“50 Greatest TV Icons” — and 5 Great TV Dykons

Ok, I want to ask this every single time I see a post on here with a picture of Jo Polniaczek/Nancy McKeon in it, and I figured I would finally just come out with it and ask: is it just me, or does she look A LOT like a young Jonathan Taylor Thomas?

Obviously, I am too young to have watched The Facts of Life but just the right age to have suffered through Home Improvement.

"Out of the box is where I live." -Starbuck

Both Nancy McKeon and Kristy McNichol I had a major crush on when I was a kid.

I always wanted Blair and Jo to get together and I think they did in my head. Kristy McNichol I wanted to build a tree house with her and spend as much time as I could with her. Aha... childhood fantasies.

The Manson Women- they were kickass, tough and mad, bad and dangerous to know.

And very easy on the eye....

Maybe not TV icons per se, but they were a constant fixture on the all the news channels in the early 70's and through to the 80's and 90's.... 

What about your mother- your mother earth?

Sister Kate was the show. Fred was the character, always wearing her leather jacket and flannel. She totally was the non spoken lesbian icon for me. When I just looked it up I was shocked, IMDB says there were only 5 episodes, that cant be right?!

Xena had just begin airing episodes when I started High School, and we had a parallel journey. So Xena definitely is my number one Dykecon.

I did watch the Facts of Life when i was younger, and I thought Jo was the coolest - in hind-sight I'm sure I was connecting to the same things you were.

Otherwise I had profound connections with Daphne Zuniga's character (another Jo!) on Melrose Place....(she really should have been a lesbian on that show, and of course I stopped watching when she wasn't on any more), and still have high hopes for Lisa Simpson.

...and she's called Henry and it’s a lot of explanation but don’t worry about it kids, Ok? Just tune in, turn off, drop out, drop in, switch off, switch on, and explode.

I always find these discussions so interesting... since I certainly find it hilarious NOW to watch Jo on The Facts of Life, or Kristy McNichol in anything, and I can see why they would appeal to gay teens... but when I was a teen, I had no gaydar whatsoever, and I don't think it would have occurred to me to pay any extra attention to a girl because she wore a leather jacket or had a swagger or anything. I just didn't develop that kind of sensibility or awareness till I was older. It makes me feel like I must be missing some crucial component, since so many gay women seem to have picked up on it when they were teenagers!

I can remember having crushes on Claire Danes from My So-Called Life, and Jennifer Love Hewitt and Neve Campbell on Party of Five... but I don't think any of those could really be called lesbian icons, could they? Well except maybe Neve Campbell a little bit, since she's gone on to play so many bicurious roles.

Not a very know show - but my first crush was on Erin Grey from Silver Spoons - all the girls at school were always talking about the boy - ....  I don't even remeber his name and I was dreaming of Erin Grey

I would say Xena because the show was probably my first ever exposure to lesbian subtext. Because I'm just a baby. ...

omg, inbd

I was about 7 or 8 , my bed time was 8:00, which is when Family started. I tried soooo hard to talk my mom into letting me stay up unil 9:00 so I could watch that show. I never told her why I wanted to watch it, I somehow knew at such a young age that she wouldn't understand what I was feeling. I didn't have a crush on Buddy, I identified with her, I wanted to be like her.

Same with Jo on the Facts of Life. Not a crush, I thought she was pretty cool. Reruns played during the day when I was in high school and I used to tape every episode.

Looking back, I don't think I understood what I was feeling. It was a different feeling than I had when I first saw Jennifer Beals in Flashdance, that was a crush, for sure.  What a baby dyke I was.

I tried to explain what a lesbian icon is to some straight friends and the didn't get it.

I was so happy to see Jo as your number one choice. I always thought she was great.

Another that comes to mind is Chris Cagney. I looked forward to Cagney & Lacey every week and because tv was frowned upon on school nights in our household I sometimes made up reasons I needed to watch an hour of tv eg. media studies or doing research on advertisements etc.

Was my youth "crush" (didn't know what it was at the time). I remember being really upset when she got interested in guys. Ha.  I imagine it's similar to the other tomboy figures on the list. 

By the time I actually came out Xena and Buffy were on the air for real lesbian crushes.

That show was definetely my exposure to lesbian icons. Sorry that I can't relate to the other shows, cause, well, they weren't broadcasted in my neck of the woods. But I will totally include Ellen in my short list. She came out in my late teens and, though I did not know it at the time, helped me a LOT, to do the same a couple of years later. She was the first person on TV that I could identify with, admire and respect for being kinda like me and that was pretty important back then. Xena has earned a spot too. Her chemistry with sidecick extraordinaire Gabrielle was sizzling...

And.. Ok I'm just gonna say it. Lesbian icon or not I had a HUGE crush on Dr Quinn back in the day. She was an MD in the far west, she adopted three kids AND she hung out with Native Americans. That's lesbian enough for me. Plus, the woman had fantastic hair and a sexy - sexy accent...

Who's the Boss- Alyssa Milano... Now that was my first crush!

Also a few others I had as well were Stacey Keenan (My Two Dads and later Step by Step) , Justine Bateman (Family Ties) and Rebecca Schaeffer (My Sister Sam).

¸.·´¯)It's true, we're all a little insane(¯`·.¸

Well rotezora, you have excellent taste.... I'd now like to add Leila Khaled and Patty Hearst to my list! I wasn't expecting anyone to agree with my Manson Girls comment.... You obviously know how hot they were!

And gali, I'm sorry if you find myself and rotezora's opinions offensive, but we're just being honest. Anyway, although I DEFINITELY disagree with the Manson Family's extreme views or their actions, the women were hot and tough and bad. An irresistible combination in my book. And very dyke-tastic.

They should have got rid of Charles and hooked up with Leila!

What about your mother- your mother earth?

Well, if you think it is "hot"and "tough" to brutally kill for instance a highly pregnant woman because you completely gave your self over to someone else, that is your right.

I would wish for you to find your dream woman but I am guessing in reality you wouldn't think it would be so "hot"'!

I just do not find psychopaths particularly hot, tough or dyke-tastic and what I found offensive about your and Roteroza's comments exactly I explained in another post.

But like I said earlier...I think this thread was supposed to be fun so I am leaving it at this.

"call me old fashioned but I prefer feminism that leaves a little something to the imagination!"

 Was it symbolism that I had the Cagney and Lacey LUNCHBOX?