Lesbians On TV Suffering, Real Life Lesbians Rolling

Alan Frutkin of Mediaweek‘s Gay TV now hosts a provocative segment examining the portrayal of lesbians on television. Surprisingly, out lesbian personalities are faring much better than their fictional counterparts.

Frutkin explains that while gay men appear in more scripted roles, the only out lesbian on screen this season, it is on FlashForward‘s “supergay” FBI agent Janice Hawk. However, Frutkin points to Glee‘s Jane Lynch, Wanda Sykes, Rachel Maddow, and Ellen DeGeneres as proof that out lesbian celebrities are enjoying unprecedented exposure.

Definitely a sign of progress – but there is still a long way to go before it is clear that lesbians have found a “toehold” in the television landscape.