The Vito Russo test takes into account a set of criteria to analyse how LGBTQ characters are included in a film. The “Vito Russo Test” is named after the renowned film historian and GLAAD co-founder Vito Russo, whose book The Celluloid Closet remains a seminal analysis of LGBTQ representation in Hollywood films. These criteria can help filmmakers create more multidimensional characters. To pass the Vito Russo test, the following conditions must be met:

• The fiction contains a character identified as LGBTQI+;
• The character must not be defined exclusively or primarily on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation;
• The character must be related to the plot in such a way that the removal of the character would have a significant influence on the plot itself.