LGBTV
a look into queer representation on television
In 50 years, the LGBTQ+ portrayals on tv have come along way but with only 6.8% of characters being members of the queer community, there is still a significant amount of work to be done.
Video transcript
Narrator: Queer representation in television has come a long way. As we celebrate the LGBTQ+ folks we should also pause and ask why they are so much more one-dimensional and limited compared to their straight counterparts. I’m Daisy Williams and this is a look into queer representation on television
Queer characters have been popping up on television for the past 50 years. The first respectful depiction of a gay character was in 1971, in All In The Family. Then, In 1972 Corner Bar showed us the first recurring queer character. Hot’l Baltimore, made by All In The Family’s creator, Norman Lear, introduced us to the first gay couple on television in 75’. 4 years later, the first transgender person was portrayed on the Jeffersons. Fast forward to the ’90s and we started to see a new wave of sexuality being expressed on television. We saw the first lesbian kiss on LA Law in 1991, a lesbian wedding on Friends in 1996 and Ellen's infamous Puppy Episode which marks the first gay series lead in 1997.
Ellen: "I’m Gay"
Narrator: Today, LGBTQ+ representation is at an all-time high.
Darryl: (Singing) "I like ladies and I like guys"
Narrator: GLAAD’s Where are we on TV? Report for 2019 says 10% of regular characters on television identify as LGBTQ. Actors portraying gay and lesbian characters have been celebrated with awards. Genres from sci-fi to children’s shows have shown diversity in sexuality- LGBTQ is a genre in itself.
Queer characters have been popping up on television for the past 50 years. The first respectful depiction of a gay character was in 1971, in All In The Family. Then, In 1972 Corner Bar showed us the first recurring queer character. Hot’l Baltimore, made by All In The Family’s creator, Norman Lear, introduced us to the first gay couple on television in 75’. 4 years later, the first transgender person was portrayed on the Jeffersons. Fast forward to the ’90s and we started to see a new wave of sexuality being expressed on television. We saw the first lesbian kiss on LA Law in 1991, a lesbian wedding on Friends in 1996 and Ellen's infamous Puppy Episode which marks the first gay series lead in 1997.
Ellen: "I’m Gay"
Narrator: Today, LGBTQ+ representation is at an all-time high.
Darryl: (Singing) "I like ladies and I like guys"
Narrator: GLAAD’s Where are we on TV? Report for 2019 says 10% of regular characters on television identify as LGBTQ. Actors portraying gay and lesbian characters have been celebrated with awards. Genres from sci-fi to children’s shows have shown diversity in sexuality- LGBTQ is a genre in itself.
Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Characters in TV shows
Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Characters in TV shows
Queerness in television is mainstream. So why do some of the characters feel so shallow?
Firstly, let’s make a clear separation between shows about queer people and shows that have a queer character. The first category includes shows in which that main plot is driven by sexuality. Your Queer as Folk, Pose, Orange is the New Black, The L Word. Characters on these shows are more developed. Because the premise is rooted in queer issues, they’re allowed to deal with their problems front and center. They are never a side plot, a best friend or one season story arc. They’re also not just defined by their queerness. These shows have created a reality where these characters are fully formed humans with their own issues – and they aren’t limited by their sexuality.
By contrast, the next characters are completely flattened by their sexual identity. This just means a show where the characters' sexuality is used as a trope - they have no nuance. There are so many ways this is done, but today I’m going to focus on the two most bothersome ones. One, Using queer characters in a frivolous and superficial way and two, limiting or restricting their love interest to another token queer character.
Craig: "Okay, fine"
Narrator: Category one, using characters in a trivial way. Let’s look at three very popular network comedies from the past 15 years. In 30 Rock, Will Arnett stars as Devon Banks, a successful network executive, in New Girl, June Diane Raphael stars as Sadie, Jess’ gynecologist and close friend and in How I Met Your Mother, Wayne Brady plays Barney’s big brother, James Stinson. When a character comes in sporadically it feels like the networks are trying to tick a diversity box, especially when the leads are all straight and so much of the plot revolves around their straight dating lives. 2015’s Master of None sums up diversity in television pretty well.
Dev: "But to me the bigger issue is Why can’t there be two Indian people in a show? Why is it me or Ravi, why can’t there be two –"
Jerry: "Look, I’ll be frank with you, if I do a show with two Indian guys on the poster, everyone’s going to think it’s an Indian show. It wouldn’t be as relatable to a large mainstream audience"
Dev: "Yeah but you’d never say that about a show with two white people, every show has two white people. People don’t say that"
Narrator: It’s the same with gay and straight characters. Shows don’t want to be boxed into being a “gay” show, but when these characters are sprinkled in it feels lazy and hollow.
Firstly, let’s make a clear separation between shows about queer people and shows that have a queer character. The first category includes shows in which that main plot is driven by sexuality. Your Queer as Folk, Pose, Orange is the New Black, The L Word. Characters on these shows are more developed. Because the premise is rooted in queer issues, they’re allowed to deal with their problems front and center. They are never a side plot, a best friend or one season story arc. They’re also not just defined by their queerness. These shows have created a reality where these characters are fully formed humans with their own issues – and they aren’t limited by their sexuality.
