Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, Anderson Cooper and Chaz Bono are among the nominees for awards from the 22nd annual Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Media Awards.

The GLAAD awards recognize positive portrayals of the lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the media.

“As media continue to tell new stories about LGBT people and families, a majority of Americans now support full equality of LGBT Americans,” said acting President Mike Thompson. “This year's nominees enlighten and entertain while spotlighting the diversity of our community. Audiences expect to see their own worlds reflected in media, and today more than ever, those include the lives of LGBT people. Viewers know that LGBT characters and stories are simply natural extensions of, and glimpses into, their own experiences from across America.”

Unlike previous years, the nominees vying in the Outstanding Film – Limited Release category are fairly well known. They include Pariah, which stars Kim Wayans, and Weekend, which stars Chris New and Tom Cullen as two men who share a life altering 48 hours together.

Albert Nobbs, Beginners and J. Edgar are the films nominated in the wide release category.

(Related: Christopher Plummer wins Golden Globe for Beginners gay role.)

Competing in the Outstanding Comedy Series category are Exes and Ohs (Logo), Glee (Fox), Happy Endings (ABC), Modern Family (ABC) and The Big C (Showtime).

Lady Gaga will compete in the Outstanding Music Artist category. Also nominated are Beverly McClellan, Girl in a Coma, Hunx and His Punx and MEN.

A Late Show with David Letterman segment with Chaz Bono has been nominated in the Outstanding Talk Show Episode category. Also nominated is an Anderson Cooper-hosted segment on transgender children.

Ricky Martin received a nomination for his Spanish album Musica+Alma+Sexo.

The GLAAD Media Awards – which recognize excellence in 23 categories including newspaper content, syndicated columnists and comic books – will be presented in a series of dinners: March 24 in New York, April 21 in Los Angeles and June 2 in San Franscico. (A GLAAD short video on the nominees is embedded in the right panel of this page. Visit our video library for more videos.)

View all the nominees at the GLAAD website.