Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!
Thank you for signing up to Marie Claire. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
One minute Grey's Anatomy's socially awkward surgeon Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith) is exiting the closet ("I am gay. I am so, so, so gay!"); the next, she's off the show, and her erstwhile girlfriend (Sara Ramirez) is back to straight-sexing McSteamy in the bunk room. Seems Dr. Hahn didn't get the memo that if you're gay and you're on TV, you'd better be smokin' hot. And, preferably, bi.
Social change tends to ebb and flow. ABC broke ground in the late '70s with Soap, when Billy Crystal played TV's first recurring gay character. Dynasty's Steven Carrington, conflicted scion of Colorado oil, sexually flip-flopped his way through the '80s. By the '90s, it was a pile-on: L.A. Law featured the first lesbian kiss on network TV; Melrose Place's inner circle included out-gay Matt; Buffy the Vampire Slayer featured a lesbian couple; Ross's ex married her girlfriend on Friends; and on Will & Grace, it was the straight people who seemed a bit queer. But a decade after Ellen DeGeneres came out on her eponymous sitcom, prominent gay characters have all but disappeared from mainstream TV. Cashmere Mafia's hot-kissing lesbians didn't last a season, and with The L Word banished to cable and Hahn off Grey's, the tally of gay lead characters on network programming is exactly one: Brothers and Sisters' Kevin Walker. And lesbians are nowhere in sight.
"Hot and bi is the new gay," says Mary McNamara, TV critic for the L.A. Times. "On Grey's you had two midlife women whose main purpose was not to provide titillation to the straight audience — that was the plotline's undoing." Indeed, the show quickly "replaced" Smith's character with a toothy, nubile bombshell of a bisexual intern (Melissa George). On her heels comes Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw), a babe-ish, sexually ambiguous visiting surgeon — hot sex as needed? With California voting to delegitimize gay marriage and the networks hedging their bets, we have to ask: Where's the will? Where's the grace?
THE NETWORKS' GAY DIASPORA
Lately, TVs have been strikingly straight:
8 The number of gay characters appearing regularly on network TV during the '06 - '07 season.
6 The number appearing regularly during the '07 - '08 season.
1 The number of gay lead characters on network TV this season.
Marie Claire Newsletter
Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!
-
Prince William and Prince Harry Rift: "Happy Families Are Not a Game That Everyone Can Play," Says Expert
Yeesh.
By Iris Goldsztajn
-
Pierce Brosnan Gave His Wife Keely 60 Roses for Her 60th Birthday
These two!!!
By Iris Goldsztajn
-
Travis Kelce Jerseys Have Seen a "400% Spike in Sales" Amid Rumored Taylor Swift Romance
The power this woman has...
By Iris Goldsztajn
-
Sarah Hyland and Adam Devine Play 'How Well Do You Know Your Co-Star?'
The 'Modern Family' stars reunited for the 'Pitch Perfect' spinoff series.
By Brooke Knappenberger
-
The 78 Best Celebrity Couple Halloween Costumes of All Time
Honestly, we're impressed.
By Charlotte Chilton
-
Super Rare Photos of Queen Elizabeth as a Young Woman
From childhood snapshots to portraits as a young princess, beautiful and rare photos of the late Queen Elizabeth as a young woman.
By Mehera Bonner
-
King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla's Relationship: A Timeline
With the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, Charles has ascended to the throne as king.
By The Editors
-
Who Is Next in Line for the British Throne, Explained
And yes—Harry and Archie are still in the line of succession.
By Andrea Park
-
Who Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Fiancé Riley Roberts?
AOC's husband-to-be is an "easygoing redhead" who lives with her in D.C.
By Katherine J. Igoe
-
68 Times the Kardashians Posed Fully Nude and Owned It
And we mean fully nude—as in, not a shred of clothing.
By Bianca Rodriguez
-
Who Is Jonathan Owens, Simone Biles's Fiancé and NFL Player?
"The easiest yes!" Simone wrote about the couple's engagement.
By The Editors