Beyond the Straight and NarrowBeyond the Straight and Narrow

How did the rise of LGBTQ visibility, political progress, and digital technologies in the 2000s come together to offer the abundance of complex queer and transgender representations we see today? The streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime attracted audiences' attention with nuanced and intersectional queer and trans narratives when they debuted the original series Orange Is The New Black and Transparent. Legacy channels had to develop more complex and sustained LGBTQ storylines to compete. Queer and ally showrunners use their growing influence to create well-written, diverse roles, and audiences hold producers accountable through social media.