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The AfterEllen.com 2008 Visibility Awards

In our annual Visibility Awards, we formally recognize the people who have positively or negatively impacted lesbian and bi visibility in American entertainment during the year. (See previous years here: 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004).

From Best Movie to Worst Song to Lesbian/Bi Woman of the Year, these awards recognize the television shows, movies, music, books and people who entertained, inspired, or disappointed us in 2008.

In previous years, the winners have been editorially chosen by the AfterEllen.com staff (note: winners do not necessarily represent any individual staff member’s preference). This year, we opened up some of the categories for nominations, posted the finalists, and thousands of you voted. We’ve designated those categories with this symbol:

We’ve also included more international people, shows and movies this year, a reflection of the increasing awareness of lesbian and bisexual visibility around the world made possible by the internet.

Now on to the best and worst of 2008!

BEST SCRIPTED TV SERIES ON BROADCAST TV WITH LESBIAN/BI CHARACTERS (AMERICAN)

All My Children (ABC)

When Bianca (Eden Riegel) returned to Pine Valley a few months ago after a long absence, she brought with her a girlfriend-turned-fiancee (played by Tamara Braun), a newborn baby, and one of the few happy lesbian storylines on broadcast TV. This time around, the AMC writers even allowed the lesbian couple to kiss, they had a sex scene, and so far, neither of them has been killed. It truly is a Christmas miracle!

WORST SCRIPTED TV SERIES ON BROADCAST TV WITH LESBIAN/BI CHARACTERS (AMERICAN)

Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)

Like last year’s “winner” in this “worst” category (Degrassi: The Next Generation), the lesbian storyline on one of America’s most-watched shows started off promisingly, with the development of a lesbian relationship between two of the main characters, Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) and Dr. Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith). But it took a long walk off a short lesbian pier when ABC execs unexpectedly fired Smith with a lame explanation that even the mainstream media didn’t buy, and then proceeded to effectively de-gay Melissa George’s bisexual character.

Dr. Torres remains bisexual, and supposedly has a female love interest in January, but given that the storyline the show’s creator, Shonda Rhimes, is most excited about involves one of the doctor’s ongoing affair with a dead guy, we’re not holding our breath.

Cashmere Mafia (ABC)

When this ABC mid-season drama about four high-powered New York businesswomen friends launched in January, we had high hopes for the show because one of the show’s prominent storylines involved Caitlin (Bonnie Sommerville) falling for another woman, ad exec Alicia (Lourdes Benedicto). And while the initial set-up of the storyline was promising, we quickly became disappointed as Alicia revealed she was pregnant (from artificial insemination), Caitlin slept with a guy, and the two broke up when Alicia decided to return to her ex.

The series was cancelled after only seven episodes due to low ratings, but by then, we’d already tuned out.

BEST SCRIPTED TV SERIES ON CABLE TV WITH LESBIAN/BI CHARACTERS (AMERICAN)

The L Word (Showtime)

The fifth season of The L Word was one of the best we’ve seen in years, with more development of Alice and Tasha’s relationship, some resolution to the Bette-Tina-Jodi triangle, and the welcome addition of Adele, Dawn Denbo and her lover Cindi. Sure, there were still problems (not enough Helena, and still too much Max) but overall, this season made The L Word fun again.

It also managed to make Jenny likeable. That alone makes this season worthy of praise.

BEST SCRIPTED TV SERIES WITH LESBIAN/BI CHARACTERS (INTERNATIONAL)

Los Hombres de Paco (Paco’s Men) (Spain)

This prime time Spanish soap opera/crime drama beat out several other good entries in this category because of how well the lesbian/bi characters are integrated into the overall story.

Police officer Pepa (Laura Sanchez) was cast out of the family several years ago for kissing her then-sister-in-law, forensics-expert Silvia (Marian Aguilera), but returned eight years later. The two women have since fallen in love and are now in a relationship that has become mostly accepted by their family and friends. Throw in plenty of family issues, kidnapping, and a cliff-hanger ending to the season (the show picks up again in January), and you have all the makings of an addictive melodrama.

