Gok Wan: ‘We’ve got a long way to go’ with LGBT representation in the media

Gay TV presenter Gok Wan at home with his dog

TV presenter Gok Wan says the media has “a long way to go” in representing LGBT+ people and stated the importance of being a trans ally.

The Say Yes to the Dress star Gok Wan told PinkNews he thinks Queer Eye and RuPaul’s Drag Race have created a false impression of equal representation.

Wan said: “I’m a big old gayer and I’ve been on television for quite a while.

“There’s Queer Eye, there’s RuPaul’s Drag Race, there seems to be quite a lot of LGBT+ presence in the media but actually I don’t think there is if I’m really honest.”

“I don’t think there’s enough. You’ve kind of got to think about ratios and you’ve got to think to yourself if you were to do a line up of people that have made a career out of being in the press and who are part of the LGBT+ community, in comparison to those who are part of the heterosexual community, it’s about numbers isn’t it really?” said the presenter.

“It’s brilliant to have us here and it’s brilliant to have my peers doing what they do best, and not just because of their sexuality or how they identify.

“It’s about the numbers and keeping it fair and keeping it equal.

“So I think we’ve got a long way to go, but I do celebrate how far we’ve come so far.”

“It’s long overdue and massively important.”

—Gok Wan

The TV presenter also played a game of Would you rather…? on disastrous wedding scenarios, in the lead up to his new show Say Yes to the Dress Lancashire.

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Wan added that the press attention on trans issues has helped it “become very normal to discuss trans now.”

He said: “I think the work that Stonewall is doing, and Ruth [Hunt, Stonewall’s chief executive], in particular, is doing with the trans community is absolutely incredible.

“I think the normalisation of the discussion is vital. Long overdue and massively important.”

Say Yes To The Dress Lancashire airs at 9pm on Fridays exclusively on TLC.

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