Queer creatives driving change in Australia’s TV industry

There is an emerging expectation amongst viewers to see queer TV professionals behind the creation of gender and sexually diverse stories in Australian TV. A new RMIT study unpacks the motivations, barriers and labour behind the queer stories that appear on Australian screens.

Damien O’Meara, Lecturer in Public Relations

Key points:

Queer labour, the work undertaken by LGBTIQ+ people to advance rights, visibility and access, has been crucial to the successful development of queer stories for Australian TV.
Research shows that there are two main motivations for queer TV professionals to create queer stories; one reason was “to tell engaging, dramatically truthful stories” for commercial success, and the other was to see themselves and their communities represented onscreen.
A major challenge to telling queer stories on Australian TV is the long-held industry perception that these stories lack broad audience appeal, but there has been a significant increase in the inclusion of these stories, from appearing in just 17 TV series in the 2000s to 46 in the 2010s.
Queer creatives and executives are instrumental in getting queer stories onscreen both in growing the number of these stories and in driving more complex and dramatically truthful queer narratives.
Established queer creatives and executives are taking on the task of getting emerging queer creatives into the industry by bringing in new and underrepresented voices to their productions.
As audiences grow to expect authentic representation onscreen and in writers’ rooms, will we see distinctly Australian queer stories be prioritised in the age of streaming giants?

Related News

Life-changing prison exchange program up for national innovation prize

A partnership with Corrections Victoria allowing incarcerated people to study a subject on crime and justice together with students from RMIT University has been recognised for its positive impact.

Solid Yarns: new podcast showcases First Nations leadership in design

A new podcast series, Solid Yarns - co-produced by Solid Lines (Australia's first Indigenous-led illustration agency) and RMIT University - explores how First Nations artists and industry leaders are reshaping the future of design in Australia.

The perfect training ground: RMIT fashion students transform new Town Hall Station

Diploma of Fashion Styling students from RMIT’s College of Vocational Education have collaborated with the Metro Tunnel Project to display a futuristic photoshoot in the new Town Hall Station as part of Melbourne Fashion Week.

Low carbon roof tiles give industrial waste a new home

A large-scale trial of sustainable roof tiles by RMIT and Bristile Roofing has shown that incorporating coal ash and glass waste can reduce their carbon footprint.

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

More information

Queer creatives driving change in Australia’s TV industry