Runner-up: Mistresses (UK)

BEST LESBIAN/BI MOMENT ON SCRIPTED TV (AMERICAN)

Erica’s “I see leaves” speech on Grey’s Anatomy 10/30/08 (ABC)

The morning after sleeping with Callie (Sara Ramirez) in the sixth episode of the medical drama’s eight season (“Life During Wartime”), Dr. Hahn (Brooke Smith) had a revelation, and shared it with Callie through tears of joy:

When I was a kid, I would get these headaches. And I went to the doctor and they said that I needed glasses. I didn’t understand that, “It didn’t make sense to me because I could see fine. And then, I get the glasses and I put them on. And I’m in the car on the way home, and suddenly, I yell. Because the big green blobs that I’ve been staring at my whole life? They weren’t big green blobs — they were leaves… on trees. I could see the leaves. And I didn’t even know that I was missing the leaves. I didn’t even know leaves existed. And then… leaves! [pause] You are glasses. [happily] I am so gay. I am so, so, so gay. I am extremely gay!
Immediately after this moving, well-acted and well-written speech, Callie slept with a man, and Erica was fired. But it was a beautiful speech!

WORST LESBIAN/BI MOMENT ON SCRIPTED TV (AMERICAN)

The edited lesbian sex scene on House M.D. 10/21/08 (Fox)

In the week prior to the airing of the episode “Lucky Thirteen” in November, Fox let viewers watch “the first two minutes of the show” on its official House M.D. website – a clip which showed the series’s bisexual doctor Thirteen (Olivia Wilde) in a sex scene with another woman (the first time Thirteen had ever had a romantic encounter with a woman on the show). The Fox marketing department also sent a shorter version of this same clip around to various entertainment outlets online in advance, hoping we would use it to promote the episode – and we did (along with a lot of mainstream entertainment sites), because it was a rare example of a realistic and well-written/acted lesbian sex scene on a broadcast TV show. And because, let’s face it, Olivia Wilde is hot.

Record numbers of viewers – gay and straight – tuned in to watch the episode when it finally aired on Fox, only to discover that most of the sex scene had been cut out of the actual episode (and some affiliates refused to air the episode at all). What Fox billed on their website as “the first two minutes of the show” wasn’t actually the first two minutes of the show, and legions of queer women were left disappointed (it didn’t help that Thirteen’s sexual trysts with women were portrayed as part of a larger pattern of irresponsibility tied to her terminal illness, but that’s a separate and more complicated issue).

Although plenty of lesbian/bi storylines coincidentally popped up during November sweeps, Fox took the classic Sweeps lesbian-bait tactic to a new low with outright deception. From a network that’s made an art out of exploiting lesbianism for ratings, that’s no small feat!

BEST VERY SPECIAL LESBIAN EPISODE (AMERICAN)

Lincoln Heights “Prom Night” 11/11/08 (ABC Family)

In the third-season finale of the ABC Family teen drama, openly gay minister’s daughter Stacy (Sharon Pierre-Louis) attends the prom with a boy, but finally gets up the nerve to ask the girl she likes to dance, she says yes, and their storyline ends happily. This storyline included one of the few black lesbian couples on TV in the last few years, teen or adult, and was refreshingly free of coming-out angst – all the drama was of the “does she like me or not” variety that all teens go through.

Runner-up: ER “The High Holiday” (12/11/08), Law & Order: SVU “Lunacy” (10/21/08)

BEST REALITY TV SERIES WITH LESBIAN/BI CHARACTERS (AMERICAN)

America’s Next Top Model (The CW)

Narrowly beating out Top Chef (Bravo) to win this category, America’s Next Top Model garnered the most votes in part because this season (Cycle 11) partly because it featured yet another lesbian contestant, Elina Ivanova, and partly because of the ease with which lesbian subtext is inserted into every episode. The platonic friendship between Analeigh and Marjorie was more popular than the actual lesbian flirtation between Elina and her heterosexual love interest Clark.

The addition of a transwoman to the contestant group this season, along with the relative ease and frequency with which lesbian and bisexual women are integrated into the show and the show’s popularity among young women, makes Top Model more subversive than most reality shows.

