On April 30th, 1997 a record 42 million people tuned into Ellen DeGeneres’ self titled TV show Ellen as Ellen came out in the now infamous Puppy Episode. Although the scene was served up with a large dollop of comedy, it no doubt made serious shockwaves and with that declaration Ellen DeGeneres undoubtedly changed the TV landscape for the better. Since then, we’ve seen a relative freeing up of perceptions of gay people in the mainstream media. This is just as evident in young adult television as anywhere else; since Ellen’s coming out in 1997 there have been a slew of gay storylines and it’s something writers have become more and more open to expressing in a human, rather than sensationalist, manner.
Who could forget adorable Jack McPhee whose doe eyes graced Dawson’s Creek from 1998, and who came out in public to solidarity from all of the gang, particularly good ole Pacey? In 2002, Marco Del Rossi in Degrassi came out as gay and he had a six year run depicting the character of gay teen who isn’t a victim. And in 2005 we saw a beautiful friendship forged between Marissa and Alex (played by Mischa Barton and Olivia Wilde respectively) that had hearts a-fluttering in season 2 of the O.C. This was ground breaking lipstick lesbian fare. Marc St James in Ugly Betty made a name for himself firing out zingers from 2006 to 2010 whilst working for lady dragon Wilhelmina Slater. The writers of Glee did a deft job of exploring teen bullying that saw Kurt being picked upon by meathead David, only to reveal later that David was picking on Kurt because he himself was gay. Props also for young adult TV writers showing us that gay characters don’t have to adhere to stereotypes; for every Kurt who pops up on Glee belting out Shirley Bassey’s greatest hits, there’s a beer swilling, brawling Ian Gallagher from Shameless. We have a lot to thank the Puppy Episode for, and not least the phenomenon that more young stars are coming out in their own personal lives, as another famous Ellen (Paige) recently announced herself openly as gay. Long may Ellen’s legacy continue.