Levine's criticism can easily been seen in the contrasting responses viewers had to the eventual coming-out revelations by Aiken and Lambert. According to Advocate columnist Michelle Garcia, Aiken's eventual coming of the closet in September 2008 provoked a backlash among his "Claymate" fans, many of whom felt betrayed and accused him of being hypocritical and un-Christian. However Lambert, who initially (if coyly) deflected questions about his sexuality, nevertheless reveled in Lycra, dry-humped his male backup dancer, and unashamedly kissed other men, all of which provoked a blasé reaction from Idol viewers. As Dale Hrabi explains, Lambert's defiant out-ness ultimately resulted in viewers considering his homosexuality irrelevant to his obvious talent as a performer.

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Adam Lambert's flamboyance on Idol may have raised few viewer eyebrows, but his vamping paled in comparison to the fierce capering seen on the Logo series RuPaul's Drag Race. Hosted and judged by the self-described "most famous drag queen in the world" RuPaul, along with out fashion designer and Project Runway alumnus Santino Rice (b. August 20, 1974), RuPaul's Drag Race premiered on February 2, 2009, and featured nine drag queens who competed for the "fierce title of America's Next Breakthrough Drag Superstar."

The show utilized the same format as seen in America's Next Top Model and Project Runway, albeit with a drag twist. For instance, competitors were expected to recreate a glamorous drag look using hand-me-downs from a dollar store, attend "drag charm school," and, of course, perform in front of live audiences and judges.

Like its predecessor Project Runway, in 2010 "RuPaul's Drag Race" also received the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Reality Program. According to Eir-Anne Edgar, although RuPaul's Drag Race is broadcast on the deluxe cable channel Logo--which also bills itself as the network providing "entertainment programming for lesbians and gays and just about anyone who enjoys a gay point of view"--its proximity to a queer audience makes it ideally positioned as the "official reality television show for queer America, demonstrating the permissible forms of drag and gender performance."

Following up on the success of RuPaul's Drag Race, in October 2010 Logo launched another series based on a previously tested formula. Based on Bravo's wildly popular Real Housewives franchise, Logo introduced America to The A-List: New York. In this show, which New York Daily News writer David Hinckley termed a "docu-reality," the lives of six gay and bisexual men are followed in order to show the ebb and flow of intimate relationships, professional careers, and personal interactions between cast members.

Similarly, Mike Albo of Salon magazine stated that while The A-List was definitely "reality showsploitation," it also serves as a "surprisingly thought-provoking reminder of how much representations of gay men on TV have changed and how gay identity is turning into a kind of consumer bracket rather than an act of self-expression." In spite of well-founded criticism, The A-List: New York has found a devoted audience and, in fact, has generated spinoff A-Lists in Dallas (which premiered October 10, 2011) and Los Angeles (currently in production).

As shows such as The A-List franchise have demonstrated, reality television shows continue to demonstrate the marketability and popularity of gay and lesbian participants. With reality television expanding its boundaries and encompassing a wider and wider array of personalities, it appears that television viewers will increasingly and invariably get the message that queers are simply another variation of the people who might (and probably will) move in next door.

American television has made significant strides in its portrayal of homosexuals in dramatic series and movies, but cable networks have been more daring than the "big three" broadcast networks.

Although glbtq people and issues have been inadequately covered by American television news, there have recently been signs of improvement.

American television sitcoms have consistently reflected the presence of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people, often in distorted and stereotyped ways, but occasionally in ways that acknowledge our humanity and complexity.

Treatments of gay relationships on network soap operas have always been limited; recently, however, gays and lesbians have created their own soap operas to tell the convoluted stories of lesbian and gay entanglements.

For glbt people, television talk shows have been both promising and problematic; they have brought glbt issues to public awareness, but until recently they have also presented glbt people as stereotypes and freaks.

Rural life offers both challenges and satisfactions for glbtq people.

Award-winning television director Paris Barclay is also an activist for glbtq rights, including marriage equality and the opportunity to adopt children as he and his husband have done.

Singer Lance Bass gained fame as a member of the boy band *Nsync; since coming out in 2006, he has spoken on behalf of glbtq rights.

Academy Award-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black has quickly established himself as both an accomplished filmmaker and a committed activist.

The child of a famous show business couple, Chaz Bono has had to cope with family resistance and intense public scrutiny as he came out, first as a lesbian, then as a transgender man.

Award-winning television journalist Anderson Cooper, famous for his reporting from war zones and scenes of natural and man-made disasters, ended years of speculation by confirming his homosexuality in 2012.

The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, in effect from 1993 until 2011, was a compromise intended to end discrimination against gay men and lesbians in the U. S. military, but it failed to halt discharges based solely on sexual orientation.

The career of interior design has been stereotyped as gay; although this stereotype often invites ridicule, it stems from a cultural perception that gay men may have special skills in the area of artistic design and fashion trends.

Comedian, writer, actor, and producer Carol Leifer never anticipated that after the age of forty she would find personal fulfillment by recognizing her lesbianism, becoming a mother, and standing up for glbtq rights.