LBGTQ TV: A history of gay characters, om Stonewall to 'Batwoman' | CNN

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• LBGTQ TV: A HISTORY OF GAY CHARACTERS, OM STONEWALL TO ‘BATWOMAN’

LBGTQ TV: A HISTORY OF GAY CHARACTERS, OM STONEWALL TO ‘BATWOMAN’

Gay marriage is now legal the UK, same-sex upl n adopt children and the Brish ernment plans to abolish gay nversn are queer people now treated equally?

47 Elena Alvarez, One Day at a Time (Isabella Gomez)Mike Yarish/NetflixAlistair RyrFrom Ellen g out the '90s to recent seri like Morn Fay explorg the ia of gay parenthood, ss are arguably the most groundbreakg genre when to on-screen pictns of morn LGBTQ+ first season of One Day at a Time, the now-ncelled reboot of the '70s s phenomenon, may tread faiar ground when to Elena Alvarez' (Isabella Gomez) g out story, but explor the trma of the closet wh an unexpected the cultural nservatism of olr Lato fay members to straed relatnships wh the homophobic men of the fay, One Day at a Time don't sugar-at s trma, even as handl s exploratns wh a lightns of touch. Hell beg so outspoken about her bisexualy and fendg wh iends, fay and lovers anticipated what I'd al wh my mid- and late-20s whenever I'd discs my inty wh both straight and gay people.

39 Jt Suarez, Ugly Betty (Mark Inlito)Andrew Eccl//ABCLra Jane Turner In the early 2000s, Betty Suarez's nephew Jt was the gay reprentatn that many young people craved and whose g out storyle spired a generatn. But those aren't the only reasons Phil Mchell's progeny will go down 's inty as a gay man, om bullied schoolboy to revenge-seekg hardman to fiancé, has always been tied to his plot l and his populary. First there was his teenage love Pl Coker, who was tragilly murred bee of his sexualy as part of a storyle that shed a grim light on vlent homophobia.

Ben's volvement the #Ballum saga also gave the EastEnrs wrers a new angle to explore sexualy and g out – which triumphantly clus Phil Mchell punchg an angry homophobe square the face. 36 Ryan Hay, Special (Ryan O'Connell) BETH DUBBER/NETFLIXAli GriffhsRyan O'Connell's portrayal as a fictnalised versn of himself Netflix's Special is unique, not jt bee of the show's foc on a gay man wh cerebral palsy, but bee of the sheer amount of self-pretn that ntas. It monstrat exactly why so many gay men are reluctant to volise what they have suffered, and should be broadst police statns up and down the land to prevent such occurrenc om not only beg a rary, but extct altogether.

Patrick, played by Jonathan Groff, didn't e out until llege but his entire life out of the closet has been fed by the lgerg anxieti om when he was si ; a straed relatnship wh nservative parents back Denver, to the strs of nformg to a body type the gay muny would see as (Raúl Castillo) has an even more ayed relatnship wh his father due to the lgerg homophobia of his eply relig fay jt outsi the cy. Lookg was a genuely groundbreakg show for how litely explored prevly unr-discsed topics like the subnsc racism of whe gays, brgg those to the foreont of a drama about morn gay relatnships. 23 Will Tman, Will and Grace (Eric McCormack)Bill Rezel//NBC UniversalTom ChapmanIn 1998, Max Mutchnick and David Kohan took a gamble wh Will & Grace at a time when the s Ellen had jt been axed by ABC for beg "too gay".