- This article is a stub. You can help the Queer as Folk Wiki by expanding it.
Lindsay Peterson is a main character in every season of the Showtime drama series Queer as Folk. She is the domestic partner of Melanie Marcus, the mother of Gus Peterson-Marcus, and the adoptive mother of JR Novotny-Marcus.
Physical Appearance[]
She is tall, blonde with shoulder length hair. Where her appearance was more girly and pristine in earlier episodes, her style is more relaxed later series. While her compassionate disposition doesn't change, she becomes more firm in her believes and stands up for what she believes in.
Along with being beautiful, she has an overall compassionate disposition and understanding towards the general well being. As the season progresses, she becomes stronger in character and as a woman in general.
Personality[]
In the earliest season, Lindsay was more dependent and a stay-at-home mother. When her and Melanie have a disagreement, and Melanie moves out, she needs Brian's help financially and Guillaume moves in for further assistance. She holds her feelings inside and doesn't stand up for what she believes in worrying about how everyone else will feel.
In the next season, she stands up to her mother in the second season and starts to curse more due to Leda being around and how Melanie is around her. Her dress and style relax more after she bonds with Leda.
In the middle seasons, she is becoming more grounded having more masculine energy now being more independent working and being a parent to Gus, yet, she refuses to be “barefoot and pregnant”. She becomes more visually resolved in mannerisms as she smiles a bit less. She even firmly terminates a vindictive event planner in her art gallery. She has also cut her hair and relaxed her attire even more.
In the fourth season, she maintains her independence and her natural compassionate ways, but begins to affirm her resolve mannerisms more often and standing up to numerous characters in the series, even standing up to more dominant characters like her partner, Brian, and Sam more often.
In the final season, she is compassionate yet firm having more masculine energy. She is independent enough to make expert decisions on living arrangements balancing being a mother and working. Strong enough in resolve to make her point in an argument and walk away when necessary. She will generally be more forthright instead of worrying about confrontation. This evident when Lindsay tells her she will not pay for a certain part of the bill when she is living on her own, and leaves slamming the door behind her.
Throughout the Series[]
Season 1[]
Lindsay and Melanie act through most of the series as the stable lesbian couple. She has been caught in the middle of Brian and her partner, Melanie fighting over Gus' parentage.
Lindsay, has the baby in the first episode at the hospital. Melanie gets Lindsay to the Hospital after a few attempts to reach Brian on his phone. Lindsay lets Brian hold their baby and then has an emotional moment with him. Just as Melanie walks in, she sees them kissing.
Lindsay and Melanie discuss and have Brian come over to sign insurance papers for Gus in case something should happen to him. They have a bris, unbeknown to Brian, which is a Jewish tradition for sons of Jewish households. Brian and some of the gang prevent this from happening to which Melanie gets angry, however, he signs the insurance forms for Gus.
Gus gets sick in the 9th episode of the first season, and Lindsey and Melanie take him to the hospital. At the hospital, they are told only the biological mother can tend to Gus. Seeing as Lindsey forgot his blanket, Melanie Marcus attempts to let the nurse know which the nurse gave her a rude, abrupt answer greatly offending Melanie. Melanie snaps back and calls her a c*nt as Brian walks in to defend her. Melanie, emotional herself, calms Brian long enough to give Brian Gus's blanket and tells him to go back and give it to them since he is the biological father.
After the disaster at the hospital, Melanie and Lindsay talk and decide that the have to talk to Brian to avoid an incident like that again.
Lindsay and Melanie ask Brian if he can sign his right over. He initially agrees, but on the day he is about to sign, Gus is crying for no apparent reason and this sways Brian mind to not sign over his rights greatly disappointing Melanie and Lindsay.
Lindsey and Melanie fall out again after 6 years of marriage; mostly due to Brian not signing over his parental rights. Lindsey finally has enough and she finally speaks out instead of being the WASP in the middle saying Melanie expects too much leaving Melanie surprised and emotional that she came off so strong and unexpected.
