Am I the only person who thinks that TV shows don't have enough LGBT representation?

I know that people in Europe get a lot of American shows, but I'm not sure how much of it you get...and we definitely don't watch too many shows from other countries in the US. So, that might be one factor in this discussion.

DWTS, from day one, has always had professional dancers who are gay. On one of the seasons, they even talked about Louis Van Amstel being gay. Even Bruno, one of the judges, has been out on that show. I know all of this, and it has been years and years since I watched DWTS.

I think one of the issues is, in some ways, we're spoiled. Like, we can see LGBT people on TV and it's not a secret they're LGBT, but we just still don't really even notice it that much, like with DWTS. It's as if, if an LGBT person on TV is not constantly talking about being LGBT, they might as well be wallpaper, or we're not satisfied. But in some sense, it's good that they can now be on TV and basically be like wallpaper. There are also many LGBT characters on TV, even if they're not played by people who are truly LGBT. But there are also out LGBT actors and actors who play straight roles.

I do think sometimes LGBT people can be like a "joke" or "sidekick" on shows--especially gay men. And, like I talked about on another thread here a week or so ago, it feels like bisexuals are always portrayed as basically not truly being bisexual...and then you have all these bisexuals out there blaming the individual for not understanding bisexuality. I, for one, have no clue what is really the truth, and everything I see in the media would make me not want to date one...it's not just ideas I came up with out of thin air. So, these are two huge problems I see, i.e. gay men as sassy feminine entertainers all the time and bisexuals who are actually straight and just use the same sex for sex and one-time experiences (and ratings and so on). I have the interactions with gay men to know they're not all that way, but for a lot of people the same can't be said for bisexuals.

I'm also, personally, not into the types of TV shows our community gets. I could write for days about why not, but I won't. I know a lot of bi/les women are into "The L Word" and "Orange Is the New Black," and they have this show called "You Me Her" about a bisexual throuple relationship. I would just like to see more broadly relate-able (as in a wide variety of LGBT people can relate to the characters) and more normalized images of LGBT people on TV...and that's what I don't feel like I see, not that I don't see enough LGBT people. Let's not always have shows that highlight the idea that we're different sexually first and foremost and then build out from there (I have never seen "Orange Is the New Black," so I'm not necessarily talking about that show).

But I mainly watch TV for sports anyways, so I'm not too bothered about representation.

 

To be honest we've come so far and I remember the bad old days, so to me it just seems like there are gay people everywhere on television. I hardly even give representation a thought any more to be honest.

 

I'm pretty sure all queer + trans people think that TV is lacking in representation. Because it is.
I'm pretty sure the only show with a bisexual female lead is the 100. And I can't think of any TV shows with lesbian leads apart from The L Word, and I don't want to watch that because its biphobic (like most TV shows made during that time were). And obviously there is basically no trans representation whatsoever.

 

There's not a lot of Lesbian characters in tv shows currently. I'm watching the 100'hoping that Clarke won't get together with a guy but find a nice girl. Arizona is leaving greys anatomy so one less lesbian there. OUAT ended so no more Robin and Alice. Pretty Little Liars and ended so no more Emily. I dont mind straight couples I just want to see something i can relate to on screen.

 

Carson Kressley, Adam Rippon, Lance Bass, Chaz Bono just to name a few. And if I recall, Chaz and Carson were on the same year, making two LGBT contestants on at once.

 

I am watching The 100 right now. It's so good! What season are you on? And yeah, Clarke is the only bi girl I know of who leads a tv series.

 

Bi-erasure is a huge issue for me and I hate it. And I won't say The L Word doesn't have that issues. But it IS a good show which is how I am able to overlook that aspect.

 

I'm on season 5. The current one. I think I skipped most of season 4. Clarke is they only bi woman leading a to series currently but there was a show called Lost Girl that had a bi woman as the lead role.

 

I don't even think the L word is biphobic...
Because there are biphobic remarks in it but they are often proven wrong...
And I really like the way Alice deals with the remarks too (good example!).

 

I love The 100. I've seen all the available episodes I think. I think Octavia (Mary Avgeropoulos) is so hot! Oh and Finn (Thomas McDonnell) in the first two seasons is hot too!

 

Cool! I'm a Lexa girl myself. And Bellamy of course!

 

Oh I loved Finn too!

 

True. And there's Shane's great comment on sexual fluidity in my signature. That seems bi friendly to me.

 

I think more LGBTQ characters would be nice.

 

I 100% agree. Not enough LGBT representation! But I’m a bit of a geek, and DC Legends of tomorrow’s female lead is bi and I think for the most part, it’s handled in a very tasteful way. You should check it out, if you like super heroes, time travel, and just all around good entertainment. Lol

 

I love legends of tommorow and I think the crossover episode where the only two women I knew liked women hooked up was completely predictable but cool all the same. I never watched arrow but I've watched The Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tommorow from the beginning. I love Alex from Supergirl she needs a girlfriend who also wants kids. It's like Callie and Arizona all over again.

 

Considering the fact that most people and characters on tv are straight men and women it could use a lot of improvement on that front. Especially since there are so few shows revolving around lgbt characters. I always get frustrated seeing lgbt supporting characters on shows get such minimal screentime compared to everyone else.

 

It's up to the people writing the show in my opinion. I don't really care for representation or not to be honest. I'd like a good show regardless. If a plot line goes different from what I thought/wanted then I usually write my own (albeit not very good).