is relevant to parents today.”
In responding to Donald Trump’s attacks on the media over their coverage of the war in Iran, among other things, Carr has warned broadcasters of their public interest obligations, even though First Amendment advocates note that the FCC’s authority is limited.