Despite the perpetuation of harmful stereotypes and the resulting spread of misinformation that appears to plague many mainstream instances of asexual representation, the existence of more accurate representation in newer media seems to positively affect the perception of the asexual community and the mental health of those within it. One example of a positively received, explicitly asexual character in mainstream media is Todd Chavez from the TV series Bojack Horseman. Bojack Horseman is a Netflix-original TV series which follows an anthropomorphized horse as he deals with a washed out Hollywood career, addiction, and the responsibilities and pressures of upholding relationships. Many of the characters in Bojack Horseman are presented as such …show more content…
In a 2022 national survey conducted by The Trevor Project, a non-profit organization aiming to help support LGBTQ+ youth, it was found that “89% of LGBTQ youth reported that seeing LGBTQ representation in TV/movies made them feel good about being LGBTQ.” Amit Paley, CEO and Executive Director of The Trevor Project, held that “the fact that very simple things like.seeing LGBTQ representation in media.can have such a positive impact on the mental health of an LGBTQ young person is inspiring.” Paley goes so far as to advise that media representation of sexuality and gender should “command more around suicide prevention and public debates around LGBTQ inclusion” since it can play such a large role in validating the viewers’ identities. Representation, like Drea, can help people inside of the asexual community by increasing their self-esteem and bettering their perceptions of their sexuality, but how can representation affect those outside of the asexual community? As stated before, White’s study did not have any conclusive results regarding quantitative evidence backing up the influence of media representation on perception. This is not an unexpected result. Unlike homosexuality or bisexuality, asexuality is a relatively new topic in research and media, meaning that it is less likely that a member of the general public will have a particularly strong opinion on asexuality beyond possible minority discrimination. To get a better idea of how asexual representation in media may affect public perceptions as awareness and understanding of asexuality becomes more accessible, we may look at the results of a similar study conducted on the effects of LGBT-inclusive TV on attitudes towards lesbian and gay individuals. In this study, conducted by Harry Yaojun Yan, eight hundred and fifty six