Pride Post: Best Ally Characters

I have been tying to think of a way to introduce this into my blog. I have not cared if it was settled or not. But, most constant readers have probably guessed from my liking of Aurora and Mulan from Once Upon A Time to hoping Missandei was aged up so Dany from Game of Thrones could still become bicurious on a boat sailing between cities she conquers, I am into women. I was going to make this a loud and proud exploit of my favorite lesbian couples, but I decided against that. Not really for any particular reason, I just thought doing something different would be fun. Ally characters in television and film are usually even more under-represented than gay or lesbian ones. And though I like seeing characters like Naomi and Emily, but seeing a straight friend willing to support them–and not trying to sleep with them — is almost more heart warming  sometimes.

Sidenote: Sorry if you disagree with me. I have not seen every lesbian television show (but the girls of  afterellen.com have), but for perspective I am really into Xena: Warrior Princess and Lost Girl right now,  I’m not the biggest fan of The L Word and Emily Fitch is at the top of my best lesbian character list.

  1. Effy Stonem from Skins
Effy: So, you’re straight then?
Naomi: If I say no, am I going to regret it?
Effy: Probably, but it will’nt be because of me.

I always liked Effy, but ever since she had that conversation with Naomi while waiting in line to get into a club in season three of Skins, I loved her. Effy is one of the best Skins characters in my opinion. She has the high school popular girl vibe but it is so more complicated than that. She is also everything you never excepted. She befriends every member of the second generation from Katie to JJ to Naomi. Nobody even had to tell her about Naomily. She know from the moment she first saw them together and she never cared. And she is good enough friends with them to be roomies in Skins: Fire. I’ll try to contain my excitement.

 2. Autolycus  from Xena: Warrior Princess

Autolycus  totally  found out that his friends were gay (I’m all for the subtext in this show) and together in the most awkward way possible. While Xena was in the underworld, she used his body to finally kiss Gabrielle. Though it was Xena in that dreams cape, it was the unsuspecting Autolycus  in the real world kissing the young — and at that time straight — Gabby. Though his slip up of keeping his hand on Gabby’s butt a lit too long was seen as a blunder, his causally response of “Did you guys sort some things out?” was perfect. Time period aside, if it was ancient Greece or 1996 his reaction to the start of their relationship –based on my view of the subtext– and afterwards was perfect.

 3. Kenzi from Lost Girl 

Though most of her time is spent being the comic-relief, sidekick (who told us she was straight in the pilot to avoid becoming gothic, Canadian Garibelle), Kenzi plays into the perfect ally vibe of Syfy/Showcase’s Lost Girl. The show does not treat Bo and Lauren any differently than they treat Bo and Dyson. Kenzi is the same. It might have seemed like a fine line to have the best friend be a self-proclaimed members of Team Dyson/the male love interest, while disliking the Team Lauren/same-sex love interest. But, Kenzi had her reasons for liking Dyson and not liking Lauren in the first two seasons. From the “spy-banging” to Lauren being “bossy and controlling,” Kenzi could be against her best friend dating Lauren but had nothing to do with Lauren being a lady. And she finally had a well-needed bonding episode with Lauren. Comic relief or not, Kenzi is a freaking awesome ally character in North American’s most sexuality-is-not-an-issue show.

 4. Kit Porter from The L Word

Okay, The L Word has its long list of problems and don’t get me wrong I agree with most of them. I related the most to Dana, how dare you kill her with super-cancer! Anyway, Kit, Bette’s older sister,  was an excellent addition to the cast. With so many lesbian characters  it was good to have one straight women among them. So, the audience was forced to either cringe or open their minds when Kit got closer and closer to transgender Ivan and the into-older-women, sex-addict Papai. Though Kit owned a gay restaurant and nightclub she stayed undyingly straight while still being the greatest ally in The L Word‘s Los Angeles.

 5. Kurt’s dad from Glee

I’m 22-years-old, which I feel like is about four years too old to admit to watching Glee. I haven’t watched it in a while. I watch it in spite and like most good lesbians, I only watched it for Santana. So, when she went away to college — aw Louisville, I feel your pain — and was mostly written off the show, I stopped watching. I hear she is back but I have Netflix now and there are too many distracts. I watched all the earlier seasons and every time  the former host of Guts yelled at his stepson for calling Kurt a “fag” I started crying. It is more of a single moment experience than a character arch, but Burt Hummel has earned his ranks among ally characters everywhere.