Melanie cheats on Lindsey resulting in Melanie moving into her cousin Rita's house. Lindsey moves Guillaume, an acquaintance gay man from France, into the house seeing the she needs help financially and he needs his green card to be permanent in the United States. All her friends confront her of their disapproval of him, especially Melanie and Brian.
Lindsey goes to Brian's loft with Gus and argues about the his irresponsible ways about babysitting his son. In the mist of their argument, Jack comes by and instantly remembers her and is flirtatious in greeting her to Brian's annoyance. Brian isn't pleased about him being there, however, Brian ultimately introduces Lindsey and Gus, as his baby and baby's mother to his surprise.
Before Lindsey and Guillaume could go get a marriage license, Brian barges in the with Melanie. Brian shuts them up and proposes they get together having dropped a signed copy of his parental rights on their coffee table. Lindsey and Melanie forgive and renounce their love for each other.
Gus' parentage has been a source of contention between Lindsay, Melanie and Brian in the first season. While Brian initially gives up his parental rights over Gus, he later tries to become a more prominent father figure in Gus' life, much to the chagrin of Melanie. It is later revealed that Lindsay's staunch defense of Brian is because the two of them dated while in college. Lindsay is also the one and only woman that Brian has had sexual relations with.
Season 2[]
She goes to her sister's third wedding having invited Emmett as her beard, and Ted as Melanie's so they don't "draw attention to themselves". After her certain remarks her sister made in confidence, Lindsey does the toast and decided to draw attention and ask Melanie if she would marry her. Despite Melanie not answering, Lindsey was in triumph that she finally was brave enough to do it in front of the entire family.
After a rebuff by Melanie, Melanie asks for her hand in marriage and after seeming dismissing the idea, Lindsey jumps overjoy in her arms and they embrace each other. When Lindsay and Melanie are talking about the intended wedding they want in Melanie's office, Leda storms in greeting Melanie and gains Lindsey's acquaintance and apprehensions.
Later, at the house, Leda discovers that Mel has covered her bike up in the garage. She attempts to persuade her to go for a ride, but she declines immediately upon Lindsay entering the room. Leda automatically senses some tension and accepts her answer. Leda and Lindsay later have a subtle confrontation each other about the motorcycle ending with Leda inclusive of her in possibly riding on a motorcycle in pride which makes her think. Lindsay, suited in biker attire, gives the baby to Brian to watch and gets on the motorcycle with Melanie and ride with her at pride.
Leda helps Lindsay as she attempts to host a party in hopes her parents will show up and support her in her wedding. Leda is seen smoking and hanging out with Brian and Justin at the party. Melanie goes to Lindsay's parents house to see the excuse made by her father that his back was strained was a lie as he just came back from playing tennis. Melanie confronts them, and this ultimately drives them to reluctantly come to the party briefly. Her mother criticizes her on her choice of a party, and Lindsay stands up to her parents in person saying she doesn't have to seek acceptance. In that, she finds solace in her "chosen" family and lets her mother and father leave the residence. The gang celebrates Lindsay in her liberation.
Leda witnesses Melanie and Lindsay having multiple arguments at the bar about the wedding. She confides in a random lesbian woman before becoming amorous, "Marriage... straight people deserve it." Lindsay and Melanie sneak to her parents house after her mother refused to let her have her grandmother's dress and find letters from her grandmother and her lover. From this, they stopped arguing about finances and agreed to have a wedding to celebrate her grandmother's hidden life with her lover. They overcame struggles leading to their wedding day.
Lindsay and Melanie were charmed by George on their first meeting and through him and Emmett, they had a blissful wedding day with all their friends. After many obstacles, including Melanie's old love interest, coming into town, they got married within George's event room with all their friend's contributions.
