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Asian Pacific Islander Community

Though LGBT Americans are more visible than ever before in the media, many LGBT people of color still find that their lives and stories are not reflected in the media, which perpetuates misconceptions and fuels prejudice in many communities.

GLAAD’s Communities of African Descent (COAD) Media and Asian Pacific Islander (API) Community Media staff work to elevate the voices and stories of LGBT people of color by holding media trainings, pitching stories, and working with editorial boards for fair, accurate and inclusive coverage of LGBT people of color.

In addition to ensuring that mainstream, ethnic and LGBT media outlets feature authentic and diverse LGBT voice and stories, GLAAD’s strategists also work with groups and organizations serving gay and transgender communities of color to help them to share their stories and respond when media outlets miss the mark in their coverage of LGBT people of color.

At GLAAD, we are in the business of changing people's hearts and minds through what they see in the media. Fair, accurate and inclusive media images shatter stereotypes. They prove that we are connected through common, human experiences. And these are stories that we -- and the media -- have a responsibility to share.

To find out more, contact us at api@glaad.org.

Did You Know?

• Asian-Pacific Islander (API) gay and transgender Americans are a minority within a minority, and media coverage frequently leaves out the voices, perspectives, and opinions of the API LGBT community. 
• When they are included at all, media images of gay and transgender Asian-Pacific Islanders are more often than not sensationalizing and racist – like the Out Magazine article “How to Gab in Gaysian” and the Details Magazine article “Gay or Asian?”, which both used negative anti-API stereotypes to poke fun at LGBT Asian-Pacific Islanders. 
• Alec Mapa (Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty), Margaret Cho (The Cho Show), Rex Lee (Entourage) and George Takei (Star Trek) are all openly gay or bisexual API entertainers.
• Even within the mainstream LGBT community, Asian-Pacific Islanders can still feel invisible since images in LGBT media are overwhelmingly white – more than three-fourths (86%) of the LGBT characters in the 2008-2009 season lineups of major LGBT networks were white.
• Broadcast T.V. featured 19 LGBT Asian-Pacific Islander characters (1%) in 2008, including Angela, a bi character on Fox’s Bones.
• None of the top 3 U.S. Chinese-language dailies print wedding announcements for gay or straight couples, but the Chinese Times (of Brisbane, CA) may print wedding announcements for gay or lesbian couples depending on the announcement, and the Chinese World Journal (Dallas Edition) will print them in a different section of the newspaper from straight wedding announcements.
• API actor George Takei and his partner, Brad Altman, celebrated their wedding with both national and international news after getting hitched following the California marriage decision in 2008.