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AfterEllen.com’s Top 50 Lesbian and Bisexual Characters

In our first annual Top 50 Lesbian and Bi Characters poll, we asked you to vote for your favorite characters from film, television, and internet shows.

You cast your votes, and now we have the results. Before we reveal the winners, let’s take a look at some of the trends that emerged.

Almost all of the characters were from films and television shows that made their debut after the year 2000. A few of the exceptions include Kerry Weaver from ER, and the ass-kicking ladies from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

While most of the characters were from US productions, a fair amount came from international shows, including our top two characters (from the UK show Skins).

Also notable was the fact that some of your favorite characters, the leads from Xena: Warrior Princess (which ran from 1995-2001) and Idgie Threadgood from the film Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), were never officially presented as lesbian or bisexual.

It’s probably no coincidence that those characters emerged at a time when there was far less lesbian/bi visibility in the media, forcing viewers to make the most of the “subtext” provided to them by the studios and networks. As a result, these unofficially queer characters went on to become positive iconic figures in pop culture who are still beloved by their queer fans.

While our poll welcomed nominations from film, television and internet shows, only one web series was represented in the Top 50. Anyone But Me produced not one but two of the most popular characters, Aster and Vivian.

Finally, The L Word’s strong ensemble cast made an impressive showing in our poll. Of the top ten characters, four were from the show, and nine L Word characters total made the top 50.

Now onto the results!

1. Naomi Campbell (Skins)

The first time we saw Naomi kiss Emily, she sought confirmation that it was drugs making her do it. Maybe it was, but that didn’t explain the kissing in the bouncy house, or the shagging by the lake, or the slamming Emily up against the lockers and making out in public. Naomi hated injustice and was always brave enough to stand up for the downtrodden. By the end of Skins’ third season, she was finally brave enough to stand up for herself – and want Emily back.

2. Emily Fitch (Skins)

Emily Fitch knew she was gay from her first episode of Skins, and every time she came out to her friends and family, it just got better and better. She went from telling her pal JJ: “I like sex with girls. I like their rosy lips, their hard nipples, bums, soft thighs. I like tits and fanny, you know?” to telling her parents over dinner: “Her name’s Naomi; she’s rather beautiful – so I’ve been nailing her.” She had us at “I like girls.”

3. Dr. Arizona Robbins (Grey’s Anatomy)

Dr. Arizona Robbins had the unenviable task of wading through the carnage of the Hahn Debacle on her first day at Seattle Grace – but her charm and confidence won us over before she ever even scrubbed in. And it wasn’t long until Callie, too, was throwing herself into the Great Grey’s Elevator of Death for a chance to bask in her adorableness.

4. Alice Pieszecki (The L Word)

Alice Pieszecki was one of the first universally-relatable bisexual characters on TV. We either had a best friend like her, a girlfriend like her or we were her. Every single time love knocked Alice down – which was often – she got back up again and again. Good thing, too; all that WeHo gossip wasn’t just going to text itself out.

5. Bette Porter (The L Word)

Bette Porter never met a power suit she didn’t rock or an F-bomb she didn’t drop. No matter how many times she cheated, no matter how many babies she kidnapped, no matter how unfortunate her pirate costumes were in the fifth season, we were always willing to welcome her back with open arms. (Tina wasn’t always quite so generous.)

6. Dr. Callie Torres (Grey’s Anatomy)

Dr. Callie Torres has the unique distinction of being one of the only bisexual characters on primetime to have enjoyed relationships with women that lasted past Sweeps. She also has the distinction of being one of the only doctors at Seattle Grace to ever engage in a happy, healthy relationship. Plus she gave us a lasting catchphrase for coming out: “You can’t pray away the gay!”

7. Willow Rosenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Willow was the first lesbian character to have sex on primetime network TV. That alone won her plenty of votes. Her long journey from pining, bookish sidekick to powerful lesbian witch won her the rest. Willow is also one of the only lesbian characters to have two successful relationships with women. (And she had good taste, too – both of her girlfriends made our top 50.)

8. Luce (Imagine Me & You)

Luce taught us a lot. She taught us that if there is an unstoppable force, there is no such thing as an immovable object; she taught us that lilies are a dare to love; she taught us that number nine is an absolute wanker. And she taught us that the even the evil of London afternoon traffic is no match for true love, as long as you instructed your beloved in the art of bellowing at a football match.

9. Shane McCutcheon (The L Word)

Shane McCutcheon was a steadfast and loyal friend, always ready in times of trouble with a hug, a word of encouragement and whatever illicit substance anyone wanted to inhale and/or bake into dessert. We learned one thing about her in The L Word pilot that stuck for six seasons: Every time Shane walked into a room, a girl always left crying. But we sure did like watching the part before they stormed out in tears.

10. Dana Fairbanks (The L Word)

It says something about Dana Fairbanks that she rounds out our top ten even though she was only around half as long as the other L Word characters. She won us over on the mission to ascertain the Soup Chef’s sexual leanings, and held our hearts through her coming out Subaru ad, her egregious engagement, her funeral for Mr. Piddles and her long-awaited affair with Alice. Waterfall? What waterfall? Dana is at tennis camp.

11. Xena (Xena: Warrior Princess)

12. Spencer Carlin (South of Nowhere)

13. Ashley Davies (South of Nowhere)

14. Lucy Diamond (D.E.B.S.)

15. Tara Maclay (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

16. Tina Kennard (The L Word)

17. Gabrielle (Xena: Warrior Princess)

18. Ellen Morgan (Ellen)

19. Leyla (I Can’t Think Straight)

20. Carmen de la Pica Morales (The L Word)

21. Kim (Sugar Rush)

22. Olivia Spencer (Guiding Light)

23. Helena Peabody (The L Word)

24. Idgie Threadgood (Fried Green Tomatoes)

25. Pepa (Los Hombres de Paco)

26. Natalia Rivera Aitoro (Guiding Light)

27. Aster (Anyone But Me)

28. Helen Stewart (Bad Girls)

29. Silvia (Los Hombres de Paco)

30. Dr. Remy “Thirteen” Hadley (House)

31. Bianca Montgomery (All My Children) 32. Annabelle (Loving Annabelle) 33. Tala (I Can’t Think Straight) 34. Rachel (Imagine Me & You) 35. Pauline “Paulie” Oster (Lost and Delirious)

36. Jenny Schecter (The L Word)

37. Nikki Wade (Bad Girls)

38. Tasha Williams (The L Word)

39. Dr. Kerry Weaver (ER)

40. Dra. Maca Fernández Wilson (Hospital Central)

41. Vivian (Anyone But Me)

42. Saint (Sugar Rush)

43. Wilhelmina “Wil” Pang (Saving Face)

44. Randy Dean (The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love)

45. Carla Sophia Gräfin von Lahnstein (Verbotene Liebe)

46. Vivian Shing (Saving Face)

47. Alex Nuñez (Degrassi: The Next Generation)

48. Jodi Lerner (The L Word)

49. Kennedy (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

50. Ms. Rain (Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire)

What did you think of of the poll results? Were you surprised by the presence (or absence) of any characters? Do you think subtextually queer characters like Xena, Gabrielle and Idgie belong on this list? Let us know in the comments below!

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