TV

Lesbian/Bi Characters We’re Thankful For

We spend a lot of time bemoaning the lack of authentic lesbian and bisexual characters on television and in movies, but with the holiday season approaching, we decided to take a look back at the last few years of queer entertainment and find a reason to merry-make.

To celebrate (American) Thanksgiving this week, we asked our bloggers (and some of our former editors!) to tell us what lesbian/bisexual characters they are most thankful for, and why.

Check out our list, then join the festivities in the comments!

Callie Torres, Grey’s Anatomy (chosen by TheLinster)

Choosing just one lesbian character to be thankful for is a little like going to the SPCA. So many adorable options – and I want to take every single one home with me. But I decided to go with the Sapphic surgeon who made me fall in love again: Dr. Callie Iphegenia Torres (Sara Ramirez) from Grey’s Anatomy.

I was right there with all of you when Grey’s kicked Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith) to the curb last season. But who among us hasn’t played Hahn’s glasses soliloquy over and over again? Watching Callie’s confusion, then delight, as she realized that she was falling for a woman was one of the best things I’ve seen on TV. And no face on television communicates the emotions of love like Callie’s.

This year, Callie and Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) have become my favorite couple, gay or straight, on screen. (Yes, that even includes Pam and Jim.) Their relationship is rocky, fun, confounding and loving. And last week’s episode in which Callie did just about everything wrong in trying to give Arizona a good birthday was amazing. At the end, when Arizona said, “I love you” and Callie said, “You do?” I realized that I had fallen in love with Grey’s Anatomy again. Thanks, Callie. I love you, too.

Luce, Imagine Me & You (chosen by Hornito)

The lesbian character I am most thankful for has got to be Luce (played by Lena Heady) from Imagine Me & You. Not only is she smokin’ hot but she also played out so many of my own early gay fantasies of making a straight girl (played by Piper Perabo) fall in love with her. This also happens to be one of the only good lesbian films with a – gasp! – happy ending! Yes, the ladies get to live and love each other and be fashionable, all at the same time.

Clarissa Vaughan, The Hours (chosen by scribegrrrl)

Some people (Hi, Sarah!) think The Hours is depressing. You could say it’s not really all that gay, either – there are only three girl/girl kisses in the whole movie, and each one is fraught and freighted rather than fun and fizzy. And the word “lesbian” is never uttered. But if all you see when you watch The Hours is pseudo-gay, super-dramatic, suicidal literary ladies, you owe it to yourself to take another look.

Clarissa Vaughan, as brought breathtakingly to life by Meryl Streep, takes a remarkable internal journey in one day. Clarissa finds the day, and life in general, at once overwhelming and unsatisfying – as do most of the other characters in The Hours (and most people in real life). But by the end of the film, she has stopped looking to the past for happiness and stopped hoping to transcend all the details of daily life. Unlike the other characters, she learns that to survive, she has to find a way to “look life in the face” and embrace the quotidian fullness of “the city, the morning.”

When I first read the Michael Cunningham novel the movie is based on, I was instantly drawn to Clarissa. And when Meryl’s beautiful face became a part of the picture, the character became even more dear – a sort of touchstone for those days when I find life to be both too much and not enough. I think of her running errands, getting through her day, finding a way to cope and even thrive.

And I think of Clarissa with her partner Sally, played by Allison Janney. Their kiss near the end of the film seems to seal a promise – maybe not that they’ll stay together forever, but that they’ll do their best to cherish what they have.

That’s not depressing. It’s real, and it’s lovely. Thank you, Clarissa, for showing us that marking the hours is often the best way to make a life.

Alice Pieszecki, The L Word (chosen by Dorothy Snarker)

I am thankful for Alice Pieszecki (Leisha Hailey). But then, really, who isn’t? Alice is the girl we all want to be or be friends with or be on a date with or be driving around in her Mini-Cooper with. She is sweet and snarky, smart and saucy, steadfast and silly. In fact, it’s hard to think of another character in the pantheon of lesbian characters that is more universally relatable – or adorable. I mean, if a simple “uh-uh” can have you giggling for days, well, now that’s a reason to be thankful.

