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This happens especially often in television shows.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/bury-your-gays-why-are-so-many-queer-women-dying-n677386|title='Bury Your Gays': Why Are So Many Lesbian TV Characters Dying Off?|publisher=[[NBC News]]|date=November 4, 2016|accessdate=March 29, 2022}}</ref><ref name="THR"/> According to ''[[Autostraddle]]'', which examined 1,779 [[Screenplay|scripted]] U.S. television series from 1976 to 2016, 11% (193) of them featured lesbian or bisexual female characters, and among these, 35% saw lesbian or bisexual characters dead, while only 16% provided a happy ending for them. Similarly, among all lesbian or bisexual characters in ended series, 31% ended up dead, and only 10% received a happy ending.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hogan |first1=Heather |title=Autostraddle's Ultimate Infographic Guide to Dead Lesbian Characters on TV |url=http://www.autostraddle.com/autostraddles-ultimate-infographic-guide-to-dead-lesbian-tv-characters-332920/ |access-date=3 April 2016 |website=[[Autostraddle]] |date=25 March 2016 |language=en-US}}</ref> In a study of 242 character deaths in the 2015–2016 television season, ''[[Vox (website)|Vox]]'' reported that "A full 10 percent of deaths [were] queer women."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Framke |first1=Caroline |last2=Zarracina |first2=Javier |last3=Frostenson |first3=Sarah |title=All the TV character deaths of 2015-'16, in one chart |url=https://www.vox.com/a/tv-deaths-lgbt-diversity |website=[[Vox (website)|Vox]] |date=June 1, 2016 |access-date=December 1, 2017}}</ref> In one month of 2016, four lesbian or bisexual women were killed in four shows, further showcasing the prevalence of this occurrence on screen.<ref name="THR">{{Cite web|last1=Snarker|first1=Dorothy|last2=Snarker|date=2016-03-21|title=Bury Your Gays: Why 'The 100,' 'Walking Dead' Deaths Are Problematic (Guest Column)|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/bury-your-gays-why-100-877176/|access-date=2022-02-09|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en-US}}</ref> Such statistics led ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' to conclude in 2016 that "the trope is alive and well on TV, and fictional lesbian and bisexual women in particular have a very small chance of leading long and productive lives".<ref name="learn">{{cite news |last1=Ryan |first1=Maureen |title=What TV Can Learn From 'The 100' Mess |url=https://variety.com/2016/tv/opinion/the-100-lexa-jason-rothenberg-1201729110/ |access-date=3 April 2016 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=14 March 2016 |language=en-US}}</ref> [[GLAAD]]'s 2016 TV report stated: {{blockquote|While much improvement has been made and TV remains incredibly far ahead of film in terms of LGBTQ representation, it must be made clear that television – and broadcast series more specifically – failed queer women this year as character after character was killed. This is especially disappointing as this very report just last year called on broadcast content creators to do better by lesbian and bisexual women after superfluous deaths on ''Chicago Fire'' and ''Supernatural''. This continues a decades-long trend of killing LGBTQ characters – often solely to further a straight, cisgender character's plotline – which sends a dangerous message to audiences. It is important that creators do not reinvigorate harmful tropes, which exploit an already marginalized community.<ref>{{cite web|title=GLAAD Report: 2016 Was A Year Of Representation But Also, Mostly, Murder For Lesbians On TV|url=https://www.autostraddle.com/glaad-report-2016-was-a-year-of-representation-but-also-mostly-murder-for-lesbians-on-tv-357312/|work=[[Autostraddle]]|date=November 3, 2016|accessdate=March 29, 2022}}</ref>}}
The death of [[Lexa (The 100)|Lexa]] in the CW's ''[[The 100 (TV series)|The 100]]'' sparked viewer outrage and widespread controversy, becoming one of the first deaths to draw mainstream attention. Fans took to the internet to voice their frustrations and spearheaded initiatives to help bring about change.<ref name="learn"/><ref name="change">{{cite news|last1=Framke|first1=Caroline |title=Queer women have been killed on television for decades. Now The 100's fans are fighting back.|url=https://www.vox.com/2016/3/25/11302564/lesbian-deaths-television-trope|access-date=April 3, 2016 |website=[[Vox (website)|Vox]]|date=25 March 2016}}</ref> ''The 100'' showrunner [[Jason Rothenberg]] later admitted to his mistake of perpetuating the trope, stating: "I would've done some things differently."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Prudom|first=Laura|date=2016-03-27|title='The 100' Creator on Lexa Controversy: 'I Would've Done Some Things Differently'|url=https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/the-100-lexa-dies-lesbian-death-tropes-jason-rothenberg-wondercon-1201740032/|access-date=2022-02-09|website=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="learn"/> In an attempt to combat this, the writers of the show ''[[Saving Hope]],'' in collaboration with LGBTQIA+ activist organization [[The Trevor Project]], established the Lexa Pledge, a plea to showrunners and TV writers to do better by their LGBTQIA+ characters. The pledge details numerous ways that writers can better represent the LGBTQIA+ community by providing queer characters with meaningful storylines and to avoid killing them off in order to forward the plot of a straight character.