From Lee Daniels’ hit television series “Empire,” to the newly popular VH1 series “Hit the Floor,” there is a visible presence of the gay community in television.

No longer relegated to the realms of innuendo and secrecy, we now see lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people represented on television and mainstream films. Homosexuals see their reflections on screen in a largely positive light: stable, employed, charming, attractive, well-liked, and successful, yet, their many challenges remain.

“Hit the Floor” debuted its newest homosexual “it couple”, Jude (Brent Antonello) and Zero (Adam Senn). There are TV shows that give gay characters peripheral storylines, but “Hit the Floor” isn’t one of those shows. Jude and Zero are well developed characters,that have more to offer than their sexuality as a defining characteristic.

In order to allow their audience to invest into these characters without bias, “Hit The Floor” writers waited to expose these characters’ sexuality through a kiss between the two male characters far into the season.

Zude’s (Jude+Zero) scenes of intimacy pack the same intensity as the scenes involving the show’s straight characters. The biggest treat is that their relationship is being used as a way to make the characters grow.

How often do shows promote its straight characters by announcing their sexuality to the world? None. But when a gay character is cast, their sexuality is amplified until it’s the only thing the audience sees. We all remember how Danny was promoted as the gay character in “Teen Wolf,” followed by Ethan, and then Mason. Why wasn’t Liam announced as the new ‘straight’ character that will join Scott’s pack in Season 4?

More and more married gay couples are showing up on TV. NBC plans to roll out more programs with gay married couples next season. Whether or not these shows continue to build a positive image of gay people depends on how they’ll be portrayed.

Visual culture has made accepting the homosexual male and female easier than before. I don’t think the use of gays or lesbians in television is as overly saturated as that of their portrayal. Before television and film, there was no real visual connection with homosexual traits that could be made in a public domain. This struggle has caused television networks to take notice and try and connect homosexuality with a primarily heterosexual audience.

• Janay Boone – Managing Editor