TIL that Wendy's stopped advertising on Ellen after Ellen Degeneres came out as gay

You're incorrect. And you're receiving a negative response because your insistence that the LGBT community is 'over represented' comes off as a little homophobic—whether or not you're 'making a value judgement.'

You claim I'm incorrect, then go on to use the same data I presented throughout your comment to support my statement. Then you bring up homophobia while remarking remarking that, no, I haven't expressed an opinion on the facts presented, all in the same breath. This is an excellent example of an emotional, knee-jerk reaction to objective topic.

Can you imagine saying 'there are too many black people' on TV and it not being taken as a little racist?

I can imagine. In a thread about racial minorities I could make the exact same statement using different figures from a similar data set. The conclusion would be the same. My source even notes something to the effect: "In sitcom television, the token gay friend has come to replace the token black friend" in popular media. It's a common trope. Mentioning it, alone, doesn't make the speaker racist for stating factual information. People, especially in forums like this, are going to make assertions of racism as an emotional reaction. It's unfortunate, and hurts the discussion, but there's nothing I can do about that.

I should add, GLAAD is celebrating this as a major achievement. Even by the most conservative estimates of percentage of the population that identify as queer, 4% barely makes up a proportional representation.

They're an advocacy group, of course they see it as an achievement. That doesn't change the fact that it's inordinately disproportionate. People aren't stupid, they notice details that appear out of the ordinary. That shouldn't come as surprise given the breakdown. 3.8% of Americans identify as lgbt. You claim that's conservative yet it's the most accurate figure available. If you disagree with Gallup, feel free to present evidence to the contrary. Furthermore, GLAAD's figures, which cover TV programming aired from 8pm-10pm, is restrictive. Accounting for programming after 10pm will increase representation figures significantly.

Ultimately, even if we were 'over represented,' who the hell cares? As an (I'm assuming) straight person, every moment of your life you're surrounded by representations of yourself.

To a queer person—especially a young one—there's an incredible loneliness to feeling essentially invisible. If GLAAD's numbers are right (and I assume they are) 4% of characters being LGBT means that 96% aren't—can you imagine how out of place you'd feel if 96% of the characters you saw on TV were queer?

As has been mentioned, people notice abnormalities in media that that don't fit their experience. There's ample evidence of discrepancy. Mentioning this doesn't ascribe any meaning as to their opinions on lgbt issues. To claim otherwise is to invite accusations of "feels over reals". I can empathize with your, and others, feelings of loneliness and invisibility; however, my feelings on the matter, nor yours, aren't going to change the data. It shouldn't really have an impact, although, I think, if anything, it mirrors society's growing acceptance of different orientations. Reality doesn't change just because we have feelings about it, one way or another.

/r/todayilearned Thread Parent Link - en.wikipedia.org