Queer TV in the 21st Century

<p> Television has historically been largely ineffective at representing queerness in its various forms. In the 21st century however as same-sex couples have seen increasing mainstream acceptance and a broader range of queer characters has appeared in the media it seems natural to assume TV portrayals of queerness have become more enlightened. But have they?</p><p> This collection of fresh essays analyzes queerness as depicted on TV from 2000 to the present. Examining <I>Buffy the Vampire Slayer The Ellen DeGeneres Show The L Word Modern Family The New Normal Queer as Folk Queer Eye for the Straight Guy RuPaul's Drag Race Spartacus</I> and <I>Will & Grace</I> among other series the contributors demonstrate that queer characters in general have achieved visibility at the expense of minimizing much of their queerness--with a few eye-opening exceptions.</p>