A history of queer TV for Pride - from US sitcom All in the Family to Euphoria

Before our rights were cemented in law, queer people were hidden in layers of subtext or sidelined as minor characters to avoid the vicious bite of the morality police.

In 1971, All in the Family became one of the first US sitcoms to discuss homosexuality openly when it introduced viewers to Steve, a bar buddy of one of the main characters, before later writing a lesbian character into the show. Then, in 1972, came The Corner Bar's Peter Panama, the first recurring gay character on American television.

Meanwhile, across the pond, British show Second City Firsts rocked society with its 1974 episode Girl, which revolved around an army private, Jackie, who was discharged for engaging in a lesbian relationship.

As a response to the controversy surrounding the series, the BBC made a special announcement before broadcasting – which thankfully, given today’s general acceptance of LGBTQ+ characters in mainstream television, isn't deemed necessary.

In 1977, America saw its first gay regular character with the introduction of Jodie Steele (Billy Crystal) on Soap. Despite being a milestone for queer representation, his character's storylines revolved around his involvement with women, including a one-night stand that resulted in a child. Clearly, writers weren’t ready to commit to a queer character.

While there were glimpses of well-rounded LGBTQ+ characters on TV in the 1970s, stereotypes and misguided caricatures were more common. Queer characters were hypersexualised or depicted as immoral and deviant, often relegated to minor roles such as killers or molestors, contributing to the then-widely held belief that gay men were predators.

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In America, the Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters heavily restricted what homosexual characters could do on screen. While the UK didn’t have an equivalent code of practice, broadcasters did submit to social pressures and sometimes censored LGBTQ+ representation, submitting to 1970s pressures of heterosexual norms and gender roles.

While not a television show, we can’t talk about 1970s LGBTQ+ representation without referencing The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), which challenged every rule in the book to bring to life its queercentric story.

Against the backdrop of changing social attitudes toward our vulnerable community, influenced by characters like Frank-N-Furter and the Stonewall Riots, the 1980s saw a flurry of LGBTQ+ characters on TV.

A Very British Coup (1988) broke barriers by portraying gay characters in a sensitive and sympathetic light, straying from the dull stereotypes of its predecessors. A year later, soaps led the charge for minority representation, like they so often do, by airing the first kiss between gay men on British TV on EastEnders. While it met with some backlash, the iconic moment proved that the UK was ready for more.

Though gay characters saw increasing representation, depictions of lesbian and transgender folks were rarer. Transgender characters, in particular, were frequently used for shocking twists in TV shows rather than depicted as, you know, people. These roles were also taken by cisgender men, like David Duchovny in Twin Peaks.

However, the 1990s and early 2000s brought a rush of LGBTQ+ TV highlights. The iconic Queer as Folk – later remade in America – told the story of four gay best friends on Manchester’s Canal Street scene and broke many long-lasting taboos around being queer.

In 1991, the US finally caught up with the UK by depicting its first lesbian kiss on TV in a show called LA Law, six years before Ellen DeGeneres came out on her show. Sadly, Ellen’s coming out moment marked a backwards step in queer representation as her show was swiftly cancelled and met with fierce criticism from conservative groups.

But, as time moved on, so did society, and LGBTQ+ representation increased. The Vicar of Dibley showcased several queer characters. Then Sugar Rush (2005-2006) arrived to give young queer women some positive representation. The show follows a teenage Kim as she wrestles with an infatuation with her best friend. Yes, it leaned into the lesbians falling for their friends trope, but it was brilliant for its time!

And then came Skins, with a cohort of queer characters over its six-season run in the early 2000s. The iconic show spotlighted the unique party culture of the emo era while finally allowing for some diverse LGBTQ+ representation that did its best to avoid tropes. Buffy the Vampire Slayer also introduced queer characters in its later seasons, namely through Willow. Still, it fell into the “bury your gays” trope by killing off Tara.

After gay marriage was legalised in the UK and the US (2014 and 2015, respectively), we saw a rainbow rush light up our screens with diverse, authentic representation. Shows like Sense8 and Euphoria challenged our understanding of queer community and relationships. Pose shattered stereotypes about the AIDS crisis and introduced us to a kaleidoscope of transgender characters, finally breaking the community out of its stereotype confinement.

The 2020s have continued the trend with groundbreaking shows like Heartstopper and Sex Education. We’ve even seen fantastic LGBTQ+ representation in animated children's shows, like in She-Ra and the Princess of Power, which has a lesbian relationship.

We can’t get carried away with our excitement, though. There’s still a long way to go before the LGBTQ+ community is depicted with the same authenticity as heterosexuals.

And now, we’re at a crossroads. With an increase in far-right, homophobic and transphobic rhetoric across the world, there is a danger that production companies will sideline our community again. Worse yet, we could be eliminated from TV entirely with new codes of conduct that demonise our depiction on TV or film screens.

So, what can we do to ensure the future of LGBTQ+ representation on TV? We need more – far more than the percentage of the population our community represents – because our portrayals do change minds.

Before Will & Grace aired, just 27 per cent of American people were in favour of gay marriage; by 2006, that figure had jumped to 42 per cent. We can’t credit all of that to Will & Grace because it’s far from a perfect depiction of LGBTQ+ folks, but the show’s massive impact cannot be ignored. It humanised a community many had written off, changing minds with every heartwarming moment and laugh-out-loud scene.

Which is why we need twice the representation for transgender people, who face increasing threats to their very existence, and other lesser-known identities, like asexual people and demisexual folks.

The media has always been a conduit for sharing our hearts with the world, and the rich, diverse history of LGBTQ+ TV proves how essential our representation is for progress. In the shadow of the ever-growing conservative movement, we must all protect its continuation. After all, if we can see each other’s humanity on a screen, we can surely transfer that to real life.

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