After Melanie and Lindsay get married, after much struggle and apprehension from Lindsay, they hire her to design her attic as an art studio. Lindsay confronts her with her initial apprehension, but thanks her as she assures her that Melanie loves her and what they had was in the past.
Melanie and Lindsay confide in her about their "lesbian bed death". At first, Leda gives them a few suggestions which didn't work out, but when Lindsay and Leda bond through a massage one night, it make Melanie jealous which led to the couple arguing in earshot of Leda. Leda claims to have overhear and as she attempts to bid her farewell, she becomes amorous with both Lindsay and Melanie.
Leda continued to show up in their bedroom unannounced which began to annoy Melanie and Lindsay as they find excuses to evade her. Once Leda finishes the attic, they remind her of the agreement which in Leda doing the handiwork for them for free felt greatly offended and hurt.
Melanie stops her before she leaves and they have a few ugly words before talking rationally. Leda admits she couldn't help, but want to become apart of their union as she was becoming lonely. Melanie suggests to her finding a partner for herself wouldn't be such a bad idea. Leda smiles and says she just might do that this time. They embrace each other goodbye and she tells her to give Lindsay a sloppy kiss for her. Before she drives off, Melanie asks her to write them when she lands on her feet because they will be concern for her well being.
Season 3[]
Lindsay became an art curator at a gallery working for Sidney Bloom when she returned to work a year after giving birth to Gus.
They have a minor fight about a second child. Lindsey, no longer feeling like she should be "barefoot and pregnant' insist that Melanie has a child if she wants another one. After Melanie has a surgery, they consider donors. After a few attempts with Brian, she decides to go with another donor to her dismay because she wanted the children to be biologically related.
After having an operation to reverse her condition, she asks Michael to be the donor father. Michael impressed Melanie and Lindsay on handling Brian's nephew, John Kinney, and later Gus at their place, and they come to him with surprising news that they want him to father their next child. Michael is hurt when Melanie, remembering her struggles with Brian, creates a contract absolving Michael of his parental rights. Melanie eventually relents and lets Michael share parental rights.
After a few attempts, Michael arrives and gives his semen sample to Lindsay at their front door, Lindsay inseminates her within their bedroom and Mel becomes pregnant with approximately two weeks on the first try.
Michael follows Melanie around knowing she is pregnant, and she find it annoying. he complains wondering why she didn't have the bagger take the groceries to the car for her. Melanie insist that he stop following her around, and Lindsay, seeing how adamant she was insists that he agrees. Michael makes a false agreement just to clear the air, and continues to follow her until she actually needs his help and he takes her to the hospital. After this, Michael and Lindsay struggle to keep her from working so hard while she is pregnant. She eventually starts to show.
She has issues of superstition when Lindsay buys her a gift before her first trimester is over. Melanie tells her story of a younger brother or sister she might've had if her parents didn't buy the gifts prior to the baby's birth. She goes on to explain it might have been a slight on God as to why her mother miscarried. Despite Melanie feeling this way, she holds the gift tightly (in holding it tightly she manifested in prayer to God for the baby surviving. The blanket is later an antique for JR.) Melanie finishes her first trimester and they dance in the street in victory of Jim Stockwell being defeated in the votes.
Season 4[]
She is informed by Justin that Brian in financial trouble after losing his job and using his money to derail Jim's campaign. With help of the local LGBT community, she is spokesperson at Woody's and graciously proposes Brian the gift for saving Liberty Avenue. To her surprise, he humbly accepts.
Lindsay up feeding Gus when Emmett comes to the kitchen. She makes a remark on a howling noise that woke her and Melanie up in the middle of the night knowing he brought someone to their house. Before Emmett could apologize, she says she hopes he does it again just not here. This is where she suggest that getting his own place wouldn't be so bad.
