Although
there have been several
one-episode characters, before
the 2001-2002 television season the number of recurring, primary
or secondary (a "secondary character" is defined as
a character who appears in at least 3 episodes of a series, but
is not a primary cast member on the show) lesbian/bisexual women
of color on television has been, well, paltry.
In
fact, there's only been two lesbian or bisexual women of color
on TV in the decade prior to this: Rosetta Reid (Jennifer Lewis)
and Danny Gates (Cree Summer) on the short-lived 1995 drama Courthouse
Then
came the 2001-2002 season, and two new lesbian women of color
were introduced:
- Sandy
Lopez on ER--the first Latina
lesbian primary or secondary character on a TV series--played
by actress Lisa Vidal, who also has a full-time role as a (straight)
cop on Lifetime's show The Division.
- Original
Cindy, played by Valerie Rae Miller, a black lesbian on Fox's
sci-fi show Dark Angel
In
the 2002-2003 season, Dark Angel was no longer
but Sandy Lopez on ER was still around (although barely)
and there were a few new additions:
- HBO's
new series The Wire, which debuted in the summer of 2002,
featured a lesbian detective played
by African-American/Korean-American actress Sonja Sohn.
- Buffy
introduced a lesbian character named Kennedy,
played by actress Iyari
Limon, which brings the total number of Latina lesbian/bi
characters on TV--ever--to two.
- Showtime's
African-American ensemble drama Soul
Food introduced a black lesbian character named Eva in
one episode last season, and have made her a recurring character
this season as they explore the possibility of a relationship
between her and one of the regular characters on the series.
Which
brings the sum total of lesbian/bi women of color on TV for this
season to four--double the previous season.
The
2003-2004 season sees the return of Det. Greggs on Season
Two of The Wire, but Kennedy and Eva are both gone.
In September, NBC's new fall sitcom Coupling
will introduce the first bisexual Asian-American character on television,
although she's not likely to actually have a girlfriend on the show.
In
December 2003, Showtime will premiere a new series titled The
L Word about a group of lesbian friends
in L.A., featuring two lesbian women of color, played by Jennifer
Beals (African-American), and Karina
Lombard (Native American).
Which
means this season, the total again comes to four.
Quality
matters as much as quantity, of course, so it's not just
about the numbers--and fortunately the quality
of representation has improved. But it's still rare to
see lesbian/bi women of color as the "star" of a show;
they are still usually the sidekick or friend who is around a lot,
but not the central figure (such as Original Cindy, Sandy Lopez,
and Buffy's Kennedy).
The
Wire has changed this a bit by making Greggs such an essential
part of the show, and The L Word will likely do so as well--but
it is worth noting that these are ensemble series, where there is
no one "star" of the show.
Also,
Hollywood's idea of a woman of color usually means African-American,
so black women still make up the majority of the lesbian/bi women
of color on TV. At least this season we're finally going to get
a bisexual Asian-American woman on network TV, but we've still never
seen a lesbian or bisexual Southeast-Asian character on television.
In
a world where Dark Angel gets canceled while The Bachelor
scores huge ratings and a spinoff, however, clearly anything can
happen.
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