Leo Sheng, Javicia Leslie, and more stars share what they want to see from LGBTQ art
To celebrate Pride Month, EW asked Leo Sheng, Javicia Leslie, Lachlan Watson, Rafael Silva, Nicole Maines, and other artists about what they want to see in queer storytelling.
"I want to just see every, every, every possible queer story told," says Supergirl star Maines.
Many of the stars spoke generally about wanting more stories about the LGBTQ community while others specifically want to see more for specific groups within the community, including people of color, the trans community, and bisexual folks. Alexandra Grey spoke to the importance of telling stories about queer people of color, while Sheng (The L Word: Generation Q) is always excited to see more stories about the trans community.
"Our stories are so rich, they are so fulfilling and so important," Grey shares.
Providing opportunities for LGBTQ creatives to tell their own stories was important to Sheng's Generation Q costar Jacqueline Toboni and 9-1-1: Lone Star actor Silva.
"The people making the decisions to choose that story, to produce that story, to create a narrative not only on-screen but off-screen also need to be from the designated community in which we're trying to tell that story from," Silva explains.
Juliet Takes a Breath author Gabby Rivera wants to see LGBTQ history explored in a new way. She would love to see stories from the Caribbean and of queer ancestors in the diaspora and pre-colonization.
"What did it look like be queer back in the day? Before Columbus? Before the Spanish-American War?" she asks.
There were other celebrities who also got very specific about what subject matter and types of stories they want to see. More bisexual relationships, a focus on stories of queer joy, fictional stories about older queer adults, LGBTQ characters in positions of power, and more class diversity are on the list items they want to see in art of the future.
Looking at the next generation, some of the stars hope to give young people the content they didn't have growing up.
"I want to see more queer parents represented on television, especially gearing toward a younger audience, Toboni says, "It's important to give kids that type of representation." Grey's Anatomy star Jake Borelli, who looks to the work of Drag Race's Nina West, wants to see more content for young people that teaches them about queerness.
"I just want queerness," comedian Cameron Esposito says plainly.
Watch the video above for more.
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