The Netflix dramedy Ginny & Georgia certainly has its controversial moments, but one thing that the series did right was its Ginny and Georgia LGBTQ+ representation. Ginny and Georgia mainly follows young single mother Georgia (Brianne Howey) and her children Ginny (Antonia Gentry) and Austin (Diesel La Torraca) after moving from Texas to Wellsbury, Massachusetts. Ginny is able to find a friend group in Wellsbury, while Georgia shacks up with Mayoral electorate Paul Randolph (Scott Porter). However, Georgia's checkered past comes back to haunt her and threatens to unravel the happy life they've created.
While the main characters aren't LGBTQ+, the Ginny and Georgia gay representation comes in the form of several side plots. In the Ginny & Georgia cast there's Ginny's high school friend Max who is openly a lesbian, Sophie Sanchez (Max's girlfriend in season 2) is bisexual, Paul's campaign manager Nick is gay, and so is the Private Investigator Gabriel. These characters are given their proper Ginny and Georgia LGBTQ+ storylines, never once being pushed to the wayside. Here are seven times that Ginny and Georgia did the right thing when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation.
1 Max Had Already Come Out
Many shows focus on a character's coming out as a main story arc for them, but one of the main characters of the show, Maxine, was already out and proud by the time Ginny arrives at Wellsbury and meets her. It was refreshing to see that the Ginny and Georgia LGBTQ+ storyline didn't make her story an angst-laden one where the only thing going on in her life was telling her friends and family about her sexuality — a refreshing change of pace for LGBTQ+ viewers to say the least.
Max's mother mentioned that they knew about her sexual orientation since she was a little child who played with Barbies and being lesbian was a part of Max's character, not her whole personality. Her family in Ginny & Georgia was wholesome and accepting, already. No one bats an eye over Max's relationships and crushes, whether it's Riley in season 1 or her on-and-off relationship with Sophie in both installments.
2 Girls Making Out At A Party Was Called Out
Ginny and Georga made great use of LGBTQ+ narrative tropes by subverting them completely. A tired trope used in teen dramas is that if a party is wild, it'll have girls making out in it, much to the delight of men and others around them. Luckily, a Ginny and Georgia gay storyline decided to call out this trope for what it is: deeply harmful and disrespectful. When Norah and Abby did it, Maxine looked upset by it at the Halloween party that MANG went to.
However, in her drunken state, when Sophie came to the party, Max also tried to do the same to her. Sophie, who was sober, called Max out on it, and consequently also the strange fetishizing of girls getting intimate for others to watch. It's performative and awkward and the show made its stance clear on it, yet another reason Ginny and Georgia subtly has some of the best and most well-rounded LGBTQ+ representation currently on TV.
3 Max Didn't Make A Big Deal About Sophie Being Bisexual
Ginny & Georgia's Wellsbury seemed like an idyllic little place to live because it was not only accepting but also sensitive in its approach to the Ginny and Georgia LGBTQ+ community. Max was crushing hard on Sophie throughout season 1 and was awed by the fact that she was a senior. While the two break up and Max is heartbroken over Sophie having a boyfriend in season 2, she doesn't make a hullaballoo over Sophie being bisexual.
Many shows tend to make a big deal of the fact that bisexual characters like both men and women, and also have relationships with them. Fortunately, that wasn't what bothered Maxine at all. She had never been in a relationship and knew that Sophie's ex Ben had been pretty good-looking, so she only wanted to be hot for Sophie, and didn't fixate on or even care about the fact that she had dated a man before her, or after her.
4 LGBTQ+ Relationships Were Main Storylines
Ginny & Georgia was full of many realistic teenage moments, but the most realistic was that there was importance given to Ginny and Georgia gay relationship arcs as well as hetero ones. Many shows have token gay relationships, but Max's crush on Riley was one of the first documented love interests on the show.
Post that, her relationship with Sophie also had its highs and lows which were documented as well as Ginny and Hunter's or Georgia and Paul's relationship, with Max's breakup being her main season 2 storyline. Nick, too, got a partner with whom he had a blooming relationship. Unfortunately, he and Gabriel's relationship hangs in the balance after Gabriel tells Nick the truth about his identity in season 2.
5 Nick's Identity Wasn't Just His Sexual Orientation
When Georgia entered Paul's office to join his campaign team, Nick was the first person she met. The fact that he wasn't portrayed as a stereotypical gay man as one would see in the movies made this Ginny and Georgia LGBTQ+ representation an instant win. In fact, it was hard to tell Nick's sexuality from that first interaction about lunch between the two, and that's as realistic and sensitive it gets.
It was refreshing to see that a gay man in the series wasn't reduced to a caricature. Similarly, when he turned up to Ginny's party in full costume, none of the characters mentioned his getup or comment on his appearance, which showed that people have different sides to them and acceptance without judgment is the way to go.
6 Delved Deep Into LGBTQ+ Relationships
Maxine's relationships were elaborated upon, as was her ensuing heartbreak in season 2's Ginny and Georgia gay storyline. Her fears and expectations about virginity were given equal screen time as Ginny's first time with Hunter and Marcus. The lesbian couple on Ginny & Georgia was given the same treatment and respect as heterosexual ones.
The same goes for the relationship between Nick and Gabriel. The show stayed away from "coming out" as the biggest challenge in a gay person's life, and portrayed the common other issues they face too after being out of the closet — it's not all rainbows and butterflies after the fact. This exploration of the Ginny and Georgia LBGTQ+ relationships was done well on the show.
7 There Was An Attempt At Depicting A Spectrum
Tackling deep issues in Ginny & Georgia is commonplace, and while the show may not nail it every time, there is definitely an attempt to do the right thing. The creators tried to show a spectrum of sexuality through their Ginny and Georgia LGBTQ+ storylines, which included gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. It made for a better watch as it wasn't performative and there was a genuine desire to represent more of the community.
The series continues with their Ginny and Georgia gay storylines in season 2, seeing Max reeling over the fact that Sophie has moved on to a new relationship and Nick and Gabriel's fate is left uncertain. Sophie's bisexuality is properly represented on the screen, and Ginny & Georgia doesn't shy away from the fact that sexuality is a spectrum.