Good LGBTQ+ entertainment is hard to find, but representation is vital for everyone, whether they’re in the community or outside of it. But If you’re looking for LGBTQ+ news from a trusted source, turn to Twelve Past Midnight for genuine and positive LGBTQ+ representation.

Why Positive LGBTQ+ Representation Matters

Normalization is described as a process that makes something seem more normal. The media plays a part in what we interpret as “normal,” for better or for worse. This is why stereotypical or negative representations of the LGBTQ+ community actually do more harm than good.

When an LGBTQ+ person dates or makes friends at work, they typically have to “confess” their queerness to those close to them. Since the LGBTQ+ community makes up a small portion of the population (1.2 to 6.8%), there are plenty of people who’ve never met an LGBTQ+ person.

To make matters worse, less than 10% of characters on television are LGBTQ+, and the majority of these characters are portrayed as harmful stereotypes that hurt the community. 

What results is bigotry, whether on purpose (homophobia) or by accident (microaggressions). Since the LGBTQ+ community has few positive representations of their sexual orientation or gender in the traditional media, they’re made to feel bad about themselves and their queerness.

What Twelve Past Midnight Does Right

LGBTQ+ people who get their entertainment news at Twelve Past Midnight are able to see positive representations of themselves and their community. Here’s what they do right.

Dropping LGBTQ+ Label from Most Headlines 

We see headlines like “X celebrity enters into a gay/lesbian relationship with X,” but we don’t see headlines like “X celebrity is in a straight relationship with X.” That’s because straights are seen as the default, aka “normal,” while queerness is seen as the deviation from the norm. 

On Twelve Past Midnight, celebrities are allowed to be who they are without the entire focus being their sexuality or gender, which mimics how mainstream news portrays straight celebs.

Safe Place for the LGBTQ+ Community

There’s nothing more dehumanizing than reading an article that disrespects you, even if that wasn’t the intent. Twelve Past Midnight creates content made with the LGBTQ+ community in mind, so positive representation will always be at the forefront of the writer’s and editor’s minds.

The LGBTQ+ community deals with a lot of negativity, but Twelve Past Midnight can provide a safe place for them while also keeping them informed on LGBTQ+ news and other topics.

Platforms Queer Celebrities and Activists

The LGBTQ+ community may only see themselves represented after a controversy or in a negative light. Twelve Past Midnight features queer celebrities in a positive light unless they actually did something negative. The person’s sexuality or gender won’t be portrayed negatively.

Twelve Past Midnight also platforms straight LGBTQ+ activists. Allies play a vital role in LGBTQ+ normalization, and it’s nice to see the platform showcase these positive role models. 

Championing Queer Content Creators 

In a workplace, you need different mindsets. Not only that, but you need creators who’ve lived through the queer experience to talk about these topics in an empathetic, knowledgable way. Twelve Past Midnight champions queer creators who bring their own history to the table.

Plenty of queer people have to hide their identities from their coworkers every single day, but diverse companies/news outlits like Twelve Past Midnight don’t make that the case. 

Showing that LGBTQ+ People Exist and Matter

Censoring LGBTQ+ people or characters censors their existence. But when we’re able to read about the LGBTQ+ community, it tells us that they’re people with authentic experiences like us. By outwardly supporting queer people, we’re saying that their lives are valuable and precious.

Twelve Past Midnight and LGBTQ+ supporters are saying that their existence matters, that that’s very important for the community who otherwise wouldn’t be positively spoken about.