Why it is important to accurately represent the LGTBQ+ community in media.

Griffin Houk is a style icon, a music aficionado, and a true comedian. I have had the pleasure of knowing him for almost 5 years now and the time we have spent together has been close to perfection. We became friends inside of the fast food restaurant ,in which we both worked at, when we realized we both had the same taste in men.

Griffin grew up in South Bend, Indiana where he went to an all boys Catholic school. He then moved to Fort Collins, Colorado for highschool with his younger sister and his mom. His dad passed away from cancer in his early childhood, but he tells me that his dad is with him every day. He also never had the opportunity to come out to his dad but he has voiced to me that he knows his dad would have accepted him.

“I am gay. I have know since I was pretty much a kid, but really figured it out when I was 14.”

Throughout the years our conversations have covered many aspects of life and the human experience, however, one thing has kept him truly enthralled; and that is film.

Growing up, I never understood or thought about film and its importance in shaping cultural understanding of groups of people in society. It wasn’t until I met Griffin. Throughout our friendship he has introduced me to film of all types of genres with different characters and stories. Movies that have kept me up at night. Movies that have made me sob uncontrollably, laugh hysterically, and question the world around me significantly.

“I definitely grew up with movies and tv, a limited amount, that had LGBT representation. None that I think really aided me in my coming out, or in my journey as a gay person,” Griffin states. “I think of Kurt from Glee, and I think about the characters that are portrayed to be obnoxious, and it kind of made me not want to be gay if anything.”

A lot of the times in film, LGBTQ+ characters are shown as very one-dimensional characters, often living sad and dark lives seemingly just because of their sexual orientation. It is important to change that narrative and show these characters as multidimensional characters with lives extending past their sexual orientation whilst also portraying their journey in a accurate manner.