Why Gay Characters Need To Be On TV

Over the last decade the gay community have come onto our television screens with a bang. Since the 90s we have seen a selection of television shows achieve ratings and critical success such as Queer as Folk, Sugar Rush and Lip Service, along with gay characters playing principal roles in other television dramas and comedies like Shameless, Skins and Gimme Gimme Gimme.

Aside from this we now have gay characters on our television screens on a daily basis with soaps like Coronation Street, Hollyoaks and Eastenders featuring several gay characters and storylines, allowing everyone to see that we are just the same as everyone else.

However where these programmes, characters and storylines have been met with praise and positive responses, they have been equally met with dislike and several complaints to Ofcom.

Over the last few years there have been several issues in the news surrounding gay people on television, such as the complaints surrounding a lesbian kiss on Coronation Street, along with some feeling there were too many gay characters on the show. There were complaints surrounding a gay sex scene involving openly gay actor John Barrowman in Doctor Who spin off Torchwood, despite the programme being aired after the watershed, and there were complaints regarding a gay couple being seen in bed with each other in Eastenders.

The fact of the matter is when straight people on these shows are shown kissing or in bed, we never hear of complaints being made to Ofcom because of it. And even more importantly gay people are part of society and therefore should feature in television shows especially soap operas. I mean we wouldn’t complain if there were too many black or Asian people on Coronation Street, would we?

Aside from gay people needing to be seen on television to show people that we are part of society, it also needs to show that we are just like everyone else, dealing with the mundane 9-5 working hours or having troubled relationship problems. Yes there have been stereotypes in the past such as Tom from Gimme Gimme Gimme or Mr Humpries in Are You Being Served. But in the last 10 years television has helped show that the gay community is just as diverse as every other community and that we aren’t all running around shouting, “I’m free.”

The most important reason for us being visible on screen is to show today’s youth that it’s oksy to be gay so they aren’t scared to come out, and to show others that gay people aren’t to be viewed as something different or to be scared of. Eventually with enough positive portrayals on television we may be able to almost stamp out homophobic issues, but until then we’re just going to have to keep showing everyone that we are just normal people.