It’s generally widely understood that representation is important. It’s helpful for everyone to watch a movie or show and feel understood and seen; to relate to at least one character. For many, this can be the difference between feeling completely alone and finding self-acceptance. However, we seem to be in an era of surface level representation. Just about everyone can find an example of someone who is like them in media, but these examples aren’t as in depth as the characters with more mainstream identities. This doesn’t mean that characters with marginalized identities have to be perfect; in fact, they should most certainly not be perfect, as nobody can relate to a perfect character, nor are they generally very likable.
Creators’ ideas of representation have gone through a number of phases. We’ve seen the presence of a minority character alone, generally as a stereotype of that group and almost never as a main character. We’ve seen minority characters as protagonists, but as near perfect protagonists, thus making them boring and uninteresting. We have, of course, seen media wherein the marginalized characters do nothing but suffer, in an attempt to address the hardships that people of marginalized identities face.
If I can name all of the failed attempts at representation, surely I can name when it’s successful. In fact, I can! For example, the series House M.D., which began in 2004, somehow nails representation. It isn’t the only one of its kind of course, but it happens to be a series that both intentionally and possibly unintentionally nailed representing a whole spectrum of identities. One intentional representation is clearly that of someone with a physical disability, in the main character and protagonist Gregory House. What was done well here is that his character is incredibly well-thought out and thus far from surface level. His character, problems and life don’t revolve exclusively around his disability, but we see how it heavily impacts all of those things. Plus, though I disagree, most will tell you that House is not perfect and is in fact incredibly flawed, which allows for more realistic representation.
One example of possibly unintentional representation in House M.D. is relationships between men. While there are instances of background characters in the show who are explicitly stated to be gay, as well as Remy “13” Hadley, a main character introduced in season four who’s bisexual, the core relationship of the show is between Wilson and House. Their relationship is never explicitly stated to be romantic, and they both have romantic relationships with women (though all of these fail spectacularly). As any Hilson shipper will tell you, there are countless instances implying romantic feelings between the pair. I personally don’t care if there are romantic or sexual feelings between the two; to me the point is that their relationship is the core one. Through them we’re able to see proof that two men can live together, care for one another, and have a lifelong, stable relationship full of love and attention despite their many flaws (they’re perfect, they have none). That, in my opinion, is quality representation for a group that doesn’t have an excess of that; the representation that does exist for gay men is often stereotyped or focused exclusively on how it’s gay love, rather than just how it’s love.
At no point are any of the characters in House reduced to their marginalized identity alone. House is never treated as solely someone with a disability. Wilson, Cuddy and Taub are never treated as though being Jewish is their only personality trait, Foreman’s issues and personality don’t revolve around him being black and 13’s bisexuality isn’t treated as the most interesting thing about her. Along with that, in the era of House M.D., one wouldn’t be surprised by any means if a bisexual character was placed in exclusively heterosexual relationships. However, 13 is shown to be in a number of relationships with women, even getting a happy ending with her girlfriend, something incredibly rare to see in media even now. While there were plenty of identities treated with a less-than-desirable amount of respect in the series, there are many examples that can be pulled from to the present day to create more well-rounded, realistic and interesting representations for marginalized identities.
It’s more than possible to create characters that provide positive representation for people of all identities, as shown in shows like House M.D. When given the proper time, attention and thought, marginalized and minority groups can be properly represented in media, offering people who often already feel alienated and misunderstood an opportunity to feel seen.