Hollywood's "Bury Your Gays" Trope Explained: History & Controversy
In recent years, audiences have heard more about the «bury your gays» trope, leading to questions about its history in Hollywood and why it's so controversial. Even as LGBTQ+ representation in film has improved, LGBTQ+ narratives in film largely revolve around the concept of suffering. Death, villainization, abuse, and tragedy are all common components of the LGBTQ+ experience in Hollywood. Though some stories are slowly starting to break the mold, the bury your gays trope is one that continues to plague LGBTQ+ media.
Proper LGBTQ+ representation in media is invaluable. Not only can it provide empathetic education about LGBTQ+ issues and identities, but it also works to help dispel negative stereotypes surrounding the community and to increase self-acceptance and actualization in queer people. When TV and film only tell stories of suffering and death for their LGBTQ+ characters, it drives home the idea that to be queer is only to suffer. As death tolls continue to rise for LGBTQ+ characters — especially in television, where queer characters are being killed off at a disproportionate rate — the community has called for media creators, including series such as The Walking Dead and The 100, to do better with their portrayals of queer characters and their surrounding narratives.
Related: Doctor Who's Next Era Can Be Truly LGBTQ+ Friendly
The number of queer deaths in television and film has reached such a height that online databases have begun to keep track of LGBTQ+ deaths in media — and the fewer cases where the LGBTQ representation of queer characters leads to a happy ending. Does the Dog Die, a popular crowdsourcing site that tracks triggers and content warnings in media, has a dedicated section to track whether an
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