Outside the shallow, one-dimensional trope of the “gay best friend”, other queer characters – such as Andrew Van De Kamp from Desperate Housewives or Teddy from the 2008 television remake of 90210 – didn’t feel relatable to me at all. Either that, or they were on the periphery, magically appearing when a central character needed a shoulder to cry on, a sassy pep talk or a fashion makeover. When looking to film and television to help me to understand myself, I immediately saw that gay characters were often the butt of the joke. Growing up gay, a lack of visible role models made life confusing.
