LGBTQ2+ Representation in Television
LGBTQ+ representation is important, and look at how well we’re doing! In fact, I’m sure a majority of people can name at least three TV shows that feature archetypal gay best friends. Lovely.
The topic of queer portrayal in media, especially television is, oddly enough, often touched on by heterosexuals. In fact, perhaps the most famous modern queer story of Love, Simon was written by a heterosexual couple; the book Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda was also written by a straight woman. This, of course isn’t an issue, but here I plan to look at the representation that appears on television made by queer artists, and where you can find them.
You may wonder how this is different, and while it can be broken down bit by bit, there is one crucial point to understand. Mainly, the story overall. Below is a compiled list of LGBTQ+ television and in my research, I separated the shows written by queer people as opposed to straight people and noticed some differences. The biggest one being what the stories are about. Surprising to some, the straighter the writer, the gayer the story, and that means exactly what it says. Take Love, Simon as example, the writers are straight and the entire story can be boiled down to being about being gay. Below, there’s a series called The Politician, on the writing team is two straight men and one gay man and with even that little represention, the show has far more plot than a character discovering their sexuality.
So let’s dive into it! Queer TV!
Eastsiders
First aired in 2012, Eastsiders was created by Kit Williamson. The plot of four seasons (so far) simply follows the life of a young gay man (played by Williamson) and his boyfriend, his best friend, his sister and many others along the way. Being a story about the life of a man and nothing more, it’s clear to tell that this show was indeed made by a gay man.
The Politician
As mentioned above, with only the smallest amount of representation in the writers room, this Netflix original series is booming with queer subplot. The basic premise of the show is that of cutthroat high school politics, passion at all costs and the challenges of students. The queer portrayal of this show is especially strong; from gay storylines, to sexuality questioning and confusion, to nonbinary representation, queer people of colour, and even LGBTQ2+ actors.
Vida
Called “a rare TV show about a queer Latinx community”, Tanya Saracho’s Vida is truly beautiful and entirely rare. The show follows two sisters with virtually no relationship being reunited and is incredibly highly rated by critics. Saracho being a queer latin woman herself, seems to have a good grasp on understanding gay-representation.
Queer as Folk
As made clear from the title, this show is Queer with a capital Q. First airing in 2000, it ran for five strong seasons. Ranging from wrenching drama to sit-com comedy, the story is about a group of friends, each queer identifying. Russel T. Davies made this show knowing that in the time, this idea was extremely uncommon, to this day, Queer as Folk remains to be one of the only TV shows with only primarily LGBTQ2+ characters.
Wynonna Earp
Moving away from drama comes the Sci-Fi series of Wynonna Earp. Having a science fiction plot, it’s quite obvious that it’s main story is not that of sexuality discovery or anything of the sort. Rather, the Alberta-based show works gay characters and relationships into the very serious business of demon protection. In my research, I couldn’t find whether any of the creators themselves were queer but based on all of the other information, in this case, I can’t see why it matters.
How to Get Away with Murder
While I can’t speak of the show itself, the quality of queer representation is, surprisingly, incredible. About five law students in a tricky situation with a professor, the series takes a winding plot over the current six seasons. However, behind the themes of murder, love, life and death are some wonderful LGBTQ2+ stories and characters. This includes, a woman unsure of her sexuality, queer people of colour, and biracial gay couples all casually important in themselves.
Sex Education
This hilarious teen drama first aired on Netflix in 2019, the third season was just recently confirmed in early 2020. While the show happens to be packed full of queer subplot, it’s ranked last on the list for the sole purpose of the protagonist. Otis Milburn in a straight white guy with a gay best friend. Not that it overshadows the stories of drag queens, interracial marriages and relationships, sexuality discovery, internalized homophobia and more, the fact that the sole character is still a straight man does rank this at the bottom of this list.
So, what have we learned? The reason I wrote this article wasn’t necessarily to shine light on LGBTQ+ television, or make recommendations for someone unsure of what to watch, rather because I wanted to shine light on what makes these queer stories so good, so well-told, and representative. What I hope you, dear reader may take from this is the understanding that stories told by those within the community are, frankly, more important than that of those told for the community. Queer artists are just as important as queer stories.
