The "Bury Your Gays" Trope: Is Person of Interest our Last Hope?

by Lauren W

***TRIGGER WARNING: It has been bugging me for some time now that I haven't taken to All Things Lesbian to voice my thoughts about the "Bury Your Gays" trope. Please note that this post may contain some images that could disturb some readers both mentally and emotionally, and death is mentioned more than once. Of course, there are also major spoilers from hereon in. You have been warned.***


If you haven't been living under a rock for the past two months, you'll have heard of the outrage sparked by the loss of our beloved Heda, Clarke's gal pal, and the Commander of the Thirteen Clans, Lexa kom Trikru (played by Alicia Debnam-Carey on The 100).

Alycia Debnam-Carey as Lexa in The 100

Losing yet another lesbian character from our already tiny percentage of television lesbians hurt some people so much that they contemplated suicide, threatened the creator of the show (Jason Rothenberg) and stopped watching The 100 altogether.

In fact, after the death of Lexa, we averaged around one lesbian charatacer death per week, two of which include Denise from The Walking Dead (played by the fabulous Merritt Wever) and Empire's Mimi (Marisa Tomei). And there are more. Many more. (Click HERE for an almost complete list of lesbian character deaths by AutoStraddle).

Alanna Masterson (Tara) and Merritt Wever (Denise), The Walking Dead.

The sad truth is, even the most LGBT-positive shows are not even immune to this damaging trope - think Tara from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Trish from Orange is the New Black, and The L Word's Dana Fairbanks, to name but a few.

What is perhaps most soul-enraging is the fact that heterosexual fans feel like they can chime in with things like "yeah but, everyone dies, it's just a fact of life", or "you wanted to be treated equally, didn't you?"

The truth, unfortunately, is that we're not being treated equally at all. The facts show that for the 18,000+ straight characters on TV, there has been a total of 383 lesbian or bisexual female characters. And guess how many of those characters remained alive at the end of the series in which they appeared? 20%. TWENTY FUCKING PER CENT. How many died? 31%.

And the other 50%, you ask? 28% of them were merely guest stars and had no real storyline to end their character arc at all. 10% were written off completely - they didn't die, but they were no longer visible. The last 10% had happy endings. 10%. Wow. (Click HERE for the source of these figures).

Amber Benson as Tara, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Now you have a little bit of background on the whole issue, I'd like to point you toward one show that has not played to any of these tropes thus far: Person of Interest.

I could explain the show in full detail and fangirl over it's entire premise, but many a lesbian watches the show for one thing only: it's LGBT couple, Root and Shaw (played by Amy Acker and Sarah Shahi respectively).

Shahi (left) as Shaw and Acker as Root.

You may recognise them from shows such as Angel and The L Word (oh, Carmen), but when they got together on Person of Interest, angels came down from heaven and celebrated in a wine-filled frenzy.

In the show, Root and Shaw fight crime together and flirt shamelessly. When there was an initial hint that a relationship was on the cards for these two, many fans were (not surprisingly) worried that the whole thing would turn into one big queerbaiting disappointment, and Shaw would end up with the show's male protagonist anyway. But it was not so.

Just before the end of season 4, Sarah Shahi's character sacrificed herself to save Root and her friends, right after she planted a big ol' smacker on her girlfriend's lips.

And lesbians everywhere applauded... And cried.

Of course, sacrificing one's life generally comes with some side effects, which include death. Sigh. Another lesbian/bisexual death on TV for us all to rage about...

But wait! There was hope! Shahi left only for maternity leave, and it was revealed that her character survived! I know, right? You don't believe me. A bisexual female character on television survived.

When the show returns next month, it will be it's last season. I have never been more upset about the loss of a TV show since Buffy ended in 2003, but I digress.

Since the announcement of the air date for Person of Interest season 5 (it's May 3rd, by the way), fans of "Shoot" and indeed other fandoms have been worried about the fact that it may kill one of them off at the end of the series.

Is this a threat or is it just foreplay? You decide.

Of course, I don't want to get anyone's hopes up. The show has been known to kill off some of its major players before (see Taraji P. Henson's Joss Carter), and the subject matter of Person of Interest means that all of its characters are often on the brink of death.

However, this show is yet to let us down. It lived up to its promise that it was not interested in queerbaiting, and that Root & Shaw are canon. It brought Shaw back from the dead, so to speak, and gave us a character with a serious personality disorder who is portrayed in a generally positive light. It treats its people of colour with respect, and gives them personality that is not defined only by their race. It gives us non-heterosexual characters that are not only about their sexuality, and they are not made to look like outsiders because of who they love.