<ref>{{Cite web|title="The Lexa Pledge" makes a promise to LGBTQ fans|url=http://feministing.com/2016/05/02/the-lexa-pledge-makes-a-promise-to-lgbtq-fans/|access-date=2022-02-09|website=Feministing|date=2 May 2016 |language=en-US}}</ref> The pledge was met with support with writers from shows like ''[[The Catch (TV series)|The Catch]]'' and ''[[Rookie Blue]]'' signing the pledge. However, some showrunners, most notably ''[[Grey's Anatomy]]'' showrunner [[Krista Vernoff]], acknowledged the importance of the pledge in raising awareness but felt it could limit storytelling abilities and halt progress in terms of onscreen representations of queer characters.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Stanhope|first=Kate|date=2016-06-11|title=Bury Your Gays: TV Writers Tackle Trope, the Lexa Pledge and Offer Advice to Showrunners|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/bury-your-gays-atx-festival-901800/|access-date=2022-02-09|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en-US}}</ref> When the final season of ''[[She-Ra and the Princesses of Power]]'' premiered in 2020, showrunner [[ND Stevenson]] said that he could not "see another gay character die on TV for the moment. Maybe one day we can have a tragic gay romance again, but that has been, like, the only norm for so long."<ref name="latimes">{{cite web|last1=Brown|first1=Tracy|date=May 15, 2020|title=Once 'so secret,' a queer Netflix series finally puts all its cards on the table|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-05-15/netflix-she-ra-princesses-of-power-noelle-stevenson-finale|url-access=limited|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516180501/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-05-15/netflix-she-ra-princesses-of-power-noelle-stevenson-finale|archive-date=May 16, 2020|access-date=May 16, 2020|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> The pledge and subsequent reaction added nuance to the ongoing conversations surrounding onscreen representations of queer people, changing the way people think about diversity and queer representation.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}
LGBT characters also go through similar things in other fiction, such as [[LGBT themes in video games|video games]], where, according to ''[[Kotaku]]'', LGBT characters are "largely defined by a pain that their straight counterparts do not share". Facing challenges that "serve as an in-world analogy for anti-LGBTQ bigotry", these characters are defined by tragedy that denies them a chance at happiness.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Alexandra |first1=Heather |title=Let Queer Characters Be Happy |url=https://kotaku.com/let-queer-characters-be-happy-1827147707 |access-date=8 July 2018 |work=Kotaku}}</ref> While games like ''[[The Last of Us]]'' or ''[[Life Is Strange (video game)|Life Is Strange]]'' forward LGBTQIA+ representation in the gaming sphere by featuring queer lead characters, they still fall victim to tragedy or death. [[The Last of Us: Left Behind|''The Last of Us'' DLC]] features lead character Ellie engaging in a brief moment of queerness not long before her love interest dies, and the game's sequel features Ellie as an openly queer woman yet continues to emotionally torture her.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wright|first=Steve|date=2020-06-12|title=The Last of Us Part 2 Review: Bury your gays, emotionally|url=https://stevivor.com/reviews/the-last-of-us-part-2-review-bury-your-gays-emotionally/|access-date=2022-02-09|website=Stevivor|language=en-
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==Breakdown of LGBT representation==
Over the past five years, there has been an increase in the number of regular and recurring LGBT characters in mainstream American media.<ref>{{cite web |title=GLAAD's Where We Are on TV Report 2014 (p. 24) |work=issuu |date=October 2014 |url=http://issuu.com/glaad/docs/wwatv14_16_optimized/24}}</ref> Each population has experienced general growth in representation, some more than others. Gay characters are the most frequently depicted of the LGBT communities by a wide margin, followed by lesbian, bisexual, and transgender characters.<ref name="glaad1">{{cite web |author=Kane, Matt |title=2014 Where We Are On TV |publisher=GLAAD |location=New York |year=2015 |url=http://www.glaad.org/files/GLAAD-2014-WWAT.pdf}}</ref> However, heading into the new season, this trend will change in cable television with the number of bisexual identifying characters surpassing the number of lesbian characters for the first time. Additionally, the transgender community is the only one of the four to lose representation in media, declining from 2013 to 2014 on cable networks while losing representation entirely on broadcast networks.<ref>{{cite web |title=GLAAD's Where We Are on TV Report 2014 (p. 26) |work=issuu |date=October 2014 |url=http://issuu.com/glaad/docs/wwatv14_16_optimized/26}}</ref> In terms of [[gender identity]], a majority of the LGBT characters in media are male, though female characters follow within a close margin. Only one percent of characters identified as FtM ([[Trans man|female-to-male transgender]]).<ref>{{cite web |title=GLAAD's Where We Are on TV Report 2014 (p. 14) |work=issuu |date=October 2014 |url=http://issuu.com/glaad/docs/wwatv14_16_optimized/14}}</ref>
===Television===
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