I was never fully one thing, so I never fully belonged anywhere."Īva is similarly adrift, struggling to make a living, to be a good daughter and to make it as a writer. In an interview with The Advocate, Einbinder said "I have at times, especially in my early days of attempting to accept myself, felt really out of place. The show doesn't present it as shocking when Ava spends the night with a man she meets in a Vegas casino, or when she makes out with a couple on a lesbian cruise Deborah is inadvertently booked on. Not a ton - this not the sordid, sexually depraved bisexual trope - but enough that her bisexuality is present. Deborah critiquing Ava's androgynous dressing is a theme of the show, as is Deborah criticizing Ava in general.Īva has an ex-girlfriend she sometimes misses too much, but importantly - and uniquely: in the show, she has hookups with multiple genders. The character says so to Deborah early in their meeting, as Deborah comments on her outfit. It just is.Įinbinder is openly bi and so is Ava. Downs), who handles both Deborah and Ava, convinces her to take a job in Las Vegas writing jokes for the comedian. The Cagney to Deborah's Lacey (or, maybe they're both Cagney) is Ava (Hannah Einbinder), a young comedy writer who thinks her career is over before it begins. Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder in "Hacks" (Karen Ballard/HBO Max)The HBO Max series, which just wrapped its second and possibly final season, tells the story of Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), a comedian who broke into the biz at a time when women were more likely to be the jokes than to tell them onstage, and who is trying desperately to hold on to her career as she commits that unforgivable sin for women in Hollywood: she ages.
Is there anywhere to turn for real and really good bi stories this Pride?
"Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" is over (why?!). Ramirez left "Grey's Anatomy," to terrorize us with the role of Che in " And Just Like That." And one lead in the heartwarming YA series "Heartstopper" is bi. Fictional bisexuals are not uncommonly punished with death (Bill on " Killing Eve")Įngaging, realistic bi characters are still an endangered species.
More consistently, however, if bisexuals are on TV, they're sexily dangerous and untrustworthy, from Eleanor in "The Good Place" to Dennis on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."īisexuality is sometimes a stand-in in TV and films for evil (Scylla in "Motherland: Fort Salem"), sometimes a stand-in for promiscuity or indecisiveness and confusion (Alice on "The L Word"), and sometimes presented as not real (again with "The L Word" and whatever happened with Willow on " Buffy"). When that ends, he has a relationship with a woman. While TV bisexuality tends to focus on women, likely for their palatableness to a straight male audience, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" has the gold standard of a bi dude: Darryl Whitefeather (Pete Gardner), king of Dad jokes, supportive friend and singer of the banging tune " Gettin' Bi." Married to a woman, he gets divorced and at an older age, realizes he's bi and dates a wonderful man (I stan Darryl and White Josh). Tara on "True Blood" has a relationship history with mostly no-good men, then has a relationship with Pam, who is also bisexual (and also awesome). Other notable TV bisexuals include Rosa in "Brooklyn Nine-Nine." Played by Stephanie Beatriz , the actor's bisexuality was written into the show. Who can forget the victim-blaming Ikea bisexual couch? (I prefer my grasping, bodiless hands in Jim Henson's "Labyrinth," thank you.)Įngaging, realistic bi characters are still an endangered species. Relationships don't define your identity or the core of who you are inside, but judgment by members of your own community, who are supposed to be accepting, can lead to feelings of being invisible - and worse. Those who are bi, particularly bi women in relationships with men, can feel judged and isolated. The feelings often resurface this time of year, as some people feel ostracized or unwelcome at Pride events, which are supposed to be welcoming to all. RELATED: 2021 was an extraordinary year of making the nonbinary ordinary But stories about certain kinds of queer experiences are often missing, including bisexuality. Stories about white women are rarely in short supply. Viewers were quick to defend the film, and the woman who criticized it became that thing you never want to be: the character of the day on Twitter.
Shortly after "Fire Island" premiered, a tweet took off about the Hulu film, critiquing the lack of women in the story centering queer Asian men.