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Blog, Our Commitments, International LGTBIQ+ Pride Day
DATE
Jun 28, 2023
Broadcasting services have been evolving, and today the most widely used are social media, but previously television was the only medium. The change in LGTBIQ+ representation was notable in the 21st century, as mainstream films were avoiding homosexual themes. In addition, most mentions of homosexuality on television were for laughs.
The earliest beginnings of LGTBIQ+ appearances on television were:
- 1991, NBC aired the first lesbian kiss on an episode of The Law.
- 1997, DeGeneres, a household name at the time, appeared on the cover of Time magazine with a headline that read Yes, I’m Gay.
- 1998, the show Will & Grace, with Ellen after time away from television due to cancellation of her previous series, after receiving violent attacks also towards the network.
The late 90s and early 2000s were a very important time for visibility, being able to name more series such as Pose, Love Victor, Euphoria, among others.
Most shocking LGBTQ+ characters in the history of TV
Characters appear on our screens and erode long-held prejudices and misconceptions. It’s happened with LGTBIQ+ representation on TV, which has gone from non-existent to nearly ubiquitous in a matter of decades.
As we are celebrating Pride Day, we want to honor 5 of the most iconic characters in television history:
- Beverly LaSalle, All in the Family (1971-1979)
Starting in 1975, comedian Lori Shannon appeared as Edith Bunker’s impersonator friend Beverly LaSalle on three episodes of CBS’s All in the Family. This was a milestone: a drag queen presented in a positive and affirming light on one of America’s top-rated television shows.
- Willow Rosenberg, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer (1997-2001)
She was a real scene-stealer, using her brains, wit and magic to get the Scooby Gang out of numerous tight spots. Initially identified as straight, Willow was attracted to fellow spell caster Tara (Amber Benson), and many ’90s teens identified with her struggles with her sexuality.
- Will Truman, Will and Grace (1998-2006)
Will’s deep, if platonic, love for Grace (Debra Messing) resonated among many viewers, and the show’s unapologetic portrayal of a smart, successful gay man looking for love educated many more.
- Will Horton, Days of our Lives (2010-present)
Will was not the first gay man on daytime television, but he is a legacy character on one of America’s longest-running soap operas.
- Blanca Evangelista, Pose (2018-2021)
Chosen families are a big part of the LGTBIQ+ experience, and Blanca from Pose gave viewers a strong maternal presence in this Ryan Murphy-produced drama that explored the ballroom culture and queer life of New York City in the 1980s and 1990s.
6 TV shows that represent the LGTBIQ+ community
Yellowjackets
A high school girls’ soccer team whose plane mysteriously crashes in the woods, forcing them all to become more and more Lord of the Flies-esque scenarios that eventually lead to cultism, cannibalism, and possibly witchcraft. While Taissa’s story isn’t about her identifying as a lesbian, it’s certainly an integral part of who she is, and her sexuality plays into both her teen and adult stories, where she fends off creatures both real and (possibly) supernatural when they target her girlfriend, and later, his wife and son.
Heartstopper
The story follows Charlie (Joe Locke), an awkward schoolboy who falls in love with Nick (Kit Connor), the kind-hearted jock he sits next to. The series also expands the comic book story to include Charlie’s almost entirely queer group of friends, which notably includes Elle (Yasmin Finney), a trans girl who moves to a nearby girls’ school and forms her own group of queer friends there as well as having an affair with Tao (William Gao), her friend from her previous boys’ school.
Queer as Folk
Begins with a shooting at a gay club in New Orleans, which is then used to explore how each character handles their trauma. Compared to the original (The L Word), this rebooted version tells a much broader and more varied set of stories through characters such as Brodie (Devin Way), his trans best friend Ruthie (Jesse James Keitel) and drag artist Mingus (Fin Argus).
Gentleman Jack
This series is notable for the mere fact that it tells the true story of 19th century lesbian industrialist and landowner Anne Lister, who chronicled her travels, studies and “love of the fairer sex” in more than 24 volumes of diaries.
First kill
It is a short story about a queer lesbian romance. It focuses on Juliette and Calliope, ill-fated lovers from rival families. The two young teens find themselves in rather tense circumstances: vampire Juliette has chosen Calliope as her first victim, unaware that she comes from a long line of incredibly competent monster hunters.
