Two of my best friends are a lesbian couple. I was over at their house recently and I told them how we discussed the show The L word in my Women and Media class. They were excited to hear what was discussed since they are fans of the show and lesbians. They seriously own every season and swear by it. They say it is sort of a lesbian's guide. I started off by asking them what they thought about the characters.
They instantly had their favorite characters. They started spouting out who they loved, who they thought was a bitch, who they wanted sexually, etc. Then I began to ask them if they thought the lesbian community was well-represented in the television show. They instantly said "No way!". One of my friends is what you would consider the "male" in the relationship. She has very short hair and wears masculine clothes. She says that she can't relate to any character on the L word except for maybe Shane. Even Shane doesn't really adhere to all the "butch" lesbians. She is still very much expressing femininity throughout the show. She just looks more masculine compared to the other characters, who are without a doubt very femme.
According to our readings from Pratt, The L Word seems to be adhering to the heteronormative concepts of beauty and gender. It is so true. If you look at all of the characters they are all beautiful slender wealthy women. Many would say, who would want to watch ugly people on television? I understand that there is a common form of beauty but when the general public is not well represented in what THEY are paying for, I think something is wrong. Personally, I think that the public would enjoy watching something that they can relate to. All of that aside, I do believe that The L Word is a great show because it is portraying lesbians in a popular television show which is getting lesbians in the public eye.
I liked this reading for our 485 class too. I agree with the article (and you) that there are limited representations in The L Word, but I also agree with you that it's still great for portraying lesbians in a mainstream television show. That's definitely a step forward for our society. Your friends are right in that there is definitely not going to be representation of ALL types of lesbians found in The L Word, and in the episodes I've seen, I haven't seen any truly butch-identified women. But maybe the show is trying to divert away from the heteronormative assumptions that even in lesbian relationships, there should be a partner who is more "feminine" and one who is more "masculine." I know that SOME lesbian and gay relationships are like this, but I hate that our society EXPECTS it. There are plenty of lesbian relationships featuring two ultra feminine women or two butch women, and the same goes for gay male relationships too. Not everything has to mimic heteronormativity, ya know?
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