What I'm saying is, we should hold on to hope for Person of Interest. When you compare it to shows such as Pretty Little Liars, which has killed off pretty much all of its black and LGBT characters, (R.I.P. Maya, Nate, Shana, CeCe, etc) POI has a pretty good track record (Carter notwithstanding). The 100 is twice as bad as most of the main offenders, as just weeks after the death of Lexa came the death of one of the show's few people of colour, Lincoln (played by Ricky Whittle).

Taraji P. Henson as Carter, Person of Interest

So is Person of Interest our only (current) hope for a happy lesbian ending? Only time will tell. It is, so far, one of the few remaining shows on television that has not killed off one of its LGBT characters. All we can hope is that it stays that way.

In the meantime, you can catch up with POI on Netflix if you are in the USA or the UK. Trust me, it's so, so worth your time. I can't stress that enough.

Person of Interest returns to CBS for one last season on Tuesday, May 3rd at 10pm, with episodes twice a week on Mondays and Tuesdays from May 9th onwards.

TV FANGIRL MOMENT OF THE MONTH: The 100 Lesbians

by Lauren W

Okay, okay, I know. I said that this new segment was going to be entitled "TV Fangirl Moment of the Week".

Well, everyone knows how bad a procrastinator I am. I can't help it; I've tried to stop, but when it comes to shirking your responsibilities (even if my responsibilities include to document my fangirling), you will find no one better.

So, I've decided to change the title to "Moment of the MONTH". I'm not gonna lie, it might be weekly, monthly... 23-daily, even. But "TV Fangirl Moment of the 23rd Day Since My Last Article" isn't catchy enough. If you have any other suggestions, please let me know.

ANYWAY. Here it is.

(Image Credit: lexa-the-commander @ Tumblr)

YES, YES, YES.

The 100 surprised everyone last week by making its lead female character bisexual.

Clarke (left, played by Eliza Taylor) is the show's leading lady and leader of the Sky People. (Don't ask, it's too difficult to explain unless you watch the damn thing). And the girl she's kissing (right, played by Alycia Debnam Carey) is the leader of the Grounders. (Again, don't ask).

My point is, they're two strong, powerful women with control over a ton of people... AND THEY'RE MAKING OUT. If this isn't fangirl-worthy I don't know what is.

This is also a massive step for gayness on television. The producers have confirmed that Clarke is indeed bisexual, making her the first leading bisexual character on any show. (I'm not including Orange Is The New Black here, as all of the gay and bisexual ladies in that show are arguably "the leading lady".) In any case, it's the first action-led TV show I've seen led by a bisexual character. (And I'm not including Lost Girl in this case either, as I class it as a fantasy show. So calm down.)

Anyway, up until this point, The 100 has been completely void of any LGBTQ characters. But now we gay ladies have something to get extremely excited about. Squee.

Did you see this milestone lesbian kiss happen? And what were your TV fangirl moments of the week/month/decade?

Why Should You Watch Orange Is The New Black?

If you haven't heard of this show yet, you've been living under a rock.

Orange Is The New Black is the new, kickass, Netflix original series which centres around a woman who goes to prison for a crime she committed a decade earlier.

Based on a book of the same name, Orange has a starry cast, led by blonde newcomer, Taylor Schilling.

Photograph © Jill Greenberg, 2013

So why should you watch it and why is it appearing on a lesbian blog? Let us tell you.

1) This show is full to the brim with lesbian activity.

We're not kidding.

Everyone from That 70s Show's Laura Prepon to Natasha Lyonne (American Pie) show their lesbian tendencies in this masterpiece.

And damn, look how hot Prepon is these days:

Image: orangeisthenewblackx via Tumblr

2) Orange brings you the first real transgender woman in the mainstream media.

And my word, she is stylin'.

Laverne Cox plays post-op transwoman Sophia on the show, who is often seen giving the other ladies new haircuts and make up tips.

No seriously, this is amazing for transgender awareness. This show breaks boundaries. Get to watching it.

3) Captain fucking Janeway.

"What?" you might ask. Well, guess which Star Trek alum appears as Russian head chef, Red.

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. I'm not a trekkie, but I can understand how this would over-excite some of your science fiction nerd vaginas.

Janeway commands you to watch this show. No one disobeys Janeway.

4) So, so great for feminism.

You're probably thinking "how does a show about a bunch of convicts help the feminist cause?"

Well, almost the entire cast is female, for one thing. Proof that TV shows do not need a strong male character in the central role.

In fact, this guy is one of only three main male characters in the cast:

Yes, that is the pie guy.

But even Jason Biggs' character isn't one of the typical 'masculine', dominating personalities we see far too much of on television. Another main male character is simply the villain, who is sure to get some feminist fires flaring.

