10 Most Important Modern LGBT+ TV Characters
2. Sophia Burset - Orange Is The New Black
Orange Is The New Black is one of the queerest shows around, but Sophia Burset is far and away the most important character.
Not necessarily to the plot (several are ahead of her there), but when it comes to representation for the LGBT+ community, she’s a leading light. The show itself is hugely important; one of Netflix’s biggest hitters with a massive promotional campaign behind it, yet some very controversial subject matter.
Prison violence, the struggles of poor black women, queer identity... these are not issues you’d expect from a mainstream show, yet it’s probably Netflix’s most well known Original.
Understanding of the trans community has advanced a lot in the past decade, but when the show came out in 2013, having a trans character played by a trans actor was an almost groundbreaking big deal in itself. Typically, trans women had been played by cis men in makeup, written without research and depicted as one note jokes.
Laverne Cox’s brilliant portrayal of Sophia Burset (and her tenacious advocacy in the press) provided a turning point for trans representation in television, and helped explain some of the often confusing or even misleading misconceptions around being transgender.