The FCC is looking into putting warning labels on TV shows with trans characters.
Back in 1996, the United States Congress determined that parents should be aware of what their children would be exposed to on television. In passing the Telecommunications Act, the TV Oversight Management Board was created, leading to the TV age ratings we see today.
These voluntary ratings are intended for parents to quickly identify if an episode of television is considered appropriate for children. These ratings also can have content descriptors to identify sexually suggested dialogue, crude language and violence.
But in a public notice released in late April, the FCC claims that the ratings system should be adjusted to warn parents of “controversial gender identity issues” in children’s programming.
The public notice focuses on whether shows rated TV-Y, TV-Y7 or TV-G should feature additional warnings if they include content having to do with gender identity. This is indicative of a well-documented conservative playbook that deems queer and trans stories to be inherently inappropriate for younger viewers.
This also comes at a time when trans representation on screen is still uncommon—particularly in children’s programming—and is already being diminished. According to GLAAD’s latest Where We Are on TV report, 61 percent of trans characters on the small screen will disappear this year alone.
For now, this is currently just an exploratory federal inquiry. But it signals an agenda from FCC chairman Brendan Carr to specifically target how trans stories can be seen.
The FCC is taking public comments about this issue on their website until Friday, May 22, at midnight EDT.
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