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| The L Word | | (And F/F Sexuality On The Small Screen) | | 01 December 2004 | | The L Word represents a breakthrough in the portrayal of female/ female sexuality on the screen, but not for the reasons you might think.
Showtime's The L Word, which recently finished airing in the UK, was brilliant, emotionally involving, television and FairgroundTown recommends it without hesitation when it comes to terrestrial*. Our favorite moments were the Charlie's Angels-ish "mission to ascertain the disposition and intent of one miss Lara Perkins;" and the final scene of the season, which brought tears to our eyes.
The series also represents a breakthrough in the portrayal of lesbian sexuality on the screen, but not simply by being there. We've seen lesbians on mainstream TV before, from the pre-watershed soaps (Brookside) to heavy drama (Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit), but this was different, because these were real people, with genuine relationships and honest confusions. Of course, it was drama, and Bette is impossibly gorgeous, and tennis-player Dana somehow lands a major sponsorship deal with Subaru, despite apparently never leaving California or playing any actual tournaments. But stop for a moment, and compare it with the two aforementioned UK shows. In each case, the sexuality *was* the subject; whereas here it is just a part of the architecture, and that is the breakthrough!
At this point, it is also worth addressing one of the grenades lobbed at the show from the "L" side of the fence - that "L" stood not for Lesbian, but for Lipstick, and the show was heavily biased towards stereotypes perceived to be attractive heterosexuals. This seems to us to be unfair. Yes, TV-Land is full of beautiful people, but in character these were not hetro-fantasy clichés. Take Dana's rejection of the (male) date set up for her by her parents; or Bette's desperate attempts to overcome her desires for Candice without betraying her monogamy. Among the minor characters, take Lara's aggressive displays of out-ness; or Ivan's blurring of the male/ female dichotomy. They might all have worn the stuff, but these were not lipstick stereotypes.
* Once caveat - please, please, please watch at least the first three episodes before you pass judgment! Episodes One and Two were pulled together from a single 90-minute pilot, so they needed to find almost 1/2 an hour of extra content, and for whatever reason, they decided to fill things out with over-long sex scenes. FairgroundTown supposes it got them some valuable press attention, but was glad when they disappeared from episodes 3-onwards. |
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The point is we are all connected... through love... through loneliness... through one lamentable lapse in judgment!
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2010