Bette Porter, The L Word and Willow Rosenberg, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (chosen by Sarah Warn)

I’m grateful for Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Bette (Jennifer Beals), for different reasons.

Willow is a brilliant, endearing, and witty embodiment of the confusion and experimentation of youth. We see her grow up, come out, and come to terms with her own power and powerlessness – experiences many of us had when we were young, just without the turning evil and trying to end the world part (and sadly, without the Vamp Willow – love her!)

Bette is lesbian life as a grown-up. Her triumphs and mistakes as a business woman, a parent, and a partner resonate with many queer women. And Bette’s ongoing attempt to control everything and everyone around her, often with disastrous results, serves as a helpful cautionary tale for control freaks like me: loosen up, or you may end up with a dead psychotic “friend” floating in your pool.

Bette and Willow represent different life stages and personalities: adulthood vs adolescence, power suits vs. the softer side of Sears. But they’re both likable and relatable, and they both make our own lives seem a little better – because as long as you haven’t skinned a man alive or cheated on your partner in jail, your day can’t be going that bad, right?

Nancy Bartlett, Roseanne (chosen by Trish Bendix)

I am so thankful for Nancy Bartlett (Sandra Bernhard).

I never watched Roseanne during its first run on primetime television. I didn’t catch on to the ’90s sitcom about small town, lower class living until it was in syndication on Lifetime and MeTV. But one of the reasons (in addition to out actor Sara Gilbert as Darlene) I’m so glad that I finally marathonned it was Sandra Bernhard’s crass, leopard-print unitard-wearing lesbian character, Nancy.

She wasn’t always gay on the show, but when she came out, she was one of the first regular lesbian characters to appear on television. And the best part about it was that no one cared. Not Roseanne, not Dan, not even little D.J. Even male suitors in Lanford, Illinois weren’t making a big deal of her being into women, and thus began Roseanne’s great display of LGBT awareness, which, hopefully, resonated with viewers. (Yes, rural America – lesbians are people, too.)

Nancy dated the most beautiful women in Lanford (Morgan Fairchild and Mariel Hemingway both played her girlfriends) and took Roseanne and Jackie out to a lesbian bar, one of the first to be depicted on television. Roseanne even kissed Mariel herself and Nancy was cool, calm and collected about it.

Despite being one of the most bizarrely dressed and sometimes flighty characters on the show, Nancy was a hilarious and well-loved character for seven seasons of the Emmy-winning series. She was always confident, self-aware and a good friend. Thank you, Nancy Bartlett.

Ms. Rain, Precious, and Vivian Bell, Desert Hearts (chosen by Karman Kregloe)

Ever since I was a kid, I always related more to my teachers than my fellow students. They were the ones who stoked my imagination, encouraged my curiosity, and valued intelligence over popularity (which is crucial to a lifelong nerd). And what kind of lesbian would I be if my educational history didn’t include a few crushes on the women standing in front of the blackboard?

So perhaps it is just old fashioned sentimentality that makes me choose two cinematic lesbian teachers as the characters for whom I’m most thankful.

In Precious, Ms. Rain (Paula Patton) is a female knight in a shining purple beret who helps the title character learn to rescue herself. The kindness, compassion and, perhaps most importantly, faith she shows in Precious are what set her apart. Isn’t it nice when the (incidentally gorgeous) lesbian character is the hero for a change?

For completely different reasons, Vivian Bell (played by Helen Shaver) in Desert Hearts has to be on my list as well. Uncertain, uptight and prickly as hell, Bell’s repressed English professor isn’t heroic or even obviously sexy (unless wool skirt suits and pillbox hats happen to turn your crank). But she has the distinction of starring in the first lesbian movie I ever saw, and being one of the first lesbian characters to whom I could actually relate.