WORST REALITY TV SERIES WITH LESBIAN/BI CHARACTERS (AMERICAN)

A Double Shot at Love with the Ikki Twins (MTV)

Incestuous bisexual twins (who aren’t really bisexual) hooking up with anything that moves? ‘Nuff said.

BEST LIVE LESBIAN/BI TV SHOW

The 2008 Olympics

Over a dozen out female athletes competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, and several took home medals, including women from the U.S., Norway, and Germany. Who knew this would end up being the best lesbian visibility on broadcast TV all year?

WORST LIVE LESBIAN/BI TV SHOW

Rosie Live (NBC)

Rosie Live! was DOA: Critics didn’t like it. Viewers didn’t like it. And the Nielsen numbers definitely didn’t like it – Rosie O’Donnell‘s hour-long live variety show was one of the lowest-rated of the night.

BEST THEATRICAL RELEASE(S) WITH LESBIAN/BI CHARACTERS

I Can’t Think Straight (Writer/Director Shamim Sharif)

This love story about a Jordanian woman (Sheetal Sheth) and an Indian-British woman (Lisa Ray) falling in love despite social pressure to conform to their families’ expectations easily received the most votes from AfterEllen.com readers. Although the plot is fairly predictable, the acting is excellent, the characters show an enormous amount of emotional growth over the course of the film, and it’s a rare lesbian movie featuring women of Indian descent that doesn’t end in tragedy.

Runner-up: Milk

BEST FESTIVAL RELEASE WITH LESBIAN/BI CHARACTERS

Water Lilies (Writer/Director Céline Sciamma)

This first film by openly gay writer/director Céline Sciamma is decidedly French, with long, lingering shots that emphasize the awkwardness and poignancy of three 15-year-olds in various stages of development (physically, emotionally and socially). Sciamma and her three stars – Pauline Acquart, Louise Blachère, and Adèle Haenel – painfully capture the confusion of desiring something you can’t quite articulate yet, even to yourself. (But unlike other films that have tackled this topic, no one dies or kills anyone.)

The film is somewhat reminiscent of the classic French love triangle in the play Huis Clos (No Exit), which proposes that “hell is other people.” These three girls are in a purgatory of sorts as they straddle the line between childhood and adulthood, and the film does an excellent job of capturing their angst, and the burgeoning romantic relationship between two of the girls. A thoughtful if slightly unsettling film, Water Lilies is well worth watching.

WORST FESTIVAL RELEASE WITH LESBIAN/BI CHARACTERS

When Kiran Met Karen (Writer/Director Manan Katohora)

Writer/director Manan Katohora was forced to change his script to a more melodramatic (read: troubled) story when he couldn’t get funding for a happy lesbian love story, and he had also had trouble casting his leads, because so many Indian actresses did not want to play gay characters.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the end result – a film about a woman of Indian descent in New York whose romantic feelings for a white woman threaten her engagement (to a man) – was disappointing. Rife with stereotypes, bad writing, and bad music, it is also plagued by a twist ending that doesn’t improve upon the story.

BEST LESBIAN/BI WEB SERIES

3Way (Created by Nancylee Myatt, Maeve Quinlan, and Paige Bernhardt)

Although there were several good entries this year, 3Way won in this category by a landslide. Funny, campy, and featuring a cast of attractive out lesbians and extremely gay-friendly straight women (Jill Bennett, Maile Flanagan, Cathy Shim and Maeve Quinlan), 3Way appeals to lesbian and bi viewers because it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it’s really, really gay (while still including straight people).

Add in guest stars like Elizabeth Keener, Kristy Swanson, Reno 911‘s Ben Garant, Liz Vassey and Christina Cox, and the fact that the show boasts one of the only Asian-American lesbian characters around, and you’ve got a guaranteed hit!

QUEER MUSICIAN/MUSICAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

Uh Huh Her

The pop/rock band fronted by Leisha Hailey and Camila Grey is a fan favorite not just because Hailey’s on The L Word (although that certainly helps). The band’s music is catchy and popular, and their tireless outreach to the queer community doesn’t go unnoticed.

Whether it’s via concerts at Dinah, guesting on video blogs, or talking about their gay fans, Uh Huh Her has cemented their popularity with queer women around the world.

