When I was around 11 or 12, I thought I was a lesbian…for about 10 seconds. My feelings towards my best friend started shifting further and further into the crush zone, so I turned on The O.C. to check that I was still hopelessly in love with Seth Cohen (Adam Brody). Confirmed: I was straight as a flippin’ arrow…if only I realized that I was actually shipping Seth/Summer from both sides.
As far as I knew, bisexuality wasn’t a thing you could be. People were straight, gay, or confused. I was told by peers and by the ridiculous amount of television I consumed that bisexuality was either a conduit for “fully” coming out, or a ploy to piss off your parents. It’s true: one of the first times I even heard the term bisexual was Sex and the City‘s Carrie Bradshaw openly proclaiming being bi is just “a layover on the way to Gaytown.” So, instead of exploring the “girl crushes” I was harboring, I eagerly consumed every hetero teen drama that came my way, and watched the L Word (which called bisexuality “gross,” btw) on the DL…for the plot.😉
It wasn’t until after college that I came to terms with who I was, but even then, the small amount of bisexuals I saw on screen were portrayed as either manipulative or unfaithful (I’m still lookin’ at you Mr. Robot.)
Luckily, this is the year of our lord, 20BiTeen, and there has never been more honest, positive portrayals of people who swing both ways on the small screen. In no particular order, here are 11 bi characters on TV right now who fill me with pride.
1. Kat Edison (The Bold Type)
Cosmo-inspired Scarlet Magazine‘s Kat Edison (Aisha Dee) has come a long way since meeting the sexy lesbian artist Adena El Amin (Nikohl Boosheri). Like me, Kat spent most of her life identifying as straight, but now she’s experimented with open relationships, suffered through a heart-wrenching breakup with her first girlfriend, and even met a new beau on her campaign trail for city counsel.
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2. Eleanor Shellstrop (The Good Place)
Hell-escapees Eleanor (Kristin Bell) and Chidi (William Jackson Harper) may be #14 on Cosmo‘s Best TV Ships of 2018, but that wont stop her from flirting up a storm with self-absorbed socialite Tahani Al-Jamil (Jameela Jamil). Love this for them.
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3. Toni Topaz (Riverdale)
Toni’s (Vanessa Morgan) initial purpose, to cause a rift between Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) and Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart)—and lackadaisical attitude post-hookup with Jug—had me concerned that we were looking at another lazy representation of bisexuality. However, her passionate relationship with Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) changed everything. Toni is fully committed to her lady in red, while refusing to lose her own identity in the process. A true ride-or-die queen.
Special shoutout to Moose (Cody Kearsley), who is also bi, but off to military school or something.
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4. Michael Guerin (Roswell, New Mexico)
Don’t talk to me or my bisexual alien son ever again. One of the best parts of The CW’s new Roswell remake is the good ship Malex, made up of secret alien cowboy Michael Guerin (Michael Vlamis) and gay army vet Alex Manes (PLL‘s Tyler Blackburn). However—though hardcore shippers may come for me for saying this—it’s so refreshing to watch Michael actually take part in enthusiastic relationships with men and women in season one, especially on the kind of steamy CW drama I watched back in my closeted days.
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5. Rosa Diaz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
Do you know how rare it is for women on television to actually say the word bisexual on TV (there was a whole meme about it). Let me tell you, I squealed in delight both times this badass cop came out; first to her coworkers and then to her family.
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6. Petra Solano (Jane the Virgin)
Petra (Yael Grobglas) may have started her JTV journey as Rafael’s crazy af wife, but five seasons later, she’s an out bisexual, single, and being fought over by Jane and Rafael—both of whom want her as their maid of honor/best woman at their wedding. It’s called personal growth, ppl.
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7. Sara Lance (Legends of Tomorrow)
When Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) was first introduced on Arrow, she’d been a part of a scandalous affair with the playboy himself, Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell)…who was supposedly in a loving relationship with Sara’s sister. Now she’s the White Canary on the Arrowverse spinoff Legends of Tomorrow, and in a relationship with assassin Ava Sharpe (Jes Macallan) that gives me life.
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8. Grace Choi (Black Lightning)
Meta human/bartender Grace Choi (Chantal Thuy) may be on the run atm, but I need her to come back and be with Anissa Pierce (Nafessa Williams) ASAP.
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9. Nova Bordelon (Queen Sugar)
My affection for Nova may stem mostly from a fondness for Rutina Wesley’s True Blood character Tara Thornton, but it’s also particularly refreshing to see a queer character’s story told by an actress who is actually part of the LGBTQ+ community.
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10. Clarke Griffin (The 100)
The 100 is currently in the middle of a very Clarke-heavy storyline in season six, so I’m going to keep this brief and spoiler-free. This particular series has been criticized in the past for taking part in the “bury your gays” trope and doing Clarke (Eliza Taylor) dirty, but this post-apocalyptic teen is also the first lead bisexual character to appear on The CW, and for that we must stan.
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11. Annalise Keating, (How to Get Away With Murder)
This list would not be complete without Viola Davis’ Annalise Keating. Annalise is the perfect bisexual role model: she’s at the top of her field, takes no sh*t whatsoever, and heads up a primetime network series! Okay, she doesn’t know that last bit, but I do. Do you think she’d let me call her mom? Probably not.
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