It’s an exciting time to be a queer woman watching television. Today there are more lesbian and bisexual characters on television than ever before, spreading across networks and genres and mediums and age groups and countries. We hold a lot of “best ever” tournaments around here. Best Lesbian Kiss Ever! Best Lesbian Couple Ever! Best Femslash Couple Ever! But this is such a unique moment on the space-time continuum of gay lady visibility that we figured it was time to ask you to weigh in on the best lesbian/bisexual TV character right now, this moment, in 2013.
We want to know which character you think is the most authentic, the most fun, the most intriguing, the most socially progressive. We want to know who you think is just the absolute best. This poll is open to any lesbian/bi character on a currently active show. The show doesn’t have to be in-season; it just has to be coming back for more episodes. For example, you could vote for Kalinda on The Good Wife or Callie on Grey’s Anatomy, because both of those shows are on-air right now, or you could vote for Cosima on Orphan Black or Emily on Pretty Little Liars because their shows are active but on a break. You can also vote for characters on any show in any country, and shows that are on, say, Netflix, instead of network television. (Orange Is the New Black, for example!)
Choose your top five 10 characters below and then weigh in with your answers in the comments. Voting will be open until midnight on Sunday, October 27. Be sure to check back as our staff weighs in on their picks. We’ll also be asking you to answer some tough questions about characters who should be on this list, but aren’t eligible because of death or show cancellation.
