{"id":7467,"date":"2017-06-10T10:19:21","date_gmt":"2017-06-10T04:34:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pahichan.com\/?p=7467"},"modified":"2017-06-10T10:19:21","modified_gmt":"2017-06-10T04:34:21","slug":"the-50-most-important-lgbtq-tv-characters-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/the-50-most-important-lgbtq-tv-characters-of-all-time\/","title":{"rendered":"The 50 Most Important LGBTQ TV Characters of All-Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kathmandu (Pahichan) June 10 –\u00a0<\/span><\/span>We polled over 40 LGBTQ television professionals and critics and asked them to rank their top LGBTQ television characters of all time. We present our ultimate ranking as a reflection of the long and evolving history of queer representation on TV.<\/h1>\n

Twenty years ago this past April, Ellen DeGeneres<\/a> stepped up to a conveniently-placed airport intercom microphone and told an expectant Laura Dern, \u201cI\u2019m gay.\u201d It was a watershed moment in terms of gay representation on TV, garnering media attention, controversy, a boycott (driven by homophobia), and jubilant celebration. But it also didn\u2019t happen in a vacuum. Ellen Morgan was a pioneering figure, one of the first main characters on TV to come out as gay, but she wasn\u2019t the first and certainly not the last.<\/p>\n

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The struggle for LGBTQ representation on TV has been an evolution marked by slow progress. Starting with scandalous villain-of-the-week characters on crime dramas in the \u201960s and one-off gays-of-the-week in sitcoms of the \u201970s, the journey to today\u2019s diverse LGBTQ landscape has been marked by momentum and setbacks. But with each of those lurches forward and steps back came a story. Each imperfect vessel found its way to someone \u2014 likely many someones \u2014 in the viewing audience starving for some sliver they could identify with. \u201cProblematic\u201d doesn\u2019t begin to describe, say, Billy Crystal\u2019s Jodie Dallas on Soap<\/em><\/a>, but he was a boot planted on the soil of a popular TV series, and from there we could begin to march forward.<\/p>\n

As is inevitable in the case of an underrepresented minority, no one character ever seemed to satisfy all requirements. Sassy queens were stereotypes; buttoned-up gays were assimilationist eunuchs; gay villains were a field of land mines; lesbian characters were already fighting an uphill battle when it came to good roles for women in the first place; and trans characters were nearly invisible. Progress was slow \u2014 is slow \u2014 but out of the the bricks of each of these imperfect characters has been built a foundation. A history. A canon. These are our characters, who we\u2019ve grown up with, struggled with, identified with, secretly pined for, quietly cried for, and all too infrequently were able to cheer for as well.<\/p>\n

Over 60 years after the first identifiably gay character appeared (in the TV musical Lady in the Dark<\/em>), television is moving ever closer to representing the rainbow of identities that constitute the LGBTQ spectrum. We thought it was time to mark where we are and where we\u2019ve come from.<\/p>\n

Over the last several weeks, Decider polled over 40 LGBTQ entertainment professionals \u2014 writers, directors, showrunners, actors, journalists \u2014 and asked them to list their picks for the most important LGBTQ TV characters of all time. We let \u201cimportant\u201d be defined in the eye of the beholder; these characters all meant something to us in our own personal ways. Then from these individual lists, we compiled an expert ranking of the top 50 gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender TV characters (narrative only; reality-TV characters could comprise a whole list of their own), ranging from the primetime soaps of the 1980s to the streaming series of today. What follows is a list chosen by a community of peers, selecting the 50 TV characters who made their mark most prominently. It\u2019s both a nod to the past and a hopeful gaze into the future. It\u2019s a celebration of the characters who have helped, in whatever small or significant ways, to tell our stories.<\/p>\n

Over the next few days, look out for essays on the top 10 characters on our list, in recognition of their particularly significant place in LGBTQ entertainment.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Decider\u2019s 50 Most Important LGBTQ TV Characters<\/h3>\n