We Are Lady Parts
Focuses on straight character Amina, the series is boundary-breaking in how it centers a punk rock band made entirely up of Muslim women. Among the members is drummer Ayesha, who has an awakening mid-season when she’s struck with love at first sight for a woman: influencer Zarina.
LGBTQ+ representation in film
Representations of queer and trans people have been present in the film medium since its inception over 100 years ago, but due to censorship and varying degrees of prejudice against the LGTBIQ+ community at different times, on-screen representation has an encrypted history.
In Hollywood, the strict Hays Code banned explicit depictions of homosexuality in films for three decades. In the 1970s, its popularity increased with the growing prominence of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and John Waters’ films. Later, the New Queer Cinema in the 1990s flourished as many independent filmmakers as possible (many of whom were gay) told fluid and empathetic stories about queer people.
Some of the representations throughout history:
- 1894 – The Dickson Experimental Sound Film as first gay film.
- 1922 – Manslaughter includes the first ‘erotic’ gay kiss on a film.
- Wings was the first film to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards and also represented one of the first same-sex kisses on screen.
- 1929 – Pandora’s Box introduces cinema’s first lesbian character.
- 1999 – Pedro Almodóvar wins big for All About My Mother: a woman who reunites with her former partner (a trans woman), won Best Foreign Language Film at the 2000 Academy Awards.
- Moonlight by Barry Jenkins. The film tells the story of a young black gay man named Chiron as he grows up and comes to terms with his identity. It made history as the first LGBTQ+ film and the first film with an all-black cast to take home the top award. Made history in 2017 as the first LGBTQ+ film to win the Oscar for Best Picture.
The key year was 2019. LGTBIQ+ media advocacy organization GLAAD publishes an annual report on queer representation in the media, and 2019 showed encouraging signs that the media is becoming more inclusive, with a record number of queer characters on screen. An encouraging variety of queer characters and stories were seen, such as: Booksmart, Rocketman, Blockers, Love, Simon, Pain and Glory, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Pain and Glory, And Then We Danced, End of the Century, or Wild Nights With Emily.
Through the different television formats such as those we have mentioned, different influences can be received and various behaviors can be learned, so it is very necessary that there are LGTBIQ+ references that take on important roles and are well constructed to give visibility to a part of society that seeks to identify with and find support in the different media. Moreover, to raise awareness in society that we should all have the same rights. Regardless of our sexual orientation, gender or gender identity.
DISCOVER MORE
Most shocking LGBTQ+ characters in the history of TV
Characters appear on our screens and erode long-held prejudices and misconceptions. It’s happened with LGBTQ+ representation on TV, which has gone from non-existent to nearly ubiquitous in a matter of decades.
As we are celebrating Pride Day, we want to honor 5 of the most iconic characters in television history:
- Beverly LaSalle, All in the Family (1971-1979)
Starting in 1975, comedian Lori Shannon appeared as Edith Bunker’s impersonator friend Beverly LaSalle on three episodes of CBS’s All in the Family. This was a milestone: a drag queen presented in a positive and affirming light on one of America’s top-rated television shows.
- Willow Rosenberg, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer (1997-2001)
She was a real scene-stealer, using her brains, wit and magic to get the Scooby Gang out of numerous tight spots. Initially identified as straight, Willow was attracted to fellow spell caster Tara (Amber Benson), and many ’90s teens identified with her struggles with her sexuality.
- Will Truman, Will and Grace (1998-2006)
Will’s deep, if platonic, love for Grace (Debra Messing) resonated among many viewers, and the show’s unapologetic portrayal of a smart, successful gay man looking for love educated many more.
- Will Horton, Days of our Lives (2010-present)
Will was not the first gay man on daytime television, but he is a legacy character on one of America’s longest-running soap operas.
- Blanca Evangelista, Pose (2018-2021)
Chosen families are a big part of the LGBTQ experience, and Blanca from Pose gave viewers a strong maternal presence in this Ryan Murphy-produced drama that explored the ballroom culture and queer life of New York City in the 1980s and 1990s.