What's more is, sexuality is treated as normal in this show. As it should be. The lesbians integrate with the heterosexual characters, and there are arguably even some bisexual (and otherwise sexually identified) characters in the pipeline too.

Different sexualities are treated equally. Women are portrayed as strong. 

A feminist triumph, if you ask me.

***

Of course there are a million more reasons you should watch this show, but I hope the four above help to convince you just that little bit more.

I'd recommend it to everyone (over 18, of course) from all sexual orientations, all genders and all walks of life. It's a truly amazing show that you're sure to become emotionally attached to.

E! Online's Top TV Couple Final: Doccubus vs. Brittana!

Okay, get how awesome this is: two same-sex female relationships in the top TV couples final!

SAY WHAT?!

We already made our bid on why you should vote for Doccubus (click HERE to read our reasons!)

So just a head's up, you only have until Wednesday to vote!

Click HERE to register your vote for Doccubus! for your favourite couple!

"Grey's Anatomy" Creator On Why She Includes Gay Characters

You know that little, low key drama on television, Grey's Anatomy? Of course you do.

Well Shonda Rhimes, the show's creator is responsible for one of lesbianism's current favourite television couples, Calzona.

And as usual, Ms. Rhimes succeeded in giving an applause-worthy response when asked "why she has all the gays on her shows".

Check it out:

“And because I love all my gay and lesbian friends. AND because I think same-sex marriage is the civil rights fight of our era and back when being a person of color was the civil rights fight, people like Norman Lear put black people on TV and helped change some minds. So you know, it's gotta be paid forward. As long as we are willing to sit by while one person is not free, none of us are free.”

Amen, sistah!

*Cue shameless plug of Grey's Anatomy*

If you've never watched it, GO WATCH IT. If not just for the lovely ladies above, a.k.a. Jessica Capshaw (left) and Broadway songstress, Sara Ramirez.

It's gritty, raw drama. Check it out. We've already proved its LGBT friendly!

The Real L Word: New York vs. LA

Let's face it: everyone watches reality shows.

Love them or hate them, everybody has seen at least a part of some white trash TV reality show. Even my Dad (quite a conservative man) watches the UK equivalent of Jersey Shore.

Yet for us gay ladies, reality shows rarely include lesbian activity. (We'll discount Big Brother, The Glee Project and America's Next Top Model, which occasionally include lesbian contestants and content.) So The Real L Word must be a must-see, right?

Well actually, no.

Most lesbians hate the show and think it puts lesbians across as a bunch of crazy, tattooed bitches who cause drama everywhere they go. (Which in my opinion, isn't that much of a stretch from the truth!)

Anyway, I got dragged in by the lure of its evil, trashy advances and decided to watch season 3.

This year (unlike previous years) The Real L Word crosses between New York and LA to show the lesbian scene on both sides of the US.

The New York persuasion includes lesbian band, Hunter Valentine (pictured below), who we see get into all kinds of trouble. (Especially Kiyomi, that girl is drama in human form.)

Over on the West Coast, we see the return of old favourites Whitney Mixter and Sara Bettencourt (below), along with the "normal" couple on the show, Cori and Kacy.

There's also appearance by Romi Klinger (who I personally despise with everything that I am) and a few new faces, such as Amanda Leigh Dunn and Lauren Bedford Russell.

But have you been watching? Honestly, I'd recommend watching this season. There have been tears, fights and sex, but it is actually such a fun show to watch.

If you have been watching, who is your favourite?

Comment below with your opinions or vote in the poll to the right!

Brittana & Calzona Return!

No, I'm not talking about folded up pizza and I'm not singing "Rule Brittania" to you in honour of my British heritage.

You probably already know, but this week we saw the return of two of our favourite "couples"* to the screen.

First up, we had Glee on Tuesday, which saw the return of Brittany (Heather Morris) and Santana (Naya Rivera).

Now there wasn't much in the way of obvious lesbianism during the season 3 premiere of Glee this week, but we have been promised many a time by the creators, including top dog, Ryan Murphy, that this season we will see Santana accepting herself.

Whether or not Brittany will be by her side is another matter completely, but it'll be interesting to see how the writers handle a lesbian couple on the show. And if the gay couple, Kurt & Blaine, are anything to go by, they'll execute it with class and dignity.

And in Grey's Anatomy this Thursday, we saw the return of Callie (Sara Ramirez), Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) and their daughter Sofia.

Last season was a roller coaster ride for Calzona - they moved in together, Arizona moved to Africa, they broke up, Callie got pregnant with Mark's (Eric Dane) baby, they fought, they got back together, they got caught in a car crash, Callie gave birth and they got married.

