Gay and lesbian coming-out stories on teen dramas: Now status quo?
"Gossip Girl" has told a gay-teen coming-out story. So has "Glee," "Pretty Little Liars," "90210" and "Degrassi." And out-at-home Calvin on "Greek" had to go through the process all over again with his frat brothers.
"I felt like the world of '90210' was missing the gay characters that it would realistically have," said Rebecca Sinclair, the CW series' showrunner and executive producer, on the writers' decision to show teen character Teddy Montgomery's coming-out process. "If I had created the show, I would definitely have made one of the main characters gay. And honestly, in a genre that depends on the coupling, decoupling and re-coupling of its characters, it behooves us to find the most diverse ways to do that."
Read hers and others thoughts on the matter in my story about gay and lesbian characters in teen dramas.
What do you think? Has the gay character become an essential part of a teen drama? And do you think it's realistic to show the character's coming-out story? Share in the comments section.
-- Whitney Friedlander
Photos, clockwise from top left: Shay Mitchell as Emily in "Pretty Little Liars." Credit: ABC Family. Argiris Karras as Riley in "Degrassi." Credit: Epitome Pictures. Trevor Donovan as Teddy in "90210." Credit: the CW. Chris Colfer as Kurt in "Glee." Credit: Fox
Personally i think that they are just trying to be more diverse in adding gay characters on teen TV shows. They are not plotting storyline carefully. The only exception to this would be Degrassi (which is Canadian BTW) and the BRITSH tv show SKINS where one of the charecters was Maxxie and they didnt make the whole gay thing all that was to him it was just a part of him .
Posted by: alexis | January 03, 2011 at 04:41 PM
Nothing like having the gay agenda shoved down your throat. All TV programs that I finda total waste of bandwidth.
Posted by: Charles | January 04, 2011 at 07:09 AM
Watching television should go the way of the dinosaurs. It's an old clumsy outdated habit that has had its moment of glory. Television is not meant for entertainment anymore, but a device used for political brainwashing of the mind. Parents should encourage their children to find better more productive things to do with their time than to sit around for hours watching the propaganda box. Buy your children an eReader, get them to spend more time outdoors exercising, spend more time visiting with elderly family member who probably have better stories to tell than that what your children will get watching TV.
Posted by: Lc49b1 | January 04, 2011 at 09:39 AM
Its a little annoying that the gay character is portrayed so flat with such an emphasis on his sexuality. I would like to see them as more dynamic and not so sterotypically affeminate and dramatic all the time.
Posted by: charley | January 04, 2011 at 10:10 AM
yeah! my gay agenda is to have EQUAL access to my given rights as a citizen of the world...just like you
Posted by: Pachecosita | January 04, 2011 at 10:57 AM
Gay is just wrong!
Posted by: Joe | January 04, 2011 at 11:29 AM
Charles -- And the Christian agenda isn't shoved down our throats already? Has been for ages -- but that's OK. With 600 channels, if you don't like it -- then don't watch.
Posted by: FrankieLA | January 04, 2011 at 11:36 AM
There is little worse than corrupting a generation of young people and that is exactly what Hollywood has been getting rich doing. I refuse to contribute one dime to their already bulging pockets or my children to their lessons in debauchery. I hope more parents will have the courage to see what is happening to their children at the hands of the so-called "adults" who run the entertainment industry. When I was young, we thought that adults were mature, caring people who looked out for the safety and morals of the young. What do we think of adults now? Self-centered, immature party animals lacking a moral compass or any concern for the future of their country. Promoting a way of life that they like to live within their industry but which would destroy this society if adopted by everyone. It is utterly sick that people of low character and money lust are the only ones who seem to have control of the airwaves.
Posted by: Dee | January 04, 2011 at 01:12 PM
As far as I'm concerned there's too much talk about sex on TV already, be it gay or straight. Whatever happened to keeping what is private, private?
Posted by: Sabrina | January 04, 2011 at 02:07 PM
I think that tv shows put this stuff in to make their show more interesting and get people to watch. One Show I know that was a realistic Gay coming out story was South Of Nowhere. It showed realization, coming out to yourself, Friends, and Family, it even showed the ups and downs of same sex relationship, how its like a heterosexual relationship.
Posted by: Clara | April 12, 2011 at 05:59 PM