1. Rickie Vasquez, My So-Called Life<\/a><\/em>
\n2. Willow Rosenberg,\u00a0Buffy the Vampire Slayer<\/a><\/em>
\n3. Ellen Morgan,\u00a0Ellen<\/a><\/em>
\n4. Sophia Bursett,\u00a0Orange Is the New Black<\/a><\/em>
\n5. Maura Pfefferman, Transparent<\/a><\/em>
\n6. Jack McFarland, Will & Grace<\/a><\/em>
\n7. Titus Andromedon, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt<\/a><\/em>
\n8. Will Truman, Will & Grace<\/em>
\n9. David Fisher, Six Feet Under<\/a><\/em>
\n10. Omar Little, The Wire<\/a><\/em>
\n11. Kurt Hummel,Glee<\/a><\/em>
\n12. Jodie Dallas, Soap<\/a><\/em>
\n13. Poussey Washington, Orange Is the New Black<\/em>
\n14. Lafayette Reynolds, True Blood<\/a><\/em>
\n15. Max Blum, Happy Endings<\/a><\/em>
\n16. Marshall Gregson, United States of Tara<\/a><\/em>
\n17. Jamal Lyon, Empire<\/a><\/em>
\n18. Justin Suarez, Ugly Betty<\/a><\/em>
\n19. Bianca Montgomery, All My Children<\/a><\/em>
\n20. Jack McPhee, Dawson\u2019s Creek<\/a><\/em>
\n21. Salvatore Romano,\u00a0Mad Men<\/a><\/em>
\n22. Keith Charles, Six Feet Under<\/em>
\n23. Elijah Krantz,Girls<\/a><\/em>
\n24. Mitchell Pritchett, Modern Family<\/a><\/em>
\n25. Brian Kinney, Queer As Folk<\/a><\/em>
\n26. Josh, Please Like Me<\/a><\/em>
\n27. Shane McCutcheon, The L Word<\/a><\/em>
\n28. Dr. Kerry Weaver, E.R.<\/a><\/em>
\n29. Callie Torres,Grey\u2019s Anatomy<\/a><\/em>
\n30. Tara Maclay, Buffy the Vampire Slayer<\/em>
\n31. Richie Donado Ventura, Looking<\/a><\/em>
\n32. Michael Novotny, Queer As Folk<\/em>
\n33. Jack Harkness, Torchwood<\/a><\/em>
\n34. Alice Pieszecki, The L Word<\/em>
\n35. Bette Porter, The L Word<\/em>
\n36. Patrick Murray, Looking<\/em>
\n37. Anna Madrigal, Tales of the City<\/a><\/em>
\n38. Santana Lopaz, Glee<\/em>
\n39. Noah Nicholson, Noah\u2019s Arc<\/a><\/em>
\n40. Marco Del Rossi,\u00a0Degrassi: The Next Generation<\/a><\/em>
\n41. Marc St. James, Ugly Betty<\/em>
\n42. Kalinda Sharma, The Good Wife<\/a><\/em>
\n43. Nancy Bartlett, Roseanne<\/a><\/em>
\n44. Steven Carrington, Dynasty<\/a><\/em>
\n45. Emily Fields, Pretty Little Liars<\/a><\/em>
\n46. Alex Danvers, Supergirl<\/a><\/em>
\n47. Kima Greggs, The Wire<\/em>
\n48. Nomi Marks, Sense8<\/a><\/em>
\n49. Cameron Tucker, Modern Family<\/em>
\n50. Ilana Wexler, Broad City<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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Click on photo to enlarge.photo: DILLEN PHELPS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Contributors<\/h3>\n

