14 LGBT TV Characters That Deserved Better (And So Did We)

14 LGBT TV Characters That Deserved Better, and So Did We

Television is brimming with LGBTQ characters that challenge and inspire viewers. Modern audiences are actually so accustomed to LGBTQ storylines that it's almost unusual when hit shows don't feature queer characters. As of 2017, there are enough influential, heartfelt, and groundbreaking queer storylines on TV to keep little gay kids crying tears of joy for days at a time.

But we're not here for that. We're here to talk about the worst LGBTQ TV characters. The offensive, the pandering, and the terminally boring. It's time to break down the rampant LGBTQ misrepresentation on television and call a stereotype a stereotype.

If you look closely enough, there are stereotypically gay TV characters on even the best shows. If there aren't enough LGBTQ writers on staff, then there's bound to be an ignorant misstep somewhere along the line. But sometimes writers are just lazy. Why not slap a gay label on a character to make him more interesting? That's progressive, right? Nah. We're also not shying away from calling out older shows on not going far enough. We can only hope that when Will & Grace comes back to TV screens, it seriously rethinks its approach to queer representation.

Click through to find out which LGBT TV characters deserved better representation than what they were given...

Waylon Smithers on 'The Simpsons'

The Simpsons created a weirdly sympathetic character in Waylon Smithers, a lovesick sycophant who couldn't make it through a scene without pining after his boss, Mr. Burns. However, he also embodied every gay stereotype of the '90s, as evidenced by his obsession with musicals and his daddy issues. If he had come out sooner, this might have been slightly less problematic, but he remained hush hush about his sexuality until he finally came out in 2016. This development wasn't nearly as revolutionary as it would have been ten years prior.

David on 'The New Normal'

We can all agree that Justin Bartha is kind of the worst. Even Kenneth on 30 Rock included "Justin Bartha" on his "list of TV no-no words" when he became President of NBC. On top of that, in The New Normal, both Bartha and Andrew Rannels were lazy stereotypes; the essential masc/femme pair. Co-creator Ryan Murphy isn't known for subtlety, but this was a squandered opportunity for a mainstream queer comedy to have realistic characters.

Liz Taylor on 'American Horror Story: Hotel'

Liz was meant to be trans, but her gender identity was portrayed solely through her affinity for cross-dressing. When Lady Gaga's character helped her "come out" by heaping makeup and dresses on her, it came off as condescending. Trans people generally don't need cis individuals to help them come to terms with their identity.

Will Truman on 'Will & Grace'

The original run of Will & Grace is credited for helping the LGBTQ rights movement along, but it wouldn't win points with GLAAD in today's political climate. While W&G had its teachable moments about queer male struggles, Will was rarely affectionate with his on-screen boyfriends (unless you count bro-y hugs), and Jack's flamboyance was always presented as an undesirable trait in gay men. Despite bringing amusing, likable queer characters into American homes, the show frequently tapped into Will's internalized homophobia for jokes about Jack's femininity. Truman was the O.G. "straight-acting," self-hating gay man. 

Cece Drake on 'Pretty Little Liars'

Only the regularly ridiculous Pretty Little Liars would use a character's transgender identity as a shocking plot point. Rather than present Charles DiLaurentis's transition to Cece Drake as an illuminating, complex character development, PLL sold it as a sinister twist. On this show, Cece's gender identity was as sneaky as her plots to murder people.

Kurt Hummell on 'Glee'

While Kurt's storylines on Glee were heartwarming and eye-opening, the character himself was sort of the worst. When you mold educational storylines around a character as judgmental and pretentious as Kurt, it makes the lessons in those storylines feel preachy rather than enlightening. Kurt should have helped viewers learn how to parent a queer child or about the effects of bullying, but often, he grated on nerves.

Stanford Blatch on 'Sex and the City'

Stanford Blatch was the prototypical fictional gay best friend. Flouncy, snarky, and deliciously devious, he was great for straight people's amusement and less-so for gay representation. His job was mostly to preen fabulously and enable Carrie Bradshaw's poor choices. The show rarely explored the nuances of his position within the group. Plus, he's basically the reason so many bachelorette parties hit up gay bars: they're expecting like two hundred Stanford Blatches.

Jodie Dallas on 'Soap'

Billy Crystal's character on Soap (1977 to 1981) is commonly cited as the first out gay main character to appear on television. However, that honor actually goes to Hal Holbrook and Martin Sheen of the 1972 TV movie That Certain Summer, which presented Holbrook and Sheen as sincere lovers rather than camp parodies (like Crystal.) The movie also treated homosexuality as an identity rather than a condition, which was revolutionary considering that "homosexuality" wouldn't be declassified as an illness until 1987. Jodie Dallas, on the other hand, was portrayed as a deviant and the butt of many jokes.

Denise Cloyd on 'The Walking Dead'

Cloyd is on here because she exemplifies TV's "Bury Your Gays" trope, which sends LGBTQ characters to early deaths rather than engage with them as fully-formed individuals. Her character was one of the first to be killed by Negan's troupe, which added her to the growing pile of LGBTQ characters who were written off before audiences could get to know them. In March 2016, a study claimed that over 180 lesbian and bisexual characters had been killed off of TV shows that year.

Mulan on 'Once Upon a Time'

Mulan spent her time on the show trapped in an unfulfilling, unrequited lesbian love storyline. These are generally the worst LGBTQ storylines because they deny LGBTQ characters—and many audience members—happiness. They also perpetuate the idea that LGBTQ people have immature romantic lives.

Desi Piscatella on 'Orange Is the New Black'

Piscatella seemed like a revolutionary character in season four of Orange is the New Black. He was a decent villain who just happened to be gay. His sexuality didn't affect his villainy, nor was it a result of it. But then season five happened. Season five was a mess all around—Piscatella's rogue torturing of the women notwithstanding—but it also chose to make Piscatella's sexuality the butt of several jokes. It seemed like a less-than-progressive move for the show, and it made his general unlikability in season five even more unpalatable.

Max Adler on 'Friends From College'

In the first—and probably only—season of Friends from College, Max was rarely seen doing anything that could actually count as "gay." He and his boyfriend (played by Billy Eichner) had a weirdly sexless relationship, despite being the show's most traditionally successful couple. Also, Max was generally insufferable, as were literally all of the main characters on this show.

CJ Lamb on 'LA Law'

This legal drama featured TV's first-ever lesbian kiss in 1991, but any potential for a revolutionary queer storyline was snuffed out when the lesbian half of the pair, CJ Lamb, was subsequently written off. Later in the series, the "straight" half of the pair, Abby Perkins, ended up with a man. Unfortunately, CJ was portrayed as a predator taking advantage of a vulnerable heterosexual woman, which 100% wouldn't fly in 2017.

Overly Confident Gay Man on 'In Living Color'

During his luminous run on In Living Color, Jim Carrey portrayed the "Overly Confident Gay Man" as an annoying gay man who felt the need to tell everyone he met that he was gay. It spuriously presented the world around him as completely accepting of gay men—even though this was the early '90s—which made his proclamation of self-identification seem grating and unnecessary. The thing is, it was completely necessary, as LGBTQ individuals still didn't have many rights in the early '90s. (Don't Ask Don't Tell hadn't even passed yet.) Ultimately, this character was the creation of a team of writers that didn't want to confront their own homophobia, so they blamed gay people's problems on gay people themselves.