LGBTQ+ representation has been a growing aspect of popular TV shows and on kids channels and recently there has been a rise in positive representation. Shows like ‘One Day at a Time’ and ‘Brooklyn Nine Nine’ openly show same sex couples on screen and even discuss the entire process of coming out to one’s self and one’s family. However such representation with minorities comes with heavy amounts of controversy and debate surrounding the characters involved.
Heterosexual relationships are common and have unquestioned chemistry between two characters, however same sex couples often receive debate and the base of their relationship is heavily scrutinised, and are often undermined in order to give more attention to the heterosexual relationships. While a couple in a heterosexual relationship are deemed “strongly in love”, same sex couples are often passed off as “strong friendships”. As their relationships are treated differently, there is significant backlash that contributes to the lack of representation on screen.
Such is the case between National City’s beloved hero, Kara Danvers, and Lex Luthor’s little sister, Lena Luthor, in the CW’s ‘Supergirl’. While the two are not canonically together, such chemistry does not go unnoticed by many fans of the show and even the actresses themselves. The sad and simple truth is, if Lena Luthor were a man, they would have a classic ‘star-crossed lovers’ story; instead the writers have driven a wedge between these ladies to prop up the relationships they have with the men on the show, and written off the other same-sex couple, Alex Danvers and her fiancée Maggie Sawyer. The CW Network has been known to undermine their LGBTQ+ fans before, as ‘The 100’ featured one of the most brutal and controversial ‘bury your gays’ deaths in TV when they killed off Lexa shortly after she had a love scene with the main heroine, Clarke.
Following an outcry on social media, LGBTQ+ women have come together created ‘Clexacon’ a convention that raises money every year for the Trevor Project, The True Colours Fund and others. Stories such as these and others can have positive endings and it’s important to highlight the rise in positive representation and the efforts of fans that create change. DC have also recently confirmed that Supergirl is among their repertoire of queer superheroes along with the likes of Wonder Woman and Batwoman, and has recently been depicted in a relationship with Lois Lane in DC Bombshells. Greg Berlanti, an openly gay writer and director of the CW’s ‘Flash’ and ‘Supergirl’, also directed ‘Love, Simon’, the first big LGBTQ+ young adult movie to be affiliated with 20th Century Fox, which was released earlier this year.
A report from Glaad, that attempts to quantify the diversity of TV shows, claims that a mere 58 of 901 (6.4%) regular characters that appear on prime time television identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual. Other streaming services featuring original series will feature 51 LGBTQ+ characters. Rosa Diaz played by Stephanie Beatriz in Glaad Media Award winner ‘Brooklyn Nine Nine’ recently came out as bisexual in the 99th and 100th episodes, and the actress took to twitter to say how proud she was to tell this story as a bi actress.
Representation is important as it helps the minorities to feel included in society, when they see themselves on screen and when they can be themselves on screen. It also helps people currently undertaking the journey of self discovery, as with the case of Elena Alvarez in ‘One Day at a Time’ and Alex Danvers in ‘Supergirl’, both of which delivered powerful coming out stories which resonated with fans.
Writers, such as Mike Dimartino and Bryan Konietzko, developers of ‘The Legend of Korra’, often try to let the story organically blossom as a series progresses, however, they can be hindered by networks limiting their ability to diversify the show. In the finale of the series following some debate with Nickelodeon, who previously didn’t allow for ‘Adventure Time’ to feature a same-sex couple, Korra and Asami Sato’s relationship (dubbed ‘Korrasami’ by the fans) became canon. This was the first kids channel to represent two strong female bisexual characters (Both being women of colour).
Many people were personally touched by the results of ‘Korrasami’ becoming canon. Enough so that on social media, the fandom has collated a book to celebrate the outcome of the show, and write what the relationship means to them and sent it to the ‘The Legend of Korra’ team, and have also shared their reactions online.
“Just because two characters of the same sex appear in the same story, it should not preclude the possibility of romance between them.” Bryan Konietzko writes in his official statement confirming Korrasami’s canon status, encouraging diversity in TV shows. While the TV series has ended, working in affiliation with Dark Horse Comics, the story has continued in a trilogy release dubbed ‘Legend of Korra: Turf Wars’, where we get to see our ladies develop their relationship, share their first kiss and confess their love for each other.
If same sex couples were treated the same way as heterosexual relationships (That is simply as the celebration of love between two people) there would be less controversy surrounding characters, and developers would be free to accept the ideas as normality. This would encourage the development of more LGBTQ characters in the future, and allow the stories to organically progress, instead of writers altering their stories to suit societal paradigms and undermine stories with natural chemistry in order to pursue their own agendas.
When LGBTQ+ representation is written and delivered successfully, the outcome is always positive for the community and it helps people on their journey through self-discovery.