L is for lazy
Dan Stapleton’s complaints about The L Word don’t ring true:
I am hard pressed to think of a gay female acquaintance who has quite the preoccupation with artificial insemination as the L Word girls. Not many of my lesbian friends are as shallow and promiscuous as them, either. They’re certainly not driven solely by their libidos and visits to the local tanning salon. And, occasionally, one of the lesbians I know is actually interested in gay rights.
I’ve watched a few episodes now, and I don’t think we’re watching the same show.
Two of the characters are trying to get pregnant. That doesn’t make them “obsessed” with artificial insemination, but it probably means the subject is going to come up. (Once she gets pregnant, though, I imagine they’ll move on.)
I don’t think they’re any more “driven by their libidos” than the women of Sex and the City, and they’re certainly less concerned with visiting the local tanning salon. Perhaps I missed it, but I don’t think any of them has actually even visited a tanning salon yet. In fact, the cast is far paler than that of most other shows.
As for the claim that the characters are “shallow and promiscuous”, that doesn’t hold water either. Alice has a crackpot “six degrees of separation” theory, but the rest of the group try to convince her it’s not a healthy way to look at life. Most of the others are in (reasonably) stable relationships, and even Alice breaks up with her girlfriend when she finds out she (the girlfriend) has been cheating. At the end of the day, though, it’s a show about sexual politics — sex is going to come into it.
Stapleton’s last claim, that none of the characters in the show are “actually interested in gay rights”, is directly contradicted by his prior assertion that one couple is “obsessed” with artificial insemination: if a lesbian couple trying to get pregnant isn’t sticking up for gay rights, I don’t know what is.
This column is the product of an L word: laziness. It’s the same rant we get every time a new TV show with gay characters hits the airwaves — but this time (unlike with Will & Grace and to a certain extent Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) it is not based on a valid complaint.
(By the way, when I tried to visit the official L Word site, I got this ridiculous message:
Sorry
We at Showtime Online express our apologies; however, these pages are intended for access only from within the United States.
What’s up with that?)
It’s because other countries don’t have lesbians, so there’s no reason why people from other countries could possibly be interested in the show and therefore there’s no reason to give them access to the website.
Obviously.
Massive lesbian television scandal grips Australia
Anyone got any thoughts on this, as noted by Rob Corr: (By the way, when I tried to visit the official L Word site, I got this ridiculous message: Sorry We at Showtime Online express our apologies; however, these pages…
Maybe it’s hiding a mad religious agenda that involves an apology saying “no, it’s ok - we’re just making this program to get money so we can BURN gay people at the stake”. Americans would go for that.
No, it’s because they don’t want the rest of the world to know they have lesbians because they are ashamed of them.
And actually its on all the showtime sites. Why on earth are they doing it?
a cone of invisibility descends
Speaking of censorship - the Kick and Scream has discovered that the official L-Word site, run as a commercial venture by Showtime, does not allow entry from outside the United States. Neither does any other subsite run by Showtime. Why?…
a cone of invisibility descends
Speaking of censorship - Kick and Scream has discovered that the official L-Word site, run as a commercial venture by Showtime, does not allow entry from outside the United States. Neither does any other subsite run by Showtime. Why? That…
“There’s no such thing as Gay, it’s just laziness.”
Really good work. I found a lot of profound information which can help me to go on. Thanks for all this input.
I really like it!
There’s a good fan site here.
I think it portrays some realistic dilemmas people of any sexuality face in relationships, work and friendships. And it’s funny.
I don’t know if anyone remembers the lesbian-identified man Lisa having sex with Alice - and pulling a dildo out of his handbag when she says “but you’ve got a real one” - “but I’m a lesbian”.
I’m not retelling it well but it’s funny.
Of course it’s glitzy and everyone is beautiful, but hey - it’s teev.
On gay rights, that column is quite unfair as well. In a few episodes, Bette faces Christian/Republican protests over a “blasphemous” installation at the Art Gallery where she is the director, is outed on tv, and raises the issue of sexuality and rights. Shayne is pretty political too.
It’s in itself a stereotype to say that lesbians are all dour and obsessed with sexuality and politics to the exclusion of all else. None of my dyke friends have been like that - though some are more activist than others.
I have to add - I’m a long time fan of Mia Kirshner since she appeared in Love and Human Remains.
In lieu of a trackback.
You know what, I lived in San Francisco (and briefly in LA) for some years and the show isn’t that unrealistic - I worked as a photographer and in a gallery.
That column is bollocks. There’s no conflict between having fun and being political. Mark’s right about the stereotype.
And on the tanning salon, Rob, there are regular cast members who are African-American unlike on many mainstream US shows. And it’s the first time that Jennifer Beals’ African-American heritage has been acknowledged in a role, I think.
Also, I think I’m in love with Katherine Moennig aka Shane. She can tousle my locks anytime!
Are trackbacks on again?
Speaking of which, the trackback from Tim D’s is distinctly odd - if you go there, you get a look for the site which is the old layout and the post doesn’t appear at Tim’s new place.
That’s because Movable Type uses physical files on the server, which sit there unless replaced or deleted. His new version uses a different naming convention, and didn’t replace the old file. Quirky, eh?
By the way, the comment that put this on the “Recent Discussion” list appears to be spam. I’ve deleted the URL just to be sure, but I’ll leave the text because it’s pretty funny that a random spam comment can bring an old post to a new audience’s attention!
Spammers use their powers for good for once!
You can visit the L-word site using The Cloak.