Did you get all that? I told you it was a roller coaster.

Anyway, this week's double season opener saw Calzona pretty much as a happy couple with a few adorable scenes of the two of them with baby Sofia.

Jessica Capshaw, who plays Arizona, has recently said that Calzona are currently just enjoying married life, but expect something to go wrong for them any time soon.

I mean, it wouldn't be Grey's without drama, right?

Do you lesbos watch either of these shows? What are you hoping will happen next for these couples?

You can catch Glee on FOX, Tuesdays 8/7c and Grey's Anatomy on ABC, Thursdays 9/8c if you live in the States.

*Brittana are not officially a couple, I know, but you just wait.

Rizzoli & Isles: Will They Or Won't They?

Every lesbian who is up to date with their television should have watched, or at least heard of, TNT's smash-hit TV show, Rizzoli & Isles.

The show is based on books by Tess Gerritsen and stars the lovely Angie Harmon (left) and the increasingly perfect Sasha Alexander (right).

However, if you do watch the show, you'll notice that there's a lot of something fans like to call "lesbian sub-text" going on. If you want to know more, read Dorothy Snarker's R&I recaps. (Click!)

Basically, think Xena & Gabrielle. But better. And hotter. (Unpopular opinion? I don't care).

Anyway, if you watch and you're gay (and probably even if you're straight!), you'll notice a lot of little things - loving glances, queer references in some of the characters' dialogue... We've even been subject to a little ass-slapping, bed sharing and going "undercover" in a lesbian bar.

If you watch it, I want to know your opinions. Will Rizzoli & Isles ever become more than just best friends? Should they get together at all? Or should it be kept at a lesbian sub-text level?

If you don't watch it, I suggest you do. You won't regret it. Mainly because Sasha Alexander is the cutest thing ever.

US viewers can see Rizzoli & Isles every Monday at 10/9c on TNT. UK viewers can watch the show from the beginning this September on Alibi.

Julie Benz Plays A Lesbian... AGAIN!

I know, right? This must be proof that God exists.

You'll probably remember this happening in Desperate Housewives:

If you don't, then you should probably get to watching the episode she starred in.

Anyway, it's now common knowledge that Julie Benz played a lesbian once more in US TV show Royal Pains.

Now I haven't seen it yet, but I've heard that the Buffy & Angel bombshell makes the cutest couple with on-screen girlfriend, Camille Chen.

Which then got me thinking...

Which actresses would you like to see play gay, even if it's for just one scene?

On my list, there'd be Christina Hendricks (Mad Men), Caterina Scorsone (Private Practice) and Lea Michele (Glee), alongside a few others.

Tell me below who you'd like to see go gay for pay and I'll probably tell you if I agree!

Super Lesbian Photos

Okay, I can't be the only one who sees a an old photograph they've never come across before and gets excited about the profound lesbianity involved in the picture.

Right?

My reason for saying this is as follows:

Most people have probably already seen this, but being an idiot like I am, I hadn't before now.

Yep, that's previously married lesbian couple Melissa Etheridge (left) and her ex-wife Tammy Lynn Michaels (right). And if you don't know who the one in the middle is, well, get out of my sight. That's obviously Jessica Capshaw of Grey's Anatomy and The L Word fame.

I know Capshaw isn't a lesbian, she's married to a man and has two children, but she plays lesbians. And apparently, she associates with them too!

So, I just wanted to tell you that it made me, in teenage internet terms, 'squee'. (And I will never, ever use that word again, I promise).

What are your favourite lesbian-packed photographs?

Send me some links in the comments so I can s**e to them too!

My Weekly Girlcrush.

My crush this week is Meg Griffin.

I totally lie. No one likes Meg. (She's from Family Guy, if you weren't in on the joke...)

But my Girlcrush this week is the gorgeous Mila Kunis, the woman behind cartoon Meg's voice.

That's right, you may have only seen her in 2010 Oscar winning blockbuster Black Swan, or maybe, if you're a lesbian veteran, you'll have seen her in After Sex, in which she plays one half of a girl-on-girl couple.

Okay, firstly, Mila Kunis is shit hot. Look at her eyes, her mouth, her cute little button nose... Then there's her body. If you did see Black Swan, you'll have seen her lesbian dream sequence with lead actress, Natalie Portman, if you didn't, well, click THIS LINK. (That links to an edited version of the scene, as YouTube doesn't allow the whole thing. It's clearly too hot for them.)

I would have posted a picture of her body above too, but this Ukranian beauty (yep, she was born in the Ukraine) gets little attention paid to her beautiful face, so I thought that was just as good.

