Sabrina Tungol

 
                  In 2007, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila premiered on MTV. This show was a bisexual-themed reality dating show that featured 16 heterosexual men and 16 lesbian women competing for the love of one bisexual woman, Tila Tequila. In 2007, I was ten years old. I was absolutely not allowed to watch this television show. I would keep the television remote close to me in order to change the channel quickly if my parents came in. I thought the show was so scandalous at the time, and that was its reputation. Now, at 20 years old, I am interested to analyze the sexual stereotypes portrayed through a 2017 lens. This show was created and directed by two men, straight Riley McCormick and Scott Jeffress. Additionally, it’s executive produced is SallyAnn Salsano, also the producer of Jersey Shore. This reality television show was not produced to bring any sort of awareness about the LGBTQ community. It is designed by straight people and plays off of LGBTQ stereotypes in order to entertain straight people. In this essay, I will analyze bisexual and lesbian stereotypes represented on this show.
Being Bisexual is Just a Phase
                  A common bisexual stereotype is that being bisexual is just a phase. This can go either way. From one point of view, it can be seen as just an “experimental phase” before one goes back to being straight. From the other point of view, it can be seen as what you call yourself before you become one hundred percent gay. Many people do not believe that you can be one. In A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, Tequila does her best to combat this stereotype. She articulates over and over again that she is attracted to and interested in both sexes. However, the stereotype is enforced by the lesbian women and heterosexual men who are participating in the competition. The men in the competition don’t believe that the lesbian women have a real chance in winning Tequila’s heart. They vocalize that the lesbians are just there to entertain, and in the end Tequila will move out of her phase and be with a man. On the other hand, the lesbians share that they understand what Tequila is going through, a handful of them previously identified themselves as bisexual before completely gay. Neither of the two parties recognizes that she truly is bisexual, and will not be “choosing a side” in the end. Sexuality exists on a scale; this may be why some view bisexuality as a stepping stone to the real destination. However, this rationale devalues bisexuality as an identity.
Butch vs. Femme
                  A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila features two distinct lesbian stereotypes, butch vs. femme. From the moment the lesbians enter the television screen, the stereotypes are obvious. The butch women were dressed in knee-length shorts with baggy t-shirts and with very short hair. The lipstick lesbians long hair, full-faces of makeup, and very revealing clothing. On top of this, there were only two butch women to fourteen femme women.  The femme women are also hyper sexualized. They are the first ones to kiss Tequila. Conversely, the butch women stay in the background and are removed from the competition quite early. While women on extreme ends of the spectrum exist, I think that this show played up the stereotypes a little too much, and did not accurately represent lesbians.
You’re a lesbian, does that mean you hate men?
                  Another lesbian stereotype that the show played on was the notion that lesbian hate men, and I mean really despise them. In season one, episode two, Tila Tequila revealed that she is bisexual and that lesbian women and heterosexual men will be competing against each other for her heart. The men reacted rowdy, they cheered and seemed to be excited to be surrounded by so many lesbian women. The women were appalled and felt betrayed. They did not want to look at, talk to, or be in the same room as the men. In fact, one of the contestants, Lala, despised men so much, that she decided to leave the show. This show plays on the misconception that lesbian women hate men. While it may be true that a lesbian can hate a man, it is probably for a legitimate reason. Hating men is not an aspect of being a lesbian, it is a personal decision.
Conclusion
                  According to Callis (2014), A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila was not well received by bisexual women surveyed. Participants in the study claimed that, “Tequila’s sexual antics served to give bisexuals a bad name” (Callis 2014). This show was plays off of sexual stereotypes. Aside from Tequila herself, no one on the production team was a part of the LGBTQ community, and as such, was not well received by members of that community. However, the show debuted at number one across all of cable in the network's target demographic of persons 18–34 years old. The first season’s finale had 6.2 million viewers, which at the time was MTV’s most watched series telecast (Nordyke 2017). The television show was clearly popular. While bisexual and lesbian women are featured like they have never been before, they are not accurately represented. This show was created in 2007, and I think it is a show that could possibly be remade today with a better production team, less stereotypes, and more representation.
 
References
Callis, A. (2017). Where Kinsey, Christ, and Tila Tequila Meet: Discourse and the Sexual (Non) Binary, 12(61)

NordykeAP, K. (2007, December 20). It's Tequila with a twist. Retrieved April 16, 2017, from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/tequila-a-twist-157504

Richter, N. (2011). Ambiguous bisexuality: The case of a shot at love with tila tequila. Journal of Bisexuality, 11(1), 121-141

Ross, K. (2014). The handbook of gender, sex, and media. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.
 

Next Essay

​Back to Table of Contents

Comment on this page