Are female audiences a good bet for finding gay-friendly programming?

Yesterday, ABC announced their upcoming fall schedule and TV critics are noting how the schedule is heavy on shows aimed to appeal to women. A few months ago, New York Times' Alessandra Stanley previously referred to the network as the TV equivalent of "Chick flicks" and this schedule moves ABC even further in that direction.

When I see discussions of how the network is so female-friendly, however, I also start to think about how ABC also has the most gay-friendly schedule with shows like Ugly Betty, Brothers & Sisters, Men in Trees, Boston Legal and Desperate Housewives. ABC also picked up the largest number of pilots with gay visibility this week.

ABC may be the most gay-friendly broadcast network, but there are also two cable channels that aim to draw female viewers and that also have been resources for positive gay visibility. Lifetime has been home to Lovespring International and Gay, Straight or Taken? (with its emphasis on not using stereotypes to presume sexual orientation). Oxygen, meanwhile, has been home to hair styling competition Tease as well as The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, where JP Calderon's coming out was handled with sensitivity.

Is this another example of the camaraderie often shared between heterosexual women and gay men? After all, we both benefit from these series since we get characters we can identify with, as well as characters that remind us of our friendships. On the other hand, gay men in these shows are almost always supporting characters, secondary to their female friends and frequently rather stereotypical. Still those supporting roles can do their part to push down barriers and increase gay visibility on television. And that's something both gay men and straight women can be glad about.