By playing the annoying Meg in Family Guy, and having starring roles in After Sex, Black Swan and The Book of Eli, we all know that Kunis is talented.

Not only that but she's also not shy of the odd lesbian scene - Meg also had a little snog with a girl on Family Guy, after she left prison...

Anyway, Mila is a hottie. Whether you like it or not. And there's no denying she's talented.

So get your movie head on and watch her films. You'll pretty much love all of them.

Glee Is The S**t!

Just a quick one for you Glee lovers.

Pretty much everyone loves the current gayest show on television.

So here's some of the latest bloopers from the series, starring our lesbian favourite Santana (Naya Rivera) and her on/off crush, Brittany (Heather Morris).

Enjoy!

My Weekly Girlcrush.

Move over Sara Ramirez, there's a new lesbian Latina on the block. (Please don't really move over, Sara, I love you.)

We all watch Glee. And if you didn't before, you do now.

Now that there's a new, all singing, all dancing lesbian couple for you to ogle over.

When I say 'couple', they haven't actually got together... Yet.

But Glee's Naya Rivera (who plays Santana Lopez on the show) is hot stuff.

I mean, look at any picture of her and she looks fucking steaming. (Hot, that is. Not drunk).

Anyway, it's not just that she's physically perfect that I love her. Just last week, Naya presented the GLAAD awards and did a darn good job of it. She had comedic timing, charisma and, of course, that gorgeous Latina face.

Not only that, but presenting the awards showed that Naya really does care about gay rights. She both plays a fictional TV character and also advocates the gays in her every day life. She speaks about her role as both rewarding and exciting and has openly expressed that she'd like her and Brittany (played by Heather Morris) to officially get together.

It really does appear that although she plays a bitch in Santana on-screen, off-screen she has a heart of gold. I mean, I love bad girls, but good girls are just as attractive sometimes. Take Naya, for example.

So that's why she's my crush of the week. She appears to be just a pretty face, but Naya is caring, loyal to her gay fans and a big ball of sweetness.

You can follow Naya on twitter at http://twitter.com/nayarivera.

Another Struggle For Calzona?

Yep, you must know who I mean when I say 'Calzona' by now.

Obviously I mean gay surgeons from Grey's Anatomy, Callie Torres and Arizona Robbins, played by Sara Ramirez and Jessica Capshaw.

Well, if you don't want to hear a sneak peek of Ramirez singing in the upcoming musical and you're avoiding spoilers, DO NOT WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW.

So what do you lesbians think?

Is the person in the bed who you think it is? Where is Arizona at this time?

I for one am super excited about the musical. I was a bit cautious at first because I thought it'd suck, but this actually looks intense and pretty much what Grey's used to be.

Although Grey's Anatomy is currently on hiatus, you can watch new episodes starting March 24th on ABC.

Britain's Favourite Lesbians

Today, Britain's favourite 'lesbians', Sophie Webster (Brooke Vincent) and Sian Powers (Sacha Parkinson) will appear inside and on the front cover of UK lesbian magazine, Diva.

The Coronation Street pair give an interview, revealing their own lady crushes and what exactly they think of their characters.

Of course, all of this comes with super cute pictures. This being my favourite so far:

So make sure to pick up the magazine if you kinda love them like I do.

Also, the couple are currently going through a rough patch on the show. Sad times.

Check out this video promo for Friday's episode:

Keep up with Sophie & Sian by watching Corrie on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays on ITV1.

Britanna... On or Off?

***WARNING GLEEKS: SPOILER ALERT***

As you may or may not know, there's a constant lesbian 'ship', as tumblr addicts call it, within teen comedy/musical TV show Glee.

Yep, if you're a 'Gleek', you'll know of this non-lesbian love that's been hinted at since series 1.

With Jane Lynch playing an officially straight character on the show, lesbi-gleeks - and straight people! - everywhere have been routing for Brittany (Heather Morris) & Santana (Naya Rivera) to get together and have been optimistic ever since this infamous quote:

Santana : Sex is not dating.

Brittany : If it were, Santana and I would be dating.

And, although this is probably old news by now, for you late coming lesbians: BRITANNA ARE ON!

But how do we know that this is not just some rumour? The show's producer, Brad Falchuck, tweeted this earlier on in February:

Who's Gwyneth? I'm pretty sure all of you who don't follow the show are asking. Well none other than Gwyneth Paltrow, of course!

Stay tuned for more info and possibly an opinion or two on how the producers and writers handle the teen romance. With them doing such a good job with Kurt (Chris Colfer) on the show, we assume that Glee will not do the LGBT community an injustice.

So, who's excited?!