BEST MUSIC VIDEO

Kin “Make Up Girl”

The music video for Kin’s song “Make Up Girl” (watch it here) shows the softer side of MC’s Nor and IQ, as they apologize to their girlfriends for cheating. A well-edited video emphasizing the song’s strong beats and showcasing strong black women, “Make Up Girl” drew much praise from fans, and brought them many new ones.

BEST SONG

Missy Higgins “Where I Stood”

Featured on bisexual Australian singer Missy Higgins’s second album, On a Clear Night, her single “Where I Stood” (watch the music video here) became a break-out hit in America and was featured in a variety of TV shows from Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS, Smallville, Lipstick Jungle, One Tree Hill to The Hills and So You Think You Can Dance.

The mid-tempo song about love lost showed off Missy’s talent as both a songwriter and musician, and she was invited by the Indigo Girls and Ben Folds on national tours this year — when she wasn’t headlining her own sold-out shows.

WORST SONG

Katy Perry “I Kissed a Girl”

Katy Perry’s hit song “I Kissed a Girl” is the “winner” in this category partly because of its likeability and popularity. The fact that it’s such a fun, catchy, danceable song that has legions of American teenagers singing along to it makes the homophobic nature of its lyrics – which reinforce the idea of bisexuality as alcohol-fueled experimentation, and position kissing another woman as “not what good girls do” – that much more insidious.

“I Kissed a Girl” is likely to be a controversial choice for “Worst Song” – many lesbian and bisexual women see the song as simply harmless fun – but to many of us, this feels like just one more straight woman profiting from promoting stereotypes about lesbians and bisexual women, which is especially frustrating considering the ongoing lack of positive mainstream visibility in America of actual lesbian and bisexual women, and our current fight for gay civil rights.

BEST FICTION – NOVEL

Passing for Black by Linda Villarosa, and Dirty Girls on Top by Alisa Valdes Rodriguez

Passing for Black and Dirty Girls on Top tied among readers for best novel of the year, and for good reason: Both offered an entertaining glimpse into the rocky romantic lives of queer women of color, and both were about more than just coming out or being gay.

In Linda Villarosa’s first novel, Passing for Black, the protagonist is engaged to a man but finds herself falling for a woman. But the book ends up being about more than just coming out, it also grapples with the concept of “passing” within both the queer and African-American communities, as AfterEllen.com reviewer Heather O’Neill described.

In Alisa Valdes Rodriguez’s Dirty Girls on Top, the sequel to The Dirty Girls Social Club which follows the lives of six successful Latina friends, openly gay journalist Elizabeth struggles with the slow realization that her partner does not want to co-parent their recently adopted son – an issue that is not often addressed in fiction or non-fiction, but likely resonates with many lesbian couples who have different parenting interests.

BEST FICTION – GRAPHIC NOVEL

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8

This continuation of the beloved Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series in graphic novel form was the overwhelming fan favorite in this category – and not just because it contains prominent lesbian and bisexual characters. Although the art is a bit uneven at times, the story continues to be compelling, with twists and turns that leave you eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Buffy sleeping with Satsu, Willow sharing her Tina Fey-in-a-ski lodge fantasy, and Buffy and Willow’s amusing exchange about not being each other’s type are just icing on the cake.

BEST NON-FICTION

Annie Leibovitz at Work by Annie Leibovitz

This collection of photographs from famed queer photographer includes behind-the-scenes descriptions of well-known photographs, like Barack Obama on the campaign trail, or a pregnant, naked Demi Moore, as well as less-known photos like the last one Leibovitz took of her longtime partner Susan Sontag before she died.

Although she includes a short section of photography advice (how to use fans, etc.), most of the book is dedicated to telling the stories behind the photos, and it reveals almost as much about the photographer as it does her photos.

BEST STRAIGHT ALLY

Jennifer Beals

A longtime supporter of gay rights, Jennifer Beals stepped up her activism this year by speaking out passionately for gay marriage (and stumping for Barack Obama). Her ongoing role as power lesbian Bette Porter on The L Word doesn’t hurt her popularity with readers, either.

