When I was 12, I used to watch a television show called Shortland Street. At this point, I pretty much had no idea about lesbians, and as far as I knew, to be a lesbian you had to be really butch and like women who were really butch. That definitely wasn’t me, and so I brushed away all my feelings and convinced myself that I liked boys. But one day, Shortland Street introduced a lesbian couple. It was one of the defining moments of my life, when I saw Maia and Jay kissing on the television screen, two successful and accomplished characters, not to mention gorgeous. I was so unbelievably blown away by what I saw. At that moment, I realised that lesbians were real, and that it was okay to be one. Now I am 25 and have been with my girlfriend for 7 and a half years, and I still so distinctly remember that moment and how I felt when I saw Jay and Maia kiss. It absolutely changed my life and the way I understood what being gay was. For all the young kids who were sitting there watching OUAT and saw Ruby and Dorothy kiss, maybe that will be a defining moment for them too. No, it wasn’t Swan Queen, but it was something. I sincerely hope that Ruby and Dorothy get an actual storyline and aren’t just a one-episode thing, but even if just for that one moment, children and young people all over the world got to see that two women can be in love, and that it is okay. For all the kids with homophobic parents who would never let them watch tv shows like The Fosters, maybe they just got thrown a lifeline.