Seeing Melanie distraught about her case being taken over, she brings Brian to talk to her and give her the truth based on the circumstances. Lindsay and Melanie have a small quarrel where she understandably feels Lindsay is betraying her again, but Lindsay brings up some good points considering if Gus was being taken away from them, they do what it takes even if it meant firing a friend for their cause, but letting the friend know it wasn't personal.
Lindsay talks to her boss Sidney and decided to take a chance on reaching Sam Auerbach to display his work in their gallery. She is repulsed by his irrational behavior and further when he flirts with his female assistants. She later confides in Melanie about Sam, and her appearance. Melanie reminds of what her and Brian told her when she was getting her case taken away. She has to learn to play the game as the men will not play her game. She dresses and impresses Sam. He attempts to seduce her when he helps her paint his work, and she gives him a right hook almost knowing him off the ledge. She helps him, but resolves that he is the most repellant man she has ever met. She has successfully charmed him with her looks and a certain fire she has come to have.
She continues to be "bothered" by him, but tries to hard faking it; especially when it comes to an attractive reporter who interviews him for his work. He is fascinated with her being a lesbian and not wanting anything from him, and finds out she can cook. He invites himself to her place to try her cooking. He meets Melanie and they talk about Lindsay being a talented artist to her modesty. They both insist she show her work.
Later, in his hotel room, they ramble through pieces of his work and she tells him that she been too busy being a mother to Gus and her work that she doesn't have time to illustrate. He tell her to draw something that inspires her. To his surprise, she suggests that she will draw him. He strips down to her surprise and she begins to get nervous. She draws him, and then later at the house begins to paint him. Melanie stops by and is amazed at what Lindsay managed to get him to do, and is glad that she has found inspiration again.
She decides to go to the show after hours. After feeling like she was alone in the gallery, Sam appears and scares her. He asks her why she didn't show up and she continues to make excuses. He continues his arrogant rant and this gets her more defensive and "bothered" and as she fetishize her identity as a lesbian to emphasis her attraction for him, he steals a kiss from her which leads them to have aggressive sex in the gallery.
After everything, Lindsay is embodied with guilt returning home, showers and subtly avoids conversation with Melanie out of shame. Sam, determined to win her over stops by to say goodbye, and they talk outside and he begs her to come with him, but she tells him that this is where she belongs and they could never be a couple. Having witnessed how emotionally driven the motions where from the inside, Melanie is devastated and despite Lindsay saying she still choses her over him and that her encounter with Sam solidified her identity of being a lesbian. Melanie says out of anger and hurt that she isn't sure if she still choses her and walks away.
Lindsay and Melanie are struggling to get along once more, and Melanie is further in her pregnancy and more moody. Lindsay and Melanie agure about her being to bossy as she is not supposed to leave bedside for the sake of her and the baby's health. Lindsay goes to see Brian and vent about Melanie. Melanie goes to see them off for the Liberty Ride in 2004 and when she gets home, Lindsay is worried, upset and angry. Lindsay shows resolved in her stress in trying to make it up to Melanie and says she will only now stay until the baby is born. Despite staying resolved as well, Melanie's eyes water up as she attempts to hide how deeply hurt she really is about Lindsay new founded resolve.
Despite them struggling in their relationship, they still bond when Melanie is about to go into labor. Melanie ultimately doesn't want to have the baby alone sadly enough begs Lindsay to stay with her which she does. in the end, Lindsay reminds them of the agreement and the two remain cordial, yet holding in their feelings as Lindsay takes her things and leaves the hospital.
Season 5[]
Lindsay moves out of the house and into a small apartment with Gus.
Michael throws them a surprise party in attempt to celebrate their tenth anniversary, despite them saying they were tired and subtly expressing they didn't want to celebrate. Melanie calls Lindsay over in panic and when she comes over with Gus, Lindsay is frustrated and forthright which angers Melanie about them no longer being together. Melanie later expresses to Lindsay that telling them at the party makes it more official, saddening her.
