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As a long-time fan of Wentworth and a member of the LGBT community I have

appreciated Wentworths long-time representation of queer women and the


diversity of these characters. In Season 4, when Allie Novak was introduced and
her romantic relationship with Bea Smith began to develop, it was one of the
most realistic and beautiful lesbian relationships I have ever seen portrayed on
TV. Beas later-in-life sexual awakening was realistic and well-written. As a
lesbian, I felt represented, which is not something that I am used to on television.
However, that all came crashing down for me and thousands of other queer
woman around the world when Bea Smith was killed off in a suicide-like death
shortly after she had explored her sexuality, found love, and consummated her
relationship with Allie. I thought that a quality show like Wentworth was above
using something as harmful as the Lesbian Death Trope (LDT), but this that was
unfortunately proven untrue.
A trope is a widely-used plot device. When the Lesbian Death Trope is used, two
women find a moment of true happiness (usually making love), and one of them
is killed off almost immediately after. It has a toxic subtext and perpetuates the
message that LGBT people do not deserve happiness. It is not just about a gay
character dying; it is about creating a link between same-sex attraction/sex
followed by death. This trope is reminiscent of the older Hays Code, which only
allowed gay characters to exist if they were punished for being so.
The 2016 TV year has been tough for queer women viewers as we have had to
witness characters that represent us killed repeatedly in senseless and shocking
ways. Researchers have shown that queer women are 5 times more likely to die
on screen than have a happy ending. It has become so noticeable that outlets
such as Variety, The Washington Post, The Hollywood Reporter, and Vanity Fair
among countless others have examined the troubling and pervasive use of the
Lesbian Death Trope in contemporary television and film. Movements such as
LGBT Fans Deserve Better and LGBT Viewers Deserve Better were started to
highlight this issue in media with the hope that education will bring a stop to
perpetual use of this harmful trope.
Pete McTighe (Wentworth head writer) recently said on Twitter that the lesbian
death trope was not used because his show has multiple LGBT characters and
more heterosexuals have died on the show than LGBT characters. However, this
completely misses the point of the trope because it has nothing to do with the
"head count" of gay people on a given show. While it is wonderful that there are
several other queer characters on Wentworth, this still does not excuse
Wentworths (almost text book) use of the trope, or protect it from criticism.
Hundreds of people from this community have tried to politely and respectfully
interact with Pete McTighe on Twitter about Wentworths use of the LDT in season
4, but he has blocked fans and acted in rude and dismissive manner, including
suggested that all fans who oppose the story telling decision must be illiterate
or psychotic. He has only retweeted and engaged with those who were not of
the LGBT community (and therefore less awareness of the cause) and those who
had praised him. If Pete considers himself an ally to the LGBT community, it is
very disturbing that he is essentially silencing this minority. When confronted
with questions from LGBT audience, a true ally will maintain an open-mind, listen
and learn from this under-represented community, instead of silencing and
insulting us.
On Tuesday the 2nd of August, LGBT fans and straight allies across the world

came together to trend BEA SMITH DESERVED BETTER in protest of Wentworths


use of the LDT. Almost 9000 unique tweets were sent over a 3-hour period -- but
this has yet to be acknowledged by Foxtel or anyone from the Wentworth
production team. Pete, the producers, and the network clearly do not respect the
minority community that is being represented on their show. Wentworth has a
very large LGBT fan base, and the general consensus is that the majority of us
have been hurt by the recent story-line and Petes behaviour on Twitter since the
finale. Wentworth has now alienated fans who were previously the most
passionate, loyal, and vocal about their love for the show
LGBT viewers want all show creators and writers (especially those of valued
shows like Wentworth) to gain a clear understanding of what the Lesbian Death
Trope is and how it negatively affects viewers. We arent advocating never killing
off LGBT characters, we are asking people to take a closer look at how they are
killing LGBT characters and the message they send by doing so.
The question is, how do you Wentworths producers, creative team and
distributors - intend to do to make things right with its audience going forward?
Many Wentworth fans and viewers from the LGBT community want recognition
that Wentworth did indeed use the Lesbian Death Trope, an apology from Pete
McTighe and from Foxtel for their short short-sightedness and failure to recognise
the hurt they have caused with this story-line, and an intention or guarantee to
do better in the future.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and I look forward to your reply.
Yours faithfully,

Further reading:
http://lgbtfansdeservebetter.com/
http://www.lgbtviewersdeservebetter.com/
http://www.autostraddle.com/all-65-dead-lesbian-and-bisexual-characters-on-tvand-how-they-died-312315/

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