Portrayal or Betrayal: Heteronormativity and the Realism Burden in the 2022 Disney+ Pride Collection

The presence and quality of LGBTQ+ representation in film and television has important implications for viewers, especially LGBTQ+ youth. This study conducted a content analysis of the 2022 Disney+ Pride Collection, a list of movies and episodes designated by Disney as including LGBTQ+ characters and stories. This analysis examined the depiction of LGBTQ+ fictional characters, finding that Black LGBTQ+ characters were more likely to be presented as adults and in romantic relationships compared to characters of other races, suggesting that their intersecting identities influence their portrayal toward more heteronormative scripts. In what we argue is a heteronormative evolution of the butch/femme binary, lesbian characters were frequently presented on a light/dark binary. Further, in what we describe as a "realism burden," portrayals of discrimination and LGBTQ+ identity labeling were limited to realistic fiction and adult media, and were absent from the post-gay worlds of sci-fi and fantasy.