Television’s fashion gay teens: Justin Suarez and Kurt Hummel

Over the last fifteen years there has been an increase in the number of positive portrayals of gay people, including teenagers, on television. This article takes as a case study the characters Justin Saurez from Ugly Betty (2006–10, created by Silvio Horta) and Kurt Hummel from Glee (2009–11 (ongoing), created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuck and Ian Brennan) and addresses the role that fashionable clothing and appearance plays in the formation and discussion of their sexual orientation. It argues that the very matter of their fashionability acts as a shorthand to announce their teenage sexuality.