The cast of “Modern Family” (Dan MacMedan/Getty Images)

After our “How to Build a Southerner” episode, we got lots of requests to talk about other cultures and how they are portrayed on TV. Today we get into another — the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community. What we talked about isn’t an exhaustive list of gay characters on TV (there are far to many for that to work), but a look at trends in gay characters and how they’re portrayed — and how straight characters relate to them.

• David A. Wyatt’s list of gay characters on the TV
• Trends in primary gay characters
• “The Celluloid Closet” and the trajectory of gay characters
• Very Special Episode
• The most influence LGBT characters on TV, including Jodie on “Soap”
• Why gay characters on TV matter, and what it takes to undo accepted stereotypes in your head
• “Glee”
• “Modern Family,” Cam, and Eric Stonestreet’s mom
• “Will and Grace”
• Barney on “How I Met Your Mother” and Neil Patrick Harris
• “Grey’s Anatomy”
• Gender roles in gay and straight couples
• “Happy Endings”
• “The L Word”
• “Ellen”
• “Ugly Betty,” which I loved in spite of the big ol’ stereotypes
• Stereotypes on TV about how the straight people relate to the gay people
• Willow and Tara on “Buffy”
• The similarities between this theme and our previous episode, “Did movies ruin love?”
• “The New  Normal” and Archie Bunker
• Listener mail! It’s from Jessamine, asking what we think of the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm
• 5 Gay Parenting Myths
• Episode link: How to Build a Gay Character for TV

My research:

• Brown, Michael J. and Groscup, Jennifer L. “Homophobia and Acceptance of Stereotypes About Gays and Lesbians.” Individual Differences Research. Vol. 7, No. 3, 2009.
• Carnaghi, Andrea and Vincent Y. Yzerbyt. “Subtyping and social consensus: The role of the audience in the maintenance of stereotypic beliefs.” European Journal of Social Psychology. Vol. 37, 2007.
• Chung, Sheng Kuan. “Media Literacy Art Education: Deconstructing Lesbian and Gay Stereotypes in the Media.” Jade. Vol. 26, no. 1. 2007.
• Hubert, Susan J. “What’s Wrong with this Picture? The Politics of Ellen’s Coming Out Party.”  Journal of Popular Culture. Vol. 33, Issue 2. 1999.
• Piontek, Thomas. “Tears for Queers: Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain, Hollywood, and American Attitudes toward Homosexuality.” The Journal of American Culture, 35:2.
• Quimby, Karin. “Will & Grace: Negotiating (Gay) Marriage on Prime-Time Television. The Journal of Popular Culture, Vol. 38, No. 4, 2005

Holly’s research:

• Golden Age of Gay TV
• Gay characters at record high on U.S. television
• The Five Most Influential LGBT Characters on TV
• Gay on TV: It’s All in the Family

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