The L Word
- Show runtime: 6 seasons, 2005-2009
- Shown on: Showtime
- Creators: Ilene Chaiken, Michele Abbott, Kathy Greenberg
- Queer characters: Bette Porter (Jennifer Beals), Tina Kennard (Laurel Holloman), Alice Pieszecki (Leisha Hailey), Jenny Schecter (Mia Kirshner), Dana Fairbanks (Erin Daniels), Jodi Lerner (Marlee Matlin, Shane McCutcheon (Katherine Moenning), Carmen de La Pica Morales (Sarah Shahi), Helena Peabody (Rachel Shelley), Max Sweeney (Daniela Sea)
- Sexualities: Creators Ilene Chaiken, Michele Abbott, and Kathy Greenberg are all lesbians. Cast members Leisha Hayley and Alexandra Hedison are lesbians and Laurel Holloman is bisexual. Mia Kirshner, Karina Lombard, Katherine Moenning, and Sarah Shahi have all been rumored to be gay or bi but have not officially stated their sexuality. Jennifer Beals, Erin Daniels, Rachel Shelley and Pam Grier are all straight.
- Show Description: (from IMDB) Follows the lives and loves of a small, close-knit group of lesbians living in Los Angeles as well as the friends and family members that either support them or loathe them.
- Queer Summary: Most of the characters are out from the beginning of the series. Bette is one of the main featured characters on the show, and shown as powerful, smart, and wealthy, but also is frequently shown as elitist and a serial cheater, and rarely faces consequences for her actions. Jenny is also shown as being narcissist and using other women for her entertainment, but also faced sexual assault and violence in her life. Shane also faced abuse, violence, and poverty, and has multiple relationship issues due largely to her struggles with her past. Alice is one the show's few openly bisexual and experimenting characters, but also shows great transphobia towards Max when he comes out as a trans man. Carmen is one of the show's two Latina characters, and is portrayed with both racial stereotypes and with "crazy femme" tropes. Later, Kit, one of the show's only black characters, is introduced with multiple career, family, and addiction issues, and her character is never thoroughly fleshed out. Max is originally portrayed as a lesbian, but becomes attracted to men during his transition, and later becomes pregnant. He is also shown being verbally abusive to his boyfriend, and the show offers no explanation of the difference between sexuality and gender when Max is introduced.
- Creator Comments: Creator Ilene Chaiken has said that she wants there to be more queer representation on TV, and also that The L Word had personal importance to her because it represented her own community. While she is glad that the show contributed to more queer representation, she is hesitant to label the exact impact the show had on representation. She is also hesitant to compare her show to others that feature queer rep, or to compare the representation of lesbians on TV to that of gay men. Greenberg and Abbott have also commented that before the show, they were frustrated about lesbians not being represented in mainstream entertainment, and based many of the characters on storylines on their own friends and experiences as lesbians.
- Analysis: The L Word was one of the first shows that featured lesbian women so prominently, and the main cast of characters were almost exclusively lesbians or bisexual women. However, many lesbians were upset with the representation on the show, since it mainly showed femme lesbians and nearly no butch women. Also, nearly all the characters on the show are known for being unlikable or spreading negative lesbian stereotypes. The show is also known for showcasing almost exclusively white women, and for oversimplifying trans issues later in the show.
This page has paths:
- Queer Content with Queer Creators Delaney P Murray