Alastair/Athena, "Huge"
I have been trying to get everyone I know to watch Huge with me and everyone says, "Yeah, that sounds great," and then we never do. But it is THE BEST, you've just got to start watching and you'll be hooked. Now, not to give too much away, but Alastair is an incredible character. He's super awkward and weird and no one really gets him and he's totally open about finding power in the name Athena and wanting that to be his nickname or whatever and when the jock kid calls him that out of kindness and acceptance you will CRY and if you don't you are made of permafrost. Anyway, what's great about Alastair is that he is pretty much the embodiment of "Questioning". He's totally queer but is still figuring out what that means and even though he may have curiosity about guys he's got it about girls, too and is really just trying to be himself and find the best way to do that. He's not afraid to be genderqueer and embody the feminine along with the masculine and most of all he doesn't want people making assumptions about him based on what they see or hear. Alastair is one of the main reasons why Huge is so great, and probably one of the main reasons it was cancelled, lest teenagers realize it's ok to be whoever they want to be or some other TERRIBLE lesson like that.
I should just end this list now, because it just can't get any better than that.
The Cast Of Will & Grace (minus Grace)
Will & Grace is one of those shows that doesn't really get talked about anymore. I don't think I've mentioned it once in almost a year of this blog. But it really was, for at least the first few seasons, revolutionary, brilliant, and hilarious queer comedy. Sure, there were some issues with stereotypes, but Eric McCormack and Sean Hayes are such great actors that they dealt with those unavoidable roadblocks with grace and dignity. Megan Mullally's pansexual Karen is one of the greatest television characters of all time; they should have ended the show before Harry Connick, Jr came on to ruin everything and created a spin-off called Jack & Karen, because who wouldn't watch that? I remember seeing two men kiss on primetime TV, and how powerful that was for me as a little baby queer with an uncle about to get gay married. I love, love, love Sean Hayes (if you haven't seen Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss, do it NOW) and think he deserves tons of credit for making flamboyance into something more than a limp-wristed caricature and for showing the world that it's ok to be stereotypically & effeminately gay, but that that doesn't mean that's ALL you are. I think it's safe to say that the television world would not be what it is today without Will & Grace.
Chandler & Phoebe, "Friends"
Both totally bi. Like, so bi I've considered writing a dissertation about how bi they are. Really the argument could be made for all of the so-called heteros on Friends, but Chandler and Phoebe are the most obvious about it. I love when Phoebe slips in a sly reference for her love for the ladies and it is totally NBD and that Chandler's queerness just subtly becomes part of who he is.
David & Keith, "Six Feet Under"
These characters provided an incredibly nuanced and somewhat realistic look at the struggles of being in a long-term interracial gay relationship (I say somewhat because most gay couples don't have to deal with Michelle Trachtenberg being an evil whore or the aftermath of being abducted and made to smoke crack and almost set on fire). And Keith is Hottie McHotterson, goddamn. But what's great about Keith and David is that a lot of their problems aren't about being gay; they have conflicts and relationship struggles just like any other couple, without getting all heteronormative and losing the gayness that DOES impact their relationship. Like I said, nuanced. Also, does anyone else remember when David was dating Adam Scott? Because that was awesome.
Oscar, "The Office"
"Other than the fact that I have sex with men, the Finer Things Club is probably the gayest thing about me."
I love Oscar. End of story.
Jack McPhee, "Dawson's Creek"
Now, since I didn't watch The Creek when it originally aired, I can't really speak to the impact it had on pop culture. What I can say is how they did a really wonderful job of creating a character who was gay, instead of a gay character. Jack struggles with many of the same issues the other teens do - finding the right person, having the courage to chase after what you want, being proud and confidant with who you are. He kisses many boys. Yes, sometimes the gay football prodigy stuff got a little heavy-handed, but that only went on for one season and the character continued to have other, complicated, real-life plotlines. There's an episode in the fourth season where Jack, having broken his arm and unable to play football, is recruited by Andie to coach a kids' soccer team. Someone's bitchy older sister hits on him and he turns her down, so she tells all the parents that he's gay and they band together to get him removed as coach. It's incredibly depressing but also incredibly authentic, and it doesn't end happily - the parents succeed in their bigotry, and everyone loses. But that moment starts him on a path of activism that eventually leads to him meeting his first boyfriend. I could keep going on about Jack for a long-ass time - how his frat-and-drinking-problem storyline has little to nothing to do with his gayness, but that his positive feelings about himself and his sexuality eventually help him pull things together...and on and on. But I look at a character like Jack and I wonder why we can't have more characters like him on TV nowadays.
Salvatore Romano & Joyce Gaypants, "Mad Men"
Leave it to Mad Men to be the best. Everyone loves Sal! Even Lee Garner, Jr., the creep who got him fired because Sal wouldn't suck his dick in the editing room. The brilliant thing about Sal is that we, the 2011 audience, know he's gay, but almost no one on the show does - and it takes Sal a while to admit it to himself. But it's both great and painful to watch Sal start to accept his true self and come out of his shell a little. Sadly, the last we saw of him he was lying to his wife and then going for a night stroll in The Ramble, but I have high hopes that he'll show up in the future, having left Kitty, working as a director, living in a fabulous apartment, and GCWOKing it up with the dude from Belle Jolie. In fact, if that doesn't happen, I'm going to be very upset.
Joyce's last name obviously isn't Gaypants, but her pants are SO GAY that I'm going to pretend that it is. A lesbian with a thing for Peggy, suits, and the gayest female ponytail I've ever seen, Joyce has confidence in herself and an incredibly suave way with the ladies. She can be kind of a bitch, but that's a necessity in those days, and it's just so nice to see a strong, interesting lesbian with a real personality that isn't going to get punished for her "subversive" behavior like some kind of morality play. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of Joyce and her gay, gay pants in the future.
Looking back on this list, you might notice that there is a remarkable dearth of women on it. That's because as bad as the portrayal of gay men can be, for women it's even worse. The L Word is terrible. The women on Queer As Folk are a little better, but not much. I haven't watched Ellen in a long time, so I don't know enough to put her on this list. Serena from Law & Order only came out on her last episode. Samantha from Sex & The City doesn't count. Can you think of any other queer women on tv who aren't just used as a plot device (i.e. this woman is gay so ha ha, male character, you can't have her! Or ha ha, straight woman, this woman is gay and trying to date you!)? I have been wracking my brains and just can't. Jennifer Aniston on Dirt was ok, I guess...Oh! I found one!
Isabelle Hodes, "Weeds"
Now here is a girl who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to go after it. This girl started kissing other girls way back in season one, terrible parenting be damned. Isabelle is brash and outspoken - she is who she is and fuck you if you don't like it. Weeds doesn't judge Isabelle; in fact, she's one of the smartest and most capable characters on the entire show. Here's hoping the season premiere on Monday finds Isabelle living with a hottie hot girlfriend, getting high and being self-sufficient with all that Huskaroos cash.
Ok, I know I've forgotten at least one character I wanted to talk about, and you're welcome to tell me who's been overlooked, but that's all my brain is dredging up right now. It's time to strap on my bi pride colors and "Sex For Girl's [sic]" t-shirt and go out and celebrate in the streets! See you out there!
Images via ABCFamily, staythistime, PopCulturePlaypen, Photobucket, actup.org, iGossip, BestWeekEver, Groomstand, moogi
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