>> What does representation in television mean to you? <<

Well, the base definition is featuring characters who in various ways resemble the audience. So if there are female characters onscreen, women are represented; if there are gay character, gay men are represented, etc. Thus it's an expression of diversity, which is either visible (e.g. race), shown through action (e.g. homosexuality), or stated outright (e.g. religion).

However, the quality also matters. If all the women are in nonspeaking roles, or all the gays are dead at the end of the show, that's not a good representation. We're looking for things like:

When I was nine years old, Star Trek came on, I looked at it and I went screaming through the house, 'Come here, mum, everybody, come quick, come quick, there's a black lady on television and she ain't no maid!' I knew right then and there I could be anything I wanted to be.
-- Whoopi Goldberg

Good representation inspires viewers by showing them characters who resemble the viewer doing exciting things or just living happy lives.

So then, some people develop tests, like the Bechdel Test or the Fries Test, that measure the quality of representation. Here's my scale of identity literature as it develops over time; it also fits television / movies.

>> Do you find representation important? <<

Yes. It helps me tell characters apart. If they're all white men, I'll mix them up. If there's a white man, a white woman, a black man, a black woman, an Asian, and a genderqueer person then I can tell them apart. Also, I find stories more interesting when characters have diverse traits and backgrounds. The problem-solving is better because they have wider resources. A homogenous group won't fare well against the kinds of challenges I like to watch.


>> When did you feel represented in a TV show? <<

Very rarely. I'm not much like the kinds of characters I typically see. But Nimona in the movie of the same name is very much like me if you leave out her depressive tendencies. The reflection was startling because I'm not used to it.

On the other hoof, I don't have a problem relating to characters who are not me or imagining myself in their stories. So I can access things that other folks might not feel a connection with. I do like diverse stories though. Those are easier to find in literature than television. But I've seen some Afro-futurist television recently that was awesome, and Lovecraft Country was so brilliant that I watched it even though I'm not actually a horror fan.

See Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire.