Transitions of GLBT characters on TV

(took the video from youtube, originally from the movie The Boondock Saints)

So as we talked in class about characters on Television more and more being gay, I thought to think about all the movies and shows I have seen with gay characters in them. One really popped into my head that in my opinion helped an audience relate to a gay character. One movie came to mind. The Boondock Saints. Talk about one of the most masculine and awesome films of our generation. Released in 1999 when there was a big transition in gay characters on TV. Not only was Willem Dafoe's character gay in the movie but he was a gay character in a very masculine film. His character Detective Smecker at first isn't portrayed gay, when you find out he is you don't really seem to care. My thoughts on his character were "whatever he's still a badass". Seen in the clip above he is in bed with another man but ends up calling this other gay man a "fag". So he's a gay character but he has a masculine side to him that everyone can seem to relate to. It seems to degrade the other gay man and put power in Smecker's hands. The audience watching this seems to not care after this that he is gay because he is almost a "bridge" between straight and gay. So this was a great transition character for acceptance of gay's in our movies. Since now that gays on TV are in general accepted as something that is just part of television we now see a move for Transgender characters being thrown around as ideas on shows like Real World. The Boondock Saints came out in 1999, so 12 years ago, in about 10 years are we going to have so many mixed characters on TV that transgender is just going to be the norm at that point? Is it just what gets the most viewers?