By contrast, the next characters are completely flattened by their sexual identity. This just means a show where the characters' sexuality is used as a trope - they have no nuance. There are so many ways this is done, but today I’m going to focus on the two most bothersome ones. One, Using queer characters in a frivolous and superficial way and two, limiting or restricting their love interest to another token queer character.
Craig: "Okay, fine"
Narrator: Category one, using characters in a trivial way. Let’s look at three very popular network comedies from the past 15 years. In 30 Rock, Will Arnett stars as Devon Banks, a successful network executive, in New Girl, June Diane Raphael stars as Sadie, Jess’ gynecologist and close friend and in How I Met Your Mother, Wayne Brady plays Barney’s big brother, James Stinson. When a character comes in sporadically it feels like the networks are trying to tick a diversity box, especially when the leads are all straight and so much of the plot revolves around their straight dating lives. 2015’s Master of None sums up diversity in television pretty well.
Dev: "But to me the bigger issue is Why can’t there be two Indian people in a show? Why is it me or Ravi, why can’t there be two –"
Jerry: "Look, I’ll be frank with you, if I do a show with two Indian guys on the poster, everyone’s going to think it’s an Indian show. It wouldn’t be as relatable to a large mainstream audience"
Dev: "Yeah but you’d never say that about a show with two white people, every show has two white people. People don’t say that"
Narrator: It’s the same with gay and straight characters. Shows don’t want to be boxed into being a “gay” show, but when these characters are sprinkled in it feels lazy and hollow.
Straight vs Queer Characters
Straight vs Queer Characters
This takes us to a second category – queer characters’ limited love interests. Have you ever been watching a show with a well-crafted, deeply developed and just overall interesting gay character and then all of a sudden another queer character is introduced and bam they are dating? Although I admit some of these characters make for a cute coupling, it destroys the notion that people of the same sexual preference can’t be friends. Take Shrill’s Fran and Emily or Dead to Me’s Judy and Michelle or Riverdale’s Toni and Cheryl. The worst offender of this is in Sex And The City with Stanford and Anthony. In the show’s second movie, the couple get married.
Stanford: "I hate him"
Narrator: It fulfils the stereotype of the gay best friend only there to serve their female friends - they are simply an accessory to her. This troupe deprives the character of any other personality traits and reduces them to their sexuality. At the same time that Sex and the City originally came out, so did another show that did the opposite- Will and Grace. The titular character Will and his best friend Jack share a friendship that is organic, healthy and platonic. It defied the stereotypes that gay men can’t be friends and resisted the toxic typecasting of gay men as only caring about having sex.
Jack: "I’m naked too!" (screams)
Narrator: So, although there are plenty of shows to be celebrated for their diverse representation of sexuality, we still have a bit of a way to go. And although only being a side character or having limited romantic love interests may seem insignificant it leads to larger trends like the 'Bury Your Gays' trope. This is the phenomenon of queer characters, particularly lesbians, being killed off and/or living really tragic lives. When LGBTQ+ characters aren’t treated as real people they are seen as dispensable.
Having gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans and all other members on the gender and sexuality spectrum represented in honest, nuanced and thoughtful ways is essential. If television holds a mirror to society, gayness is not being shown accurately. We have made so much progress in 50 years and because of that we have seen our favorite characters succeed, fail, fall in love, marry and experience joy. As more creators on and off screen continue to develop intricate characters, our queer representation and understanding of the community will flourish. Moving forward, shows should retire the gay best friends, the evil lesbians and exclusively straight casts and aim for a rainbow future.
(Getting Bi from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend plays)
Stanford: "I hate him"
Narrator: It fulfils the stereotype of the gay best friend only there to serve their female friends - they are simply an accessory to her. This troupe deprives the character of any other personality traits and reduces them to their sexuality. At the same time that Sex and the City originally came out, so did another show that did the opposite- Will and Grace. The titular character Will and his best friend Jack share a friendship that is organic, healthy and platonic. It defied the stereotypes that gay men can’t be friends and resisted the toxic typecasting of gay men as only caring about having sex.
Jack: "I’m naked too!" (screams)
Narrator: So, although there are plenty of shows to be celebrated for their diverse representation of sexuality, we still have a bit of a way to go. And although only being a side character or having limited romantic love interests may seem insignificant it leads to larger trends like the 'Bury Your Gays' trope. This is the phenomenon of queer characters, particularly lesbians, being killed off and/or living really tragic lives. When LGBTQ+ characters aren’t treated as real people they are seen as dispensable.
Having gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans and all other members on the gender and sexuality spectrum represented in honest, nuanced and thoughtful ways is essential. If television holds a mirror to society, gayness is not being shown accurately. We have made so much progress in 50 years and because of that we have seen our favorite characters succeed, fail, fall in love, marry and experience joy. As more creators on and off screen continue to develop intricate characters, our queer representation and understanding of the community will flourish. Moving forward, shows should retire the gay best friends, the evil lesbians and exclusively straight casts and aim for a rainbow future.
(Getting Bi from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend plays)