Michael Arbeiter, Nerdist
\nKate Aurthur, Buzzfeed
\nJamie Babbitt, film and TV director (But I\u2019m a Cheerleader<\/em>; Girls<\/em>)
\nManuel Betancourt, entertainment writer
\nJulia Bicknell, writer (13 Reasons Why<\/em>)
\nJoel Kim Booster, comedian
\nRon Carlivati, head writer (Days of Our Lives<\/em>)
\nTyler Coates, Esquire<\/em>
\nIan Carlos Crawford, GeeksOUT
\nMatthew D\u2019Ambrosio, writer (The Vampire Diaries<\/em>)
\nMurtada Elfadl, entertainment writer
\nKevin Fallon, The Daily Beast
\nNolan Feeney, Entertainment Weekly<\/em>
\nJamey Giddens, Daytime Confidential
\nDrew Z. Greenberg, writer (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.<\/em>)
\nFran Hoepfner, ClickHole
\nDave Holmes, Esquire<\/em>
\nZac Hug, writer (Shadowhunters<\/em>)
\nMatt Jacobs, Huffington Post
\nMax Jenkins, actor (The Mysteries of Laura<\/em>)
\nNanatchka Khan, showrunner (Fresh Off the Boat<\/em>)
\nGabe Liedman, writer (Transparent<\/em>; Broad City<\/em>)
\nIra Madison III, Daily Beast
\nMatt McConkey, TV writer (Heathers<\/em>)
\nLane Moore, comedian\/host of Tinder Live
\nBrian Moylan, entertainment writer
\nJesse Murray, SyFy.com<\/span>
\nKevin O\u2019Keeffe, Mic.com<\/span>
\nRory O\u2019Malley, actor (Hamilton<\/em>)
\nLouis Peitzman, Buzzfeed
\nPrice Peterson, TV Guide<\/em>
\nDana Piccoli, Bella Books, After Ellen
\nKristy Puchko, Pajiba
\nJoe Reid, Decider.com<\/span>
\nAngela Robinson, director (D.E.B.S.<\/em>)
\nMatthew Rodriguez, Mic.com<\/span>
\nDaniel Rogge, VH1
\nChris Schleicher, writer (The Mindy Project<\/em>)
\nAri Shapiro, NPR
\nRiley Silverman, comedian\/writer
\nDavid Smithyman, writer (Fresh Off the Boat<\/em>)
\nGlen Weldon, NPR
\nBrett White, Decider.com<\/span>
\nErin Whitney, Screencrush
\nJarett Wieselman, Buzzfeed
\nBowen Yang, comedian\/actor (The Outs<\/em>, Broad City<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Copy :\u00a0http:\/\/decider.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kathmandu (Pahichan) June 10 –\u00a0We polled over 40 LGBTQ television professionals and critics and asked them to rank their top LGBTQ television characters of all time. We present our ultimate ranking as a reflection of the long and evolving history of queer representation on TV.
\nTwenty years ago this past April, Ellen DeGeneres stepped up to a conveniently-placed airport intercom microphone and told an expectant Laura Dern, \u201cI\u2019m gay.\u201d It was a watershed moment in terms of gay representation on TV, garnering media attention, controversy, a boycott (driven by homophobia), and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":7468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[621,490,11],"tags":[1450,1469,1500,1452,1480,1470,1490,1494,1478,1453,1467,1473,1461,1488,1479,1465,1106,1481,1486,1471,1474,1499,1451,1489,1463,1454,1476,1495,1475,1482,1493,1498,1459,1472,1462,1496,1487,1192,1492,1477,1484,1485,1460,1497,1483,1455,1464,1468,1491,1457,1466,1456,1458],"class_list":["post-7467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-slider","category-world","tag-1-rickie-vasquez","tag-all-my-children-20-jack-mcphee","tag-broad-city","tag-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-3-ellen-morgan","tag-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-31-richie-donado-ventura","tag-dawsons-creek-21-salvatore-romano","tag-degrassi-the-next-generation-41-marc-st-james","tag-dynasty-45-emily-fields","tag-e-r-29-callie-torres","tag-ellen-4-sophia-bursett","tag-empire-18-justin-suarez","tag-girls-24-mitchell-pritchett","tag-glee-12-jodie-dallas","tag-glee-39-noah-nicholson","tag-greys-anatomy-30-tara-maclay","tag-happy-endings-16-marshall-gregson","tag-lgbtq","tag-looking-32-michael-novotny","tag-looking-37-anna-madrigal","tag-mad-men-22-keith-charles","tag-modern-family-25-brian-kinney","tag-modern-family-50-ilana-wexler","tag-my-so-called-life-2-willow-rosenberg","tag-noahs-arc-40-marco-del-rossi","tag-orange-is-the-new-black-14-lafayette-reynolds","tag-orange-is-the-new-black-5-maura-pfefferman","tag-please-like-me-27-shane-mccutcheon","tag-pretty-little-liars-46-alex-danvers","tag-queer-as-folk-26-josh","tag-queer-as-folk-33-jack-harkness","tag-roseanne-44-steven-carrington","tag-sense8-49-cameron-tucker","tag-six-feet-under-10-omar-little","tag-six-feet-under-23-elijah-krantz","tag-soap-13-poussey-washington","tag-supergirl-47-kima-greggs","tag-tales-of-the-city-38-santana-lopaz","tag-television","tag-the-good-wife-43-nancy-bartlett","tag-the-l-word-28-dr-kerry-weaver","tag-the-l-word-35-bette-porter","tag-the-l-word-36-patrick-murray","tag-the-wire-11-kurt-hummel","tag-the-wire-48-nomi-marks","tag-torchwood-34-alice-pieszecki","tag-transparent-6-jack-mcfarland","tag-true-blood-15-max-blum","tag-ugly-betty-19-bianca-montgomery","tag-ugly-betty-42-kalinda-sharma","tag-unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-8-will-truman","tag-united-states-of-tara-17-jamal-lyon","tag-will-grace-7-titus-andromedon","tag-will-grace-9-david-fisher"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7467"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7469,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7467\/revisions\/7469"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}