26 Iconic TV Women Who Sparked Sexual Awakenings
"I'm Gen-X, so obviously it was Jo from Facts of Life. I know I'm not alone in this."
—Anonymous, 50, US
"To be honest, Gadget from Rescue Rangers should have been the first tip off."
—Anonymous, 45, Michigan
"I think we can all agree on Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
—tellyourfeetajoke"The first time she came onscreen, she had me questioning everything I thought I knew about myself as a young teen. There was just something about this cool, confident, complicated (and of course, attractive) girl that had me looking and feeling things I had not associated with girls before. For this reason, she will forever hold a special place in my heart."—Anonymous, 40, Nevada
"Quinn Fabray from Glee, easily. A criminally underrated and underused singing voice and killer looks (especially when she was a Cheerio). I also shipped her and Rachel so hard in my youth."
—raymaariforever
"Sara Bellum from Powerpuff Girls. Though it took 20 to 25 more years before I came out to myself."
—ymxb
"Xena and Gabrielle from Xena: Warrior Princess. The scene in the hot spring. I was probably too young to see that, but from the glimpse of what I did see, it forever changed me."
—pinkcomet428
"Monica Keena as Abby Morgan on Dawson's Creek and Rachel Lindquist on Undeclared. I referred to them as my 'girl crushes.' It would only take a couple more decades and a number of additional 'girl crushes' for me to realize I was queer (pan). But it started with them!"
—sasstrid
"Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender. She and Zuko both helped me realise I was bisexual. And, to this day, I stand by the fact they should've been together."
—guacam011y
"Tori and Jade from Victorious! They were talented and gorgeous, and they did things to my body I didn't understand."
—alexandraisgay
"Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune from Sailor Moon. They were the first queer couple I had ever seen on TV, and I was absolutely obsessed with them as a child before I understood my own sexuality. But honestly, throw a stone and pick literally any character from that anime, and they probably contributed to my gay awakening to some degree!"
—Anonymous, 32, US"Cliche, but Sailor Moon. Just everything about Usagi made me want to date someone like her! Pretty, foodie, and obsessed with video games?!?!? Sign me uppppp."—Anonymous, 39, US
"Hannah/Miley from Hannah Montana, but I didn't quite realize at the time that it was a crush."
—nostalgiclegend284
"Well, this is embarrassing, but Jenny Shecter from the first season of The L Word. And then most of the cast made me realize that you can be super femme and be into girls."
—lucyv4d65302ee
"Leela from Futurama."
—Anonymous, 19, US
"Alison and Emily from Pretty Little Liars. There's a scene in Season 2 where Emily is imagining lying in Alison's lap while she strokes her hair, and it ends with Alison leaning in to kiss her. When I tell you that rewired my brain chemistry PERMANENTLY..."
—audreyschockett
"Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) from Charmed. It was undeniable after watching just one episode."
—Anonymous, 39, Oregon
"For me, it was Venus McFlytrap from Monster High! I thought she was so beautiful and cool-looking. She has a sort of punk aesthetic, and I was totally enamored by her."
—elleenchanted
"Carmilla Carmine from Hazbin Hotel. She's gorgeous and, when she lets her hair down, UGH, YES QUEEN!"
—esadre
"Camille Belcourt from Shadowhunters. If I wasn't already beginning to suspect I liked women, then she CERTAINLY shaped my specific taste in women. I eventually lost interest in the show bc she stopped appearing (honorable mention goes to Izzy tho)."
—audreyschockett
"Lindsay Wagner in The Bionic Woman waaaaay back in the 1970s when I was a pre-teen. I just didn't have a name for it at the time. I had pictures of her pinned up on my wall, along with pictures of Charlie's Angels. If I were playing Six Million Dollar Man with my friends, I would volunteer to be Steve Austin because it meant I could marry Jaime Sommers."
—irisg2
"JoAnna Cameron as Isis in The Secrets of Isis (1975-76). It was a Saturday morning live-action superhero show. I adored her, wanted to be her, and only realized as an adult that I was definitely queer."
—leticiamb
"Samantha Carter from Stargate SG-1 (I'm a nerd, I know).
—Anonymous, 32, Michigan
"Charlie from Supernatural. I watched the show in secret because I grew up in a strict Catholic household, but it was the first time I was ever exposed to queerness — and queerness being okay, not a sin."
—Anonymous, 22, Texas
"Maxine Baker from Ginny & Georgia."
—Anonymous, 15, Pennsylvania
"Serena Van der Woodsen from Gossip Girl! I've always been into Blake Lively, and it was first seeing her character in Gossip Girl that made me think, 'Hey, you know I might actually be into girls as well!'
—Anonymous, 33, Canada
"Gillian Anderson from The X-Files."
—caelesto
And finally, "Lizzie McGuire ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🩶🤍."
—runningwithscissors2343
Which TV character was your queer awakening? Let us know in the comments!
Looking for more LGBTQ+ or Pride content? Then check out all of BuzzFeed's posts celebrating Pride 2025.
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