Pretty Queer Liars

By Sayali

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!!!

This month for ‘Queersay by Hearsay’, I’ll be calling out the TV show Pretty Little Liars (2010-2017) for their abysmal treatment of queer characers.

Before we begin, I would like to give out a blaring warning: THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!

When Pretty Little Liars premiered, it felt revolutionary. One of the core four, Emily Fields, was a queer women of colour. In 2010, that was rare. Groundbreaking, even. But as time passed, what started as a beacon of visibility slowly unraveled into something darker - and far less empowering.

Let’s get real: queer representation in PLL was chaotic at best, harmful at worst.

Let's start with Emily. Nearly every girlfriend was killed off (R.I.P. Maya, R.I.P. Paige’s sanity), written off, or treated like a decoy in an “A” plotline. Instead of exploring her identity, the show leaned on shock value and constant suffering. While heterosexual couples got screen time, backstory, growth, and happy endings, queer relationships were short lived or shrouded in secrecy. Intimacy was either sensationalised or downplayed. Emily was the only queer main character for most of the show’s run. No trans characters (until Charlotte), no bi guys, no asexual or non-binary rep. A single queer girl was expected to represent all different types of queer people.

I could keep going, but let's move on to Alison DiLaurentis. Alison exploited Emily’s feelings for years. She used them to get protection, loyalty, and attention- all while mocking her or distancing herself. Then, suddenly, they were endgame? That’s not a love story- that’s a red flag. Alison’s “growth” was rushed. Her queerness was thrown in during later seasons to justify her being with Emily. There was no exploration, just a checkbox ticked. The show never acknowledged that Alison was bisexual until it became convenient to wrap her up with Emily. “Emison” was built on manipulation and control. Packaging that dynamic as “healing” is not only dishonest- it's dangerous.

Perhaps the most glaring example of PLL’s failure is Charlotte DiLaurentis (aka CeCe Drake). Her story should have been a huge moment for trans visibility. Instead, it became a textbook case of how not to represent trans people. Charlotte’s transness was weaponized. It was used for shock value- a twist to explain her “madness.” It wasn’t handled with care or dignity. She joined the long list of trans- coded villains (Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs) where trans identity is linked with mental instability and violence. It’s a dangerous stereotype- and PLL leaned into it without hesitation. Even after her reveal, Charlotte was often deadnamed or misgendered, even by fans, because the show failed to educate or even defend her identity. She was never given a story of self-love or community. Just pain, secrets, and ultimately, death.

The liars may have been pretty, but the representation wasn’t. And we’re not pretending it’s okay anymore.