Celebrating Lesbian Visibility Week: Our Fave Onscreen Ladygays!
It’s Lesbian Visibility Week right now and in 2024 representation matters more than ever! With legislators trying to take away rights from the LGBTQ community, it’s so important that society highlights the various representations of queerness that exist. Queer people have always been here, and we’re not going anywhere – regardless of the political climate or any legislation that may be introduced. That’s why, in this Lesbian Visibility Week we’re spotlighting our fave onscreen ladygays and celebrating their diversity and brilliance.
There is no one right way to be a lesbian and we think our selections below offer nuanced versions of queerness. Not to mention, all the female characters selected are badasses who are just walking through their lives kicking asses wherever they go. Journey with us as we shine a light on some of our favorite representations of lesbianism in modern popular culture.
Willow and Tara – Buffy The Vampire Slayer
They might have been offscreen now for quite a long time, but you know it’s true – Willow (Alison Hannigan) and Tara (Amber Benson) still hold the torch as one of the best onscreen ladygays to ever grace our presence. Buffy The Vampire Slayer premiered on March 10, 1997 and aired its final episode on May 20, 2003 after seven immensely popular seasons spanning 144 episodes in total.
For the first three seasons of the show, Willow isn’t aware of her queerness, and it isn’t until she goes to college and meets Tara that the gay hiding inside of her forces its way to the surface. When she finally comes out to Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) there are a few moments of awkwardness, but the Scooby Gang all jump on board with Willow’s newfound sexuality pretty fast – as they should.
Apart from the fact that their relationship is wonderful, at the time, lesbian representation on popular, high-visibility television shows just wasn’t a thing. Willow and Tara paved the way and provided a pop culture space where queer youth felt seen and represented. The queerness, among other things, present in the show contributed to its long-lasting popularity.
They may not be on our screens anymore, but Willow and Tara will live on in our hearts forever!
Santana and Brittany – Glee
While they started out just as friends – that’s the way all the best relationships begin – Santana (Naya Rivera) and Brittany (Heather Morris) gained quite the cult following within the Glee universe. They quickly became everyone’s favorite onscreen ladygays of their generation.
Throughout the show, Santana and Brittany’s story arc traverses the complexities of first real love, settling into one’s sexuality, and navigating the harshness of high school life in general. They fear rejection from their loved ones and their friends but love each other too much to let that be the reason they aren’t together.
The series ends in a win for these onscreen ladygays and Santana proposes to Brittany, who says yes! Their wedding is quite an extravagant affair and the entire cast reunites to send them off into their happily wedded future together.
Lena and Stef – The Fosters
We love Lena (Sheri Saum) and Steph (Teri Polo) from The Fosters for so many reasons but our most fave thing about this coupling is probably that they’re a couple of ladies who just seem to be able to do it all. Lena is a vice principal at a California charter school and Steph works for the police department, and the two ladies do all this while raising a family of well-rounded kids.
They go through their fair share of ups and downs but watching these two ladies take on the world and slay at everything they do while being out and proud about their sexuality and their relationship is really something. At the time that The Fosters was airing on television, there really wasn’t a union like theirs visible on television anywhere else.
These wonderful onscreen ladygays really proved that kids can be raised in a household with two moms (or dads) and do just fine in real life. With the current political climate, perhaps the world needs a reminder about this now more than ever!
Henrietta and Karen – 911
Like Lena and Stef from The Forsters, Henrietta (Aisha Hinds) and Karen (Tracy Thoms) from 911 are repping the ladygays who just want the same things everyone else wants – career, friends, and family! This black, lesbian power couple is out here taking names, saving lives, and raising a family all at the same time.
While Hen’s job often takes the front seat in this relationship, Karen is an incredible support system for Hen and their son. Henrietta works full-time as a paramedic, throws her hat in the medical school ring, and tries her best to show up for her family, but really, Karen is the backbone of this relationship.
For the first six seasons of its life, 911 aired on Fox. However, in 2023 Fox canceled the show, much to the dismay of fans everywhere. Fortunately, however, ABC picked up 911 and our fave onscreen ladygays have found a new home and a seventh season on the ABC Network.
Happy Lesbian Visibility Week! If we’ve left off your fave onscreen lesbian couple, reach out on our socials and let us know!
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Feature image: Images courtesy of ABC, Freeform, Fox.
