Photo Source: Fox
In its annual "Where We Are on TV" report, released today, GLAAD found that only five out of 647 regular characters are portrayed as disabled. That number contrasts sharply with the 12 percent found by a 2010 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, and other studies cited by GLAAD that indicate that as many one out of five Americans currently live with a disability.
"We all have a right to see ourselves accurately represented in film, television and theater," Christine Bruno, co-chair of the I AM PWD campaign of Actors' Equity Association, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and Screen Actors Guild, said in a written statement related to the study.
Of the five major characters with disabilities on prime-time network television—down from six in the previous season—all five are white and four are male. According to 2000 U.S. Census data, 51 percent of all people with disabilities classified as female and 37 percent of all people with disabilities are something other than white.
GLAAD found better representation for people with disabilities on cable, where at least 10 series regular and four recurring characters have disabilities.
Industry insiders have linked a dearth of representation for disabled characters to fewer opportunities for disabled actors to be cast. "To have a career in this business is a miracle anyway," Robert David Hall, who plays Dr. Al Robbins on "CSI," told Back Stage last year. "I know plenty of people with disabilities who have MFAs in acting who just can't get auditions."
This was the second year that GLAAD included information on characters with disabilities in its annual report. The study also looks at characters' gender, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity.
