First of all “queer characters in media,” I know, it’s not exactly the flashiest title. If you manage to think up a catchier name let me know! 

With my “admirable” talent for unoriginal, bland, and wordy titles out of the way. Let’s approach conversation that’s both relevant to our topic and, hopefully, engaging.

The existence and portrayal of queer characters in media is highly important! (As with any minority having representation). As a queer person myself I’m blogging about LGBTQ+ characters and actors, (I can’t promise that I will not also be mentioning queer celebrities who aren’t actors) on the basis of my ability to relate to them. 

I have to admit I’m BAFFLED, we are already this far into this post and I haven’t told you about a single queer character! That changes IMMEDIATELY!!

Have you ever watched Brooklyn-99, or at least heard of it? Fan-freaking-tastic, then you may know Rosa Diaz, the badass detective from Brooklyn-99. 

Rosa happens to be an excellent example of bisexual representation, the show displays her in relationships with both women and men, not dismissing her identity in the slightest without making her whole character design revolve around her sexuality.

Another example of a well written queer character is Kai Bartley, a neuroscientist, side character, and love interest in Grey’s Anatomy. Dr. Bartley has a huge impact in being the first nonbinary character to appear in the 18th season of Grey’s Anatomy. Now I do want to acknowledge the fact that there are other LGBTQ+ characters featured on this show, however, out of the few episodes I’ve seen of Grey’s Anatomy, one of them included Kai, so that’s is the character I’ve chosen.

Now, before going into depth by mentioning more characters I’d like to compare these two. A similarity between them is they both are represented by actors who identify with the labels their characters do. Rosa Diaz or Stephanie Beatriz is a bisexual woman. Kai Bartley or

E. R. Fightmaster is a nonbinary actor. This is important as casting queer actors in shows with queer characters is favorable to casting their straight or cis counterparts. Another similarity that brings me to my next point is casual representation, or in these cases the lack there of. Both Rosa and Dr. Bartley mention and explain their identity, which is not the case for all characters shown in media. 

Don’t get me wrong, it’s important to have characters that hold the viewers hand and walk viewers through the idea of other identities and how struggles like coming out take a toll on queer people. 

This is not to say that characters who are simply themselves without explanation, also known as casual representation, aren’t also completely valid. For example, Luz and Amity from the Owl House are an adorable couple and neither of them at any point in the series give an explanation about their sexualities, they are women in a romantic relationship together and no one questions them about their identities.  

Another couple in the Owl house is Raine and Eda, Raine is nonbinary yet never has to mention their pronouns a single time, everyone simply reads the room and addresses them with their proper pronouns. With all these examples, no one explains their gender identity or sexual orientation.  

I know this post has been a bit all over the place and I apologize for this, however I would like to thank you for reading this! 

One last thing before I go, I wanted to let you know that I WILL be mentioning the importance of casting appropriate actors for their roles, or at least my take on the matter.

Thanks for reading! >:)

-Byeeeeeeee (Kennedy the menace they/them) >:))))