Runner-ups: Tina Fey, Keith Olbermann

MOST SURPRISING COMING-OUT

Wanda Sykes

For those who have followed the comedian’s career, or attended even one of her stand-up comedy shows, the fact that Wanda’s gay is no surprise. But it was surprising that she chose to publicly reveal that she’s gay (and married) at a Las Vegas gay rights rally in November.

“I don’t really talk about my sexual orientation,” she told the crowd at the Las Vegas GLBT Community Center. But, because of the passing of Proposition 8 in California (which would ban gay marriage), “I gotta get in their face. I’m proud to be a woman. I’m proud to be a black woman, and I’m proud to be gay.”

Due to a combination of factors, including homophobia within the black community, the fact that it’s already hard enough to get ahead as a black woman in American entertainment (let alone as a gay black woman), and a universal desire for privacy, there are very few openly gay high-profile black women. The fact that most black lesbians chose to stay closeted makes Wanda’s decision to come out all the more inspiring.

LEAST SURPRISING COMING-OUT

Lindsay Lohan

Although Lindsay has not publicly defined her sexual orientation, she joined the queer community when she publicly confirmed her relationship with DJ Samantha Ronson in September, following years of hints and increasingly open displays of affection between them.

Although she remains controversial, Lindsay’s nonchalant confirmation of a lesbian relationship while rejecting a label is nonetheless representative of how many younger women choose to define themselves these days – or rather, don’t.

LESBIAN COUPLE OF THE YEAR (INTERNATIONAL)

Gro Hammerseng and Katja Nyberg

The teammates in life and on the field currently resident in Denmark have long been celebrities outside the U.S. for their domination of the popular sport of European handball, and their openness about their own relationship – Gro and Katja came out publicly as a couple a few years ago, and their personal and professional lives are routinely covered by lifestyle newspapers and magazines. But their performance at this year’s Summer Olympics (the Norwegian handball team took home the gold medal, with Gro as team captain proudly bearing the flag) brought them even greater attention world-wide.

Hammerseng and Nyberg have won many American hearts for their obvious devotion to one another and their sport, even as they tend to lead a private life off the field. Gro’s increasing status as a sex-symbol (she was #82 on The 2008 AfterEllen.com Hot 100 list, and was recently photographed as Joan of Arc for a popular Norwegian magazine) and the couple’s growing international fan base will likely make them even more popular in the years to come.

LESBIAN COUPLE OF THE YEAR (AMERICAN)

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi

America’s most high-profile lesbian couple (they also won last year’s Lesbian Couple of the Year) became even more high-profile this year with their much-publicized wedding, which made the cover of People magazine and was breathlessly covered in detail by media and news outlets around the world.

Ellen and Portia’s wedding – along with Ellen’s discussion of gay marriage on her extremely popular talk show – arguably did more to make the public comfortable with gay marriage than just about anything else, which was especially important in a year in which gays and lesbians were fighting for the right to marry across America.

LESBIAN/BI WOMAN OF THE YEAR (INTERNATIONAL)

Shamim Sharif

The multi-talented writer and director, who lives in London with her partner Hanan Kattan and their two children, debuted their first film, I Can’t Think Straight, at festivals this year, and released their second film The World Unseen theatrically, to critical and popular acclaim. Her novels have been equally well-received.

As one of the few out lesbians of Indian descent making movies that feature lesbian characters of Indian descent, Sharif’s work provides entertainment of broad appeal that also sheds light on an invisible minority.

Runner-up: Gro Hammerseng

LESBIAN/BI WOMAN OF THE YEAR (AMERICAN)

Rachel Maddow

Although she’s been doing political commentary for years on Air America radio, mainstream America discovered political commentator Rachel Maddow en masse this year when she was tapped to host her own political talk show on MSNBC in the fall, and co-hosted the cable network’s election coverage. Ratings doubled for her time slot, and suddenly Rachel was the toast of the town, earning photoshoots and length interviews in everything from Newsweek to The Advocate to Vogue.

Uber-smart, sarcastic, and quite comfortable being openly gay and “dressing like a 12-year-old boy,” Rachel is a welcome change from the many vapid celebrities who get so much media attention these days.

That’s it for this year’s Visibility Awards. Let us know what shows, movies and people made your best-and-worst lists for 2008!

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