Jocelyn Reyes, East Los High

Jocelyn Reyes (Andrea Sixtos)

Jocelyn Reyes first appeared on the teen drama East Los High in the first episode of season 2.  Originally introduced as the best friend of Camila Barrios, they hooked up at the end of the episode in somewhat typical fashion: after hanging out and smoking pot together, Camila asked if she could stay over, seduced Jocelyn by changing in front of her and asking for help with her bra, and then kissed her.

In episode 2, Joceyln and Camila were shown in bed together the next morning, though Camila left before Joceyln woke up. When Jocelyn saw Camila at school, Camila assured her that they were okay and that she was great the night before. They kissed several more times before Camila declared that she wanted them to be best friends with benefits. However, immediately after that declaration, Jocelyn’s foster brother, Nicholas, surprised them with a homecoming and Camila and Nicholas exchanged looks and later some flirting, which Jocelyn walked in on with suspicion.

By episode 6, Jocelyn shared a love poem she had written for/about Camila on stage while Camila was sitting in the audience. When Camila expressed that it had made her uncomfortable and that she thought they were only having fun, Jocelyn declared that she loved her. Camila responded that she wasn’t “like that” and ran to Nicholas, and they hooked up the same day.

Later in episode 8, during a verbal argument at school, Camila called Jocelyn a lesbian, forcing Jocelyn to come out in front of everyone. Later, as Ms. Alvarez, the school’s principal, was discussing the situation with Jocelyn, it was revealed that the principal was also gay and she spoke of how lonely she felt when she came out. When Ms. Alvarez suggested that Jocelyn talk privately with the school’s social worker for support, Jocelyn responded with “Why?  There’s nothing wrong with me.”

When the news of her coming out reached home, Jocelyn had to face the disapproval of her grandfather (“bringing shame to our family”, “there are no homos in my family”, “you’re not my granddaughter no more”), but she did get the support of her grandmother (“you just need him time to process and mourn” – J: “Mourn?  I’m not dead” – G: “But his dreams for you are.”). Even though we didn’t see the bullying on-screen, we found out from Camila that Jocelyn was also getting slammed on social media.

In season 4, episode 8, Jocelyn told Camila that she was leaving to attend New York University and and two shared a good-bye kiss.

Appearances:

• 22 episodes.

Female love interests:

• Camila Barrios (Vannessa Vasquez, bisexual, regular S2-4, 36 episodes)
• Daysi (Karen Anzoátegui, lesbian, recurring, 4 episodes)

Relationship story arc with a woman: Yes

No male love interests

Relationship story arc with a man: No

Male love interest after being identified as a lesbian? No

Filter Relationship Arc:

• Female (Regular)

Storyline during sweeps? No

[1] A relationship story arc is defined as explicit, developed on screen, and lasting more than 3 episodes. It is listed as questionable or subtext if romance is only implied, mentioned instead of shown on screen, part of a dream sequence, or otherwise not explicit for the viewer.
[2] Sweeps episodes air in February, May, July and November, the periods when advertising rates are set. A character is marked as "sweeps" when there is a very limited number of episodes that address their sexuality, all air during sweeps period, and the storyline is otherwise ignore/dropped.