{"id":1244,"date":"2023-06-07T18:50:36","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T13:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scotlandescort.co.uk\/blog\/the-evolution-of-the-gay-best-friend-from-harmful-trope-to-tv-gold\/"},"modified":"2023-06-07T18:50:36","modified_gmt":"2023-06-07T13:20:36","slug":"the-evolution-of-the-gay-best-friend-from-harmful-trope-to-tv-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scotlandescort.co.uk\/blog\/the-evolution-of-the-gay-best-friend-from-harmful-trope-to-tv-gold\/","title":{"rendered":"The Evolution Of The “Gay Best Friend,” From Harmful Trope To TV Gold"},"content":{"rendered":"

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You\u2019ve seen them gossiping about guys, going shopping, and gassing up their gal pals. They\u2019re the Gay Best Friends, and they don\u2019t really exist. They live only in dated TV shows, where they pop in and out of existence depending on when their besties need them. <\/p>\n

For so long, gay men existed in television only as a hanger-on, a wisecracking accessory to a female lead. But as times have changed, so has the Gay Best Friend trope. In recent years, the Gay Best Friend has evolved from his problematic past and now exists in the form of full, nuanced characters.<\/p>\n

The Gay Best Friend has had a tricky history. Initially, the trope was viewed as a positive representation, since proudly out LGBTQ+ characters were so rare in the shows and films of the \u201980s and \u201990s. But as more of these supportive best friend characters appeared on the screen, the harmful aspect of the trope showed itself. These characters were not viewed as real people but as silly pets to amuse their female friends, with no interior lives of their own. From George in My Best Friend\u2019s Wedding<\/em> to Damian in Mean Girls<\/em><\/a>, these may have been beloved roles for audiences, but they also contributed to a dehumanizing outlook on how gay men should exist. As several personal essays<\/a> and thinkpieces<\/a> have pointed out, these giddy lackeys only served to further \u201cother\u201d the queer community, rather than give LGBTQ+ people any real representation.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s changed in modern television, though. Now, the Gay Best Friend isn\u2019t a sexless sidekick but a main character of his own. These TV besties illustrate how the trope was turned on its head over the years.<\/p>\n

Rickie Vasquez, My So-Called Life <\/em>(1994-1995)<\/h2>\n
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