For a brief time Lindsay's parents offer to have she and Gus move in with them. Her mother even tries to set her up with a man. However Lindsay reminds her mother that she still chooses to idenitify as a lesbian despite being attracted to men and will continue to do so. Nothing will ever change that. Lindsay goes back and talks to Melanie. Melanie, slowly starting to forgive her, moves her back into the house and they agree on an in-house separation.
At the end of the series and after a bomb explosion targeting a gay and lesbian convention takes the life of a fellow lesbian friend Dusty, Lindsay and Melanie decide to reconcile. Due to the sadness of loosing their dear friend, Dusty, they converse after the funeral and Lindsey now takes a logical stance while Melanie is more emotional (emotional that Lindsey would be in the original season), and even quoting Brian about straight people. As a couple, they decide they don’t wish to stay in a place where they don’t feel welcome.
Lindsay and Melanie's last appearance on the show reveals that they have decided to move to Toronto, Canada to avoid further government and personal persecution for being a homosexual couple.
Relationships[]
Melanie Marcus[]
Lindsay and Melanie act through most of the series as a token lesbian couple. While Melanie becomes more vulnerable as a woman, Lindsay, being her other half becomes more firm with more masculine energy. They balance each other completely at the end of the season making 10 years of their union.
Brian Kinney[]
Lindsay, a sister-like figure to Brian, though Melanie claims she in love with him. They dated in college, became have become best friends, later became biological parents to Gus Peterson-Marcus. Sometimes fondly calls him 'Peter', in reference to Peter Pan, the boy who never grows old; He calls her 'Wendy' in return. Their bond is strong and in times of distress, they will confide in each other of their problems. She relies on him for the "cold hard truth" and will even at times refer him to Melanie for it as well to her dismay.
Justin Taylor[]
She, in particular, helps guide Justin Taylor (Brian's lovelorn lover) in his pursuit of a career in art, and has taken him into her care from time to time.
At times, she is the mediator between him and Brian, being Brian’s sister-like figure and her fondness of Justin, especially when Brian neglects him.
Where she was once Justin’s guide in the art world, in the finale season, she admits she didn’t have the talent that Justin possessed and encouraged him to take his gift to New York.
Emmett Honeycutt[]
They bond as they share the feminine qualities and interest; Apparel and fashion taste and cooking being some of their common interest. Lindsey even calls Emmett for assisting her in his event planning during the third season which they successfully blend their expertise backgrounds of Art and Catering together.
Debbie Novotny[]
She bonds with Lindsey through natural female ways; most when she is mothering Gus Peterson-Marcus referring to herself at her age with Michael. Melanie and herself have helped her on fashion and preparing her for dates with Carl Horvath.
Leda[]
She forms a bond with Lindsey after the insecurities. It is implied that Lindsay learned to be more "Chapstick" from Melanie and Leda's influences.
Trivia[]
- She is portrayed by Thea Gill.
- She is Christian.
- She comes from a family of WASP; White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. An Upper-class All-American family household where she was raised more “entitled” in her lifestyle.
- She is an Art Teacher in school in the beginning seasons (implying she has a minimum of a bachelor’s degree from a university; most likely in fine arts). She is well versed in Art history as to her success as an Art Dealer in season 3 onwards.
- She shares the hobby of Art with Justin as they love to sketch and paint. However, Since Justin had to take another approach to his fine arts after getting bashed, he is later more versatile in his abilities than Lindsey.
- Lindsey is referred to as the "Lipstick Lesbian" lesbian meaning you will not know she is lesbian until she directly acts like one or someone affirms it.
- In the later series, Lindsey can pass for more "Chapstick Lesbian" as she is stronger, has a bit more masculine energy, and less “entitled” in the series dressing less "girly" to show more independence she has grown into.
- She is the only woman Brian has ever has sexual relations with.
- Lindsey and Daphne share the experience of being the single sexual relationship with one gay man whom are their best friends; Lindsey with Brian, and Daphne with Justin.