Her cinematic coming out experience coincided with my real life one, and her portrayal of the terrifying, exhilarating and surprising process of finally figuring out who you really are struck me as authentic and gave me hope. For that, I give Prof. Vivian Bell an “A+.”

Carmen de la Pica Morales, The L Word (chosen by drummerdeeds)

On this Day of Giving Thanks, I am thankful for not only the tofurkey peacefully roasting in my oven or the plentiful Indian food my family and I share. Sure, I’m super grateful for the roof over my head and blah blah – that’s all really great stuff. But there is one person, one heavenly creature, actually, who brings the most joy into my heart and a tear to my eye: Carmen de la Pica Morales (Sarah Shahi).

Carmen, with your flowing dark hair, radiant smile, and excellent taste in music (not so much girls, though: Jenny and Shane? Come on), girl, am I thankful for you. I’m totally willing to overlook the fact that you lost your V-Card to Eva Torres, aka Papi – it’s kind of funny, actually – and would never do anything that would require you to use the fire extinguisher on me.

Make no mistake, I will treat you like the divine being you are and feed you vegan bon-bons after the big Indian family dinner on Thursday. With all the importance you give to your culture and family (and your hot bod), you make all us queer women of color so proud it hurts. Here’s to six years of uninterrupted bliss, and here’s to 600 more. Thank you.

Love,

Your #1 Boo, drummerdeeds

Rachel Maddow, The Rachel Maddow Show (chosen by Jen Sabella)

As a member of the media, I can say with all honestly that sharing the news in an informative and interesting way is pretty hard to do. In cases of tragedy, you have to dig deeper without being insensitive. When something is unjust, you have to seek out facts and give people real, easy to understand answers. And for all this, I am thankful for Rachel Maddow.

Her wit, humor, undeniable intelligence and ability to shine light on underreported issues make her not only my favorite person on television, but my favorite newscaster of all time.

Sure, I might have a raging crush on her as well – but that does not cloud my judgment: Rachel, keep up the amazing work, and know that many of us might just let people like Michele Bachmann, Virginia Fox and Dick Cheney get to us if it weren’t for you.

Helen Stewart, Bad Girls, and scribegrrrl, Word Magician (chosen by StuntDouble)

In his memoir Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller says he never liked jazz music until he stood outside Bagdad Theatre in Portland and watched a man play the saxophone for fifteen minutes with his eyes closed. That’s how I felt the night I toppled onto AfterEllen.com to find scribegrrrl weaving her word magic around Helen Stewart (Simone Lahbib).

I’d heard of Bad Girls before, but the whole concept just seemed too tawdry. Straight prison governor falls in love with lesbian inmate and risks their freedom for an illicit affair? Oh, but that is so not the story of Nikki and Helen.

Helen Stewart had a plan, see: She was doing the job that she wanted to do; she was committed to the man that she loved. Then Nikki Wade whipped around to face her, all rage and swagger and eyes so brown they’d make every color in the crayon box spit with jealousy. Helen’s reaction was immediate, and it was visceral. Nikki challenged Helen’s childhood faith, her dogmatic morality, her sexuality, her intellectual superiority and her treasured authority.

In three series’ Bad Girls allowed Nikki to unfold Helen – corner-by-corner, bit-by-bit, layer-by-layer, piece-by-piece – until she was completely undone.

And if Nikki’s task of unraveling was a labor of love, scribegrrrl’s retelling was even more so. Watching her watch Nikki watch Helen, watching her select each word of their story like a craftsman of yore, watching her stitch them together and tuck them in: well, you don’t get many chances in a lifetime to see something like that.

If you’re lucky, you get to see it once. If you’re really lucky, you know enough to be thankful.

“Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself,” writes Donald Miller. “It’s as if they are showing you the way.”

What lesbian/bisexual characters are you most thankful for? Let us know in the comments!

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