In gay culture, a bear is a larger and often hairier man who projects an image of rugged masculinity. However, in San Francisco during the 1970s, any hairy man of whatever shape was referred to as a 'bear' until the term was appropriated by larger men, and other words had to be used to describe hairy other-shaped men such as otter (slim), cub, or wolf. The word manatee describes a big, hairless man, i.e., a bear without hair.
Harvey Forbes Fierstein is an American actor, playwright, and political commentator. He is best known for his theater work in Torch Song Trilogy and Hairspray and movie roles in Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, and as the voice of Yao in Mulan and Mulan II. Fierstein won two Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Play and Best Play for Torch Song Trilogy. His third, the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, was earned for the musical La Cage aux Folles and his fourth Tony Award, the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical was earned for playing Edna Turnblad in Hairspray. Fierstein also wrote the book for the Tony Award-winning musical Kinky Boots, Newsies, and A Catered Affair. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2007.
Danny Thomas was an American philanthropist, producer, nightclub comedian, singer, and actor whose career spanned five decades. He created and starred in one of the most successful and long-running situation comedies in the history of American network television, the eponymous Danny Thomas Show. In addition to guest roles on many of the comedy, talk, and musical variety programs of his time, his legacy includes a lifelong dedication to fundraising for charity. Most notably, he was the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, a leading center in pediatric medicine with a focus on pediatric cancer. St. Jude's now has affiliate hospitals in eight other American cities as of early 2020.
The Walt Disney Company has produced its flagship anthology television series under several different titles since 1954.
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, director, and singer, known for his work in animation and comedy. He is the creator of the television series Family Guy (1999–present) and The Orville (2017–present), and co-creator of the television series American Dad! (2005–present) and The Cleveland Show (2009–2013). He also wrote, directed, and starred in the films Ted (2012), its sequel Ted 2 (2015), and A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014).
The L Word is an American-Canadian co-production television drama that aired on Showtime from January 18, 2004 to March 8, 2009. The series follows an ensemble cast of friends who live in West Hollywood, California; it featured American television's first ensemble cast depicting lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. The premise originated with Ilene Chaiken, Michele Abbot and Kathy Greenberg; Chaiken is credited as the primary creator of the series, and also served as its executive producer. The series theme song was performed by the band Betty. A sequel series, The L Word: Generation Q, debuted in December 2019.
Justin Peter Löwenbräu Griffin, Sr. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American animated sitcom Family Guy. He is voiced by the series' creator, Seth MacFarlane, and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in the 15-minute pilot pitch of Family Guy on December 20, 1998. Peter was created and designed by MacFarlane himself. MacFarlane was asked to pitch a pilot to the Fox Broadcasting Company based on Larry & Steve, a short made by MacFarlane which featured a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve. After the pilot was given the green light, the Griffin family appeared in the episode "Death Has a Shadow".
Car Wash is a 1976 American comedy film released by Universal Pictures. The film was directed by Michael Schultz from a screenplay by Joel Schumacher. Starring Franklyn Ajaye, Bill Duke, George Carlin, Irwin Corey, Ivan Dixon, Antonio Fargas, Jack Kehoe, Clarence Muse, Lorraine Gary, The Pointer Sisters, Richard Pryor, and Garret Morris, Car Wash is an episodic comedy about a day in the lives of the employees and the owner, Mr. B, of a Los Angeles, California car wash.
Roswell Christopher "Roddy" Bottum is an American musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the keyboardist for the San Francisco alternative metal band Faith No More. He is also guitarist and co-lead vocalist for the pop group Imperial Teen, best known for their 1999 single "Yoo Hoo" used in the movie Jawbreaker. In addition to popular musical career, Bottum also scored three Hollywood movies and composed an opera entitled Sasquatch: The Opera, which premiered in New York on April 2, 2015.
Nine Lives is a 2005 American drama film written and directed by Rodrigo García. The screenplay, an example of hyperlink cinema, relates nine short, loosely intertwined tales with nine different women at their cores. Their themes include parent-child relationships, fractured love, adultery, illness, and death. Similar to García's previous work, Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her, it is a series of overlapping vignettes, each one running about the same length and told in a single, unbroken take, featuring an ensemble cast.
Sissy Frenchfry is a 2005 LGBTQ+ short film directed by J.C. Oliva and starring Steven Mayhew, Ross Thomas, and Leslie Jordan. It is a high school political fable that explores what happens when personal freedoms are sacrificed to promote a culture focused on winning games, financial success, and power.
The House of Venus Show is a Canadian LGBT sketch comedy television show created by Canadian filmmaker Mark Kenneth Woods and co-produced by Michael Venus. The first season aired on the Canadian LGBT channel OutTV in July 2005. The second season began airing in September, 2006 and, after a hiatus, a third season debuted in July, 2009.
Daddy & Papa is a 2002 documentary film made by Johnny Symons. It explores same-sex parenting as seen in the lives of four families headed by male couples. The film also examines the legal, social, and political challenges faced by gay parents and their children.
Trevor is a 1994 American short film directed by Peggy Rajski, produced by Randy Stone and Peggy Rajski, and written by James Lecesne. Set in 1981, the film follows what happens to 13-year-old Trevor, a Diana Ross fan, when his crush on a schoolmate named Pinky Faraday gets discovered.
Alexis Pacheco Mateo, best known as Alexis Mateo, is a Puerto Rican drag queen, performer, reality television personality, fashion designer, and the winner of All American Goddess 2016, Miss Gay Days2016 and National Showgirl 2017. She became internationally known as a contestant on season 3 of RuPaul's Drag Race, and seasons one and five of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Alexis Mateo is also drag mother of viral sensation and "RuGirl" Vanessa Vanjie Mateo.
The GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary is one of the annual GLAAD Media Awards which is offered to the best LGBT-related film released for major distribution. First awarded in 1991, it was known as the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film (Documentary) until 1997, when the award was renamed to its current name.
Hunting Season is an American LGBT-themed comedy-drama web series created by Jon Marcus. Following the romantic and sexual exploits of Alex and his small group of friends in New York City, the story was inspired by and largely based on the 2005–08 blog The Great Cock Hunt and the 2008 novel of the same name published by Kensington Books.
EastSiders is an American dark comedy web series created by Kit Williamson. It premiered on YouTube on December 14, 2012, and began streaming through Logo TV's website on April 23, 2013. Set in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, the series follows couple Thom and Cal (Williamson) as they struggle with infidelity and substance abuse. It also explores the relationship between Kathy, Cal's best friend, and her boyfriend Ian as they reach their six-month anniversary, making it Kathy's longest relationship.
In the early 2000s, LGBTQ+ representation in U.S. animation faltered, but expanded representation from animation aired in the 1990s or earlier. In this decade, series like Queer Duck, The Oblongs, The Venture Bros., Drawn Together, and Archer would air, along with various series which began in previous decades like The Simpsons, Family Guy, and South Park.
In the 2010s, the number of LGBTQ characters, and storylines about them, in Western animation were rocky. During the decade Allen Gregory, Voltron: Legendary Defender, BoJack Horseman, Steven Universe, Adventure Time, The Loud House, BoJack Horseman, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Twelve Forever, The Bravest Knight, Steven Universe, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes premiered on various platforms. Shows began in the 2000s like American Dad!, Archer, and The Cleveland Show featured LGBTQ characters, as did South Park which began in 1997 and The Simpsons which began in 1989. Shows in later years would follow the same pattern. Increased representation of LGBTQ characters would continue in the 2020s.