On Oct. 9, The CW Television Network revealed the first look at Ruby Rose as Batwoman for the upcoming TV series, “Batwoman,” on Twitter. The show will join the Arrowverse through a crossover on the CW with “The Flash,” “Arrow,” and “Supergirl” on Dec. 9, 10 and 11, respectively.

“Batwoman” is one of the most highly anticipated TV series, according to Chancellor Agard, an acclaimed correspondent covering television shows and movies. Rose is described as, “armed with a passion for social justice and a flair for speaking her mind . . . [a] highly trained street fighter primed to snuff out the failing city’s criminal resurgence,” by Variety Magazine.

In addition, many LGBTQ+ youth are awaiting the arrival of the first lead gay character of her own series, Kate Kane, played by openly gay and gender fluid actor, Ruby Rose.

Several celebrities, including Janelle Monáe, who recently came out as bisexual and in a relationship with actress Tessa Thompson, and Laverne Cox, Rose’s fellow Orange is the New Black, co-star, who identifies as transgender, has supported Rose being cast in the role.

Monáe tweeted, “Perfect. She will SLAY. Congratssss @RubyRose,” while Cox tweeted, “Congrats @RubyRose. Totally awesomely good!”

However, in August, Rose deactivated her Twitter account after addressing the hate comments that included people tweeting she wasn’t “gay enough” because of her gender fluidity. They also suggested that someone else take her role, to which Rose commented that she came out at 12 years old and they told her she was “too gay” for five years. She concluded with saying, “I just wish women and the LGBT community supported each other more. My wish was we were all a little kinder and more supportive of each other.”

“It’s a good start. It might influence other directors to cast LGBT actors to play LGBT characters,” said Mt. Hebron’s Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA) president, senior Alex Clay, in regards to Rose being cast as Kane.

There have been LGBTQ+ characters in the past on the CW, including “Arrow” star Echo Kellum, who plays Curtis Holt, and “Supergirl” actress Nicole Maines, who plays the first openly gay superhero, Alex Danvers.

According to GLAAD and its 2017-2018 television season report on LGBTQ+ representation in film, “Out of the 109 regular characters, 58 (6.4%) identify in the community as well as 28 recurring LGBTQ+ characters.” This is the largest number they have found in the history of their reports.

“Hopefully people in the LGBTQ community, especially young people, or aspiring actors will get to see that she can get this big role and they can do that, too. The world isn’t limited to just straight people,” said SAGA Student Engagement Representative Nora Blanco. “It’s great. It’s exciting, and it’s good for representation.”

LGBTQ+ representation in the film industry is slowly increasing, and “Batwoman” is a product of that. According to GLAAD, 2017 was the first year they were able to insert asexual and non-binary characters to their reports, and the change gives hope to the community for more diverse representation in the future.