ABC and A Single Man lead
nominees for awards from the 21st annual Gay & Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation Media (GLAAD) Awards.
ABC has become a steadfast fixture at
the awards show, which aims to recognize positive portrayals of the
lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the media.
This year ABC earned eight nominations with Brothers &
Sisters, Grey's Anatomy, Greek, Modern Family, All My Children and
One Life to Live among its contenders.
This is the fourth year in a row for
ABC to lead in television nominations.
CBS posted three nominations, two in
the Outstanding Daily Drama category for As the World Turns
and Guiding Light and one in the Outstanding Reality Program
category for The Amazing Race 15,
which featured gay brothers Dan and Sam McMillen. NBC trails
with only two nominations for single episodes of Parks and
Recreation (Pawnee Zoo) and The Listener (Lisa
Says).
“Words and images matter,” Jarrett
Barrios, president of GLAAD, said in a statement. “With these
awards, we seek to recognize news coverage and entertainment
programming that go beyond stock stereotypes with LGBT storylines
that more fully reflect the challenges gay and transgender people
face and the aspirations we hold for ourselves and our families.”
A Single Man topped the list in
the Outstanding Film in Wide Release category. The Weinstein Company
film about a gay man's journey after the loss of his lover will
compete against Miramax's Everybody's Fine, Dreamworks SKG's I
Love You Man, Lionsgate Films' Precious and Focus
Features' Taking Woodstock.
Nominations for Outstanding Film in
Limited Release include Maya Entertainment's Casi Divas, Film
Movement's The Country Teacher, Regent Releasing's Little
Ashes, THINKfilm's Phoebe in Wonderland and Monterey
Media's The Secrets.
Openly lesbian actress Cynthia Nixon
will receive the Vito Russo Award for her gay rights advocacy.
“Cynthia Nixon has been a vocal and
visible advocate who has transformed cultural attitudes about our
community,” Barrios said. “She is a perfect example of how
sharing your personal story and speaking out for marriage equality
can inspire change among fair-minded Americans. It is our privilege
to honor her.”
The GLAAD Media Awards recognize
excellence in 41 categories including newspaper content, syndicated
columnists and comic books. Awards will be rolled out in a series of
dinners: March 13 in New York, April 17 in Los Angeles and June 5 in
San Francisco.
On the Net: GLAAD is at www.glaad.org