Kurt and Blaine on Backlot's 50 Best TV Gays!!!
A few weeks ago we asked readers to name their favorite gay or bisexual male characters of all time. (As usual, we left the female characters to our sisters over at AfterEllen.)
Now, after sorting through the thirty thousand plus write-in votes, we have the results, and one thing leaps out at us: you guys certainly have a soft spot for the bad boys! When it comes to television, “gay” and “anti-hero” must to go well together because this list is filled with wily schemers, heartless cads, domestic abusers, street thugs, high school bullies and yes, even a couple stone cold killers. Oh well, at least the guy who ranks #1 is an honest to goodness sweetheart.
EDIT: Source Here
2. Blaine Anderson, Glee
Actor: Darren Criss
2010-present
Previous Rank: N/A
Blaine Anderson had already emerged as a nutrient-rich source of SQUEEEEEE when Glee revealed it would double down on the gay in season 2 by introducing him as a love interest for Kurt. Once he appeared, it took him only about six nanoseconds and that charming smile to become a revolution. Working his snazzy prep school blazer, he made Katy Perry seem like a smoker’s cough falling down a laundry chute by comparison with his memorable version of “Teenage Dream.” Let’s not blow past the significance of that: a gay teen character singing a Top 40 crush song to another gay teen character reached #1 on iTunes and became a best-selling phenomenon. He makes an impact, this Blaine.
And not only with his singing. The character is beloved because of his refreshing, enduring confidence. He inhabits a previously unexplored (and increasingly real) high school trajectory where coming out isn’t some source of angst and crying and breathy conversations followed by staring out of a rain-soaked window. It’s no big deal. He’s already out and comfortable. Beginning with him at a more advanced level has allowed his storylines to grow more complex and interesting instead of being bogged down in normal coming-out fare. That, in turn, has set the stage for Klaine to become Klaine, the epic, emotional, larger-than-life gay teen romance viewers had been waiting for, with all its twists and turns and breakups and engagements, between two characters out of the closet and out of the background. -SB
1. Kurt Hummel, Glee
Actor: Chris Colfer
2009-present
Previous Rank: 7
Speaking of the K portion of Klaine (Doesn’t he deserve more than one letter in that mash-up name? Injustice), your winner and undisputed world champion of gay TV characters is none other than Kurt Hummel, the plucky young sprite who stylishly paraded his way into legend and our hearts when he entered that glee rehearsal room over four years ago. What can we say? There is no character quite like Kurt.
The notion of young gay characters on television is still in its fetal stages, though the Glee universe has injected a growth hormone into that process, which is why Kurt has been such a remarkable presence on the television scene. He is fully realized in a way that young gay characters just haven’t been before. He is not simply a statement or storyline or supporting character used to build up the diversity of the gang. He is a person, as outspoken and self-assured as he is confused and fragile, realistically stereotypical without being a cartoon.
Through his first few seasons, Kurt endured many of the expected dramatic travails of the gay high school character, including the emotional coming out and an entire season of bullying, but through that he never became the sad, isolated tragedy he might have become. His enduring brightness, coupled with the openness and genuine warmth Chris Colfer brings to the character, has established Kurt as a symbol of triumph over difficult circumstances for many young gay people. He emerged on the other side, still caring, still optimistic, still funny.
And that’s really why he tops this list. We have watched him grow up and make mistakes and endure, which has cultivated a love, ownership, and protectiveness over him. He’s our Kurt. -SB
Karofsky and Sebastian also made the list at 29 and 26 respectively
Go and send some love for our boys in the comments :) (Anon comments are accepted)
Now, after sorting through the thirty thousand plus write-in votes, we have the results, and one thing leaps out at us: you guys certainly have a soft spot for the bad boys! When it comes to television, “gay” and “anti-hero” must to go well together because this list is filled with wily schemers, heartless cads, domestic abusers, street thugs, high school bullies and yes, even a couple stone cold killers. Oh well, at least the guy who ranks #1 is an honest to goodness sweetheart.
EDIT: Source Here
2. Blaine Anderson, Glee
Actor: Darren Criss
2010-present
Previous Rank: N/A
Blaine Anderson had already emerged as a nutrient-rich source of SQUEEEEEE when Glee revealed it would double down on the gay in season 2 by introducing him as a love interest for Kurt. Once he appeared, it took him only about six nanoseconds and that charming smile to become a revolution. Working his snazzy prep school blazer, he made Katy Perry seem like a smoker’s cough falling down a laundry chute by comparison with his memorable version of “Teenage Dream.” Let’s not blow past the significance of that: a gay teen character singing a Top 40 crush song to another gay teen character reached #1 on iTunes and became a best-selling phenomenon. He makes an impact, this Blaine.
And not only with his singing. The character is beloved because of his refreshing, enduring confidence. He inhabits a previously unexplored (and increasingly real) high school trajectory where coming out isn’t some source of angst and crying and breathy conversations followed by staring out of a rain-soaked window. It’s no big deal. He’s already out and comfortable. Beginning with him at a more advanced level has allowed his storylines to grow more complex and interesting instead of being bogged down in normal coming-out fare. That, in turn, has set the stage for Klaine to become Klaine, the epic, emotional, larger-than-life gay teen romance viewers had been waiting for, with all its twists and turns and breakups and engagements, between two characters out of the closet and out of the background. -SB
1. Kurt Hummel, Glee
Actor: Chris Colfer
2009-present
Previous Rank: 7
Speaking of the K portion of Klaine (Doesn’t he deserve more than one letter in that mash-up name? Injustice), your winner and undisputed world champion of gay TV characters is none other than Kurt Hummel, the plucky young sprite who stylishly paraded his way into legend and our hearts when he entered that glee rehearsal room over four years ago. What can we say? There is no character quite like Kurt.
The notion of young gay characters on television is still in its fetal stages, though the Glee universe has injected a growth hormone into that process, which is why Kurt has been such a remarkable presence on the television scene. He is fully realized in a way that young gay characters just haven’t been before. He is not simply a statement or storyline or supporting character used to build up the diversity of the gang. He is a person, as outspoken and self-assured as he is confused and fragile, realistically stereotypical without being a cartoon.
Through his first few seasons, Kurt endured many of the expected dramatic travails of the gay high school character, including the emotional coming out and an entire season of bullying, but through that he never became the sad, isolated tragedy he might have become. His enduring brightness, coupled with the openness and genuine warmth Chris Colfer brings to the character, has established Kurt as a symbol of triumph over difficult circumstances for many young gay people. He emerged on the other side, still caring, still optimistic, still funny.
And that’s really why he tops this list. We have watched him grow up and make mistakes and endure, which has cultivated a love, ownership, and protectiveness over him. He’s our Kurt. -SB
Karofsky and Sebastian also made the list at 29 and 26 respectively
Go and send some love for our boys in the comments :) (Anon comments are accepted)