U.S. citizens are likely to formulate opinions about gay and lesbians based on what they view on television, according to a poll commissioned by Bravoís OutZoneTV.com. United Press International reports that the poll revealed that of any possible influential factors, 47 percent of those polled claimed television influences their outlook of the gay and lesbian lifestyle.
Religion, according to UPI, was the second-highest response with 34 percent naming it as their personal basis for attitude formulation.
Broadcastingcable.com reports that as far as actors coming out of the closet, those polled expressed the most surprise at How I met Your Mother star Neil Patrick Harris' revelation (47 percent); 'N Syncer Lance Bass was second at 19 percent.
Broadcastingcable.com reports other findings as follows: 75 percent of those polled said that knowing if an actor or actress were gay would not affect whether they would watch a show the performer was in; 10 percent thought there should be more gay characters on TV; 66 percent think the media report too much on gay and lesbian celebrities; 74 percent think society has become more accepting of gay and lesbian celebrities; and 43 percent said American viewers were not ready to see transgender characters on TV and never would be.
Bravo teamed with gay-targeted media/entertainment company PlanetOut Inc. to launch OutZoneTV.com in March.
