For most of TV history, gay characters have been absent or the butt of a joke, but there are a few posive exampl of early reprentatn.
Contents:
- LGBT REPRENTATN ON TV THROUGH THE AG – OM EASTENRS’ FIRST GAY KISS TO TRANSGENR SUPERHERO
- WHEN WAS THE FIRST GAY TV SERI? EXPLORG THE HISTORY OF LGBT+ REPRENTATN ON THE SMALL SCREEN
- HOW MICHAEL CASHMAN CHANGED THE WORLD: OM EASTENRS' FIRST GAY KISS TO STONEWALL
- FIRST GAY KISS ON BRISH TV TO BE SEEN FOR FIRST TIME 40 YEARS
- UK'S FIRST GAY KISS STAR LLS ON UK AND COMMONWEALTH TO BACK EQUALY
- EASTENRS’ HISTORIC FIRST GAY KISS TO BE BROADST AS PART OF BBC FOUR’S PRI SEASON
LGBT REPRENTATN ON TV THROUGH THE AG – OM EASTENRS’ FIRST GAY KISS TO TRANSGENR SUPERHERO
* first gay kiss on uk television *
While we may now take for granted the prence of queer figureheads on TV, ls than 30 years ago the mere prence of someone intifyg as gay uld send viewers to a tailsp, pecially as beg gay – or gay marriage – was illegal. For ’s Pri Week, we’ve looked back through the years of LGBT relatnships on TV, celebratg landmark moments and trailblazg shownners who fied the odds to get the sential scen on air while startg to break down homophobia and transphobia the procs.
It happened between Col Rsell (Michael Cashman) and his romantic other half Guido Smh (Nicholas Donovan) – after years of character Col beg out and gay on the seri.
The first lbian kiss beme so inic aired as part of the 2012 Olympic ceremony (Picture: Channel 4)Brooksi’s 1994 lbian kiss between Beth (Anna Friel) and Margaret (Nila Stephenson) is often ced as the first UK gay kiss, but unfortunately they were five years late.
WHEN WAS THE FIRST GAY TV SERI? EXPLORG THE HISTORY OF LGBT+ REPRENTATN ON THE SMALL SCREEN
The moment was so inic, even managed to land a place a montage for the2012 London Olympic Openg Ceremony – airg across the world cludg untri where homosexualy was illegal. In 1994, realy TV show The Real World: San Francis broke some ser ground whout even meang to when gay uple Sean Sasser and Pedro Zamora held a mment ceremony to each other live on air.
Starrg Aidan Gillan, Charlie Hunnam and Craig Kelly – Queer As Folk beme groundbreakg telly part to s no-holds-barred look at life and sex on the Manchter gay scene.
HOW MICHAEL CASHMAN CHANGED THE WORLD: OM EASTENRS' FIRST GAY KISS TO STONEWALL
Lnched by Rsell T Davi, Queer as Folk aired at a turng pot time for homosexualy and acceptance, wh the ernment that same year lowerg the age of nsent for gay sex down to 16, the same as heterosexual sex.
FIRST GAY KISS ON BRISH TV TO BE SEEN FOR FIRST TIME 40 YEARS
While there was fely some problematic elements to the show, still showed beg gay a much more well-round, ls stereotypil light than before, and was one of the first major seri to lead off three gay characters. First havg a heterosexual relatnship wh Oz (Seth Green), Willow veloped feelgs and relatnship wh young wch Tara (Amber Benson), before g out as gay to her iends.
They later went on to get married and adopt a send child, but this was the first time on a major s that the ncept of adoptn, and raisg a fay a gay hoehold, was tly displayed at length.
In April 2019, rerd label drama Empire aired the first ever gay black weddg on work TV, wh Jamal Lyons (Jsie Smollett) tyg the knot to Kai Givens (Toby Onwumere).
UK'S FIRST GAY KISS STAR LLS ON UK AND COMMONWEALTH TO BACK EQUALY
Bona = good, dolly = pretty, eke (ef) = face, lalli = legs, naff = bbish/poor, nanty = no/nothg, ogle = look/eye, omi = man, omipalone = gay man, palone = woman, riah = hair, varda = seeRound the Horne, Sunday 7 March 1965, 14.
The stud-based play is billed as ‘a smopolan London uple (Glenda Jackson and Aled Lynch) fd their outwardly charmed liv upend by a troubled homosexual iend (Nil Williamson)’. Man Alive broadsts two edns weeks ahead of the Act lookg at the liv of gay men and lbians Alive: Consentg Adults: 2: The Women, BBC Two, Wednday 14 June 1967, 1970s: Breakthrough. Negative portrayals of the LGBT+ muny on televisn are wispread at this time, but radil for s day, toward the end of this episo of Steptoe and Son a gay police officer is troduced, whout all the ual stereotyped characterisatns.
Meanwhile science strand Horizon broadsts Killer the Village, the first full-length -pth UK documentary on the health crisis emergg New York’s gay village known as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS. Most LGBT+ performers om Freddie Mercury to Gee Michael keep their sexualy quiet as the mic dtry mands, but two new bands wh out-gay members and lyrics wh gay them break nventn wh their h but sgl Frankie Go to Hollywood’s ‘Relax’ and Bronski Beat’s ‘Smalltown Boy’. 50 years on om the first relaxg of anti-LGBT+ laws, the BBC’s major Gay Brannia season looks back at LGBT+ history and tells many new stori om different perspectiv about life for LGBT+ people 2017.
EASTENRS’ HISTORIC FIRST GAY KISS TO BE BROADST AS PART OF BBC FOUR’S PRI SEASON
In 1971, the year after the first-ever Pri para the US and when homosexualy was still nsired a disorr, All the Fay beme the first Amerin s to show a gay character on TV, only s fifth episo. Durg the same year as The Corner Bar, Atralia also saw s first gay seri regular – Don Flayson portrayed Joe Hasham on the serial Number 96 between 1972 and 1977.