The television show that I will be analyzing is The L Word. It was a Showtime show that had a six-season run, and ended in the beginning of 2009. The L Word was not only the first television show specifically created to tell a story about a group of lesbians, but it was also the longest running Showtime show, as they typically only run for five seasons. The show is based in L.A., and it follows a group of friends that are all connected in different ways. The episode that is my focus is the two-part Pilot.
The L Word as a show greatly draws upon universalizing discourses, as does the Pilot episode. More apparent than any other example, is the fact that the show literally does “shatter the primary norm” by making the norm of the show lesbianism. (Transgeneration). Although the show is based in modern L.A. society, where the norm is not lesbianism, the characters that make up the show are almost all lesbians, making it a norm in the circle of friends that the show follows. The Pilot also shows universalizing discourses by “envisioning subjects on a continuum.” (Transgeneration). In this episode, one of the main characters Alice first explains that she is bi-sexual, and that she falls in love with the person, not their sex. Bi-sexualism is just one example of sexuality being a gray continuum instead of fixed. Another main character, Shane, helps show universalizing discourses as well, by drawing from connotative meanings. (Transgeneration). In this episode, Shane does not say that she is a lesbian, it is inferred by the way that she dresses, as well as the multiple women she is seen “mingling” with throughout the episode.
Even though The L Word, as a show, mainly uses universalizing discourses, this episode still draws upon minoritizing discourses in multiple ways. One example includes Tina and Bette’s discussion of an African American sperm donor. Bette and Tina are two main characters of the show that have been in a relationship together for about seven years when the show begins. As Bette is half African American, and Tina is White, there is not an issue of racism within their relationship by either party, but when Bette finds a donor who is black, Tina is taken aback by the request to carry a half White, half African American baby because it is not what she had initially expected. (Transgeneration). This not only shows that Tina expected the norm to be that she would carry a White child, instead of a more fluid child of mixed races, but it also shows Hall’s idea of implicit racism by Tina’s assumption because as Hall states, “by inferential racism I mean those apparently naturalized representations of events and situations relating to race,” which to Tina, it seemed “natural” for her to carry a White child even though she was not with a White partner. (Hall). Another example of minoritizing discourses in this episode, as well as throughout the show, is how “non-normative identities are relegated to the periphery,” and how “categories of exclusion are created.” (Transgeneration). Because the show is a show about lesbians, and it reverses societal norms, the “non-normative identities” are the people who are straight. These characters all are important and tied to the story in key ways, but they are not the shows main focus. Kit, Bette’s sister, is a key example of this. She is important throughout the show, but never as important in most storylines because she is straight. The characters that tend to be a part of the “categories of exclusion,” tend to be male. Tim is an example of this in the Pilot because his entire purpose is to represent that Jenny is “straight,” not to be his own character or to follow his own storyline until later on in the first season.
Overall, The L Word is a show full of universalizing discourses as well as minoritizing discourses, even though it is a look into a lifestyle that is not the norm. The Pilot exemplifies how the show is overall perfectly, and is an interesting episode to analyze as it does not follow all of the same themes as most mainstream shows.
Hall, Stuart. “The Whites of Their Eyes: Racist Ideologies and the Media.” In Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Text-Reader. Eds. Gail Dines and Jean M. Humez. Sage Publications. 2003. 89-93.
Brown, Adriane. Transgeneration. 2009.
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I understood what you were saying about the universalizing discourses surrounding the L word since lesbian characters are the central focus of the show. This allows for lesbian women to be depicted more accurately and this accurate representation frees them to the boxes their usually stuck in when being represented in other shows. Also, I agree with you that the presence of a bisexual character recognizes that sexuality is not an either/or dichotomy, but a continuum in which bisexuality is recognized as well.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I got a little confused with your explanation about the minoritizing discourses in the show. It seemed to me that the minoritizing discourse in terms of race would be present because the majority of the characters in the show are white. While it shatters the norm of heterosexuality, it seems to maintain the norm of white being the "normalized" racial category since other racial groups are rarely represented (until later). Also, I think, until much later it maintains the norms around gender/sex. The dichotomy of male and female, until they introduce a transmale character, is held up for quite a while. Even with Alice identifying as bisexual. Since her bisexuality means that she can be attracted to EITHER sex, this confirms the belief that there are only TWO sexes (which maintains the either/or minoritizing discourse).
One thing that I do have to disagree about with is that fact that you said in LA being gay is not the norm. Well I could be wrong in this assumption, but I think when most people think of California one thing that comes to mind first is their liberalism and the fact that there are A LOT of gay people there. So although I will agree with you that the show does show a lot of universalizing discourse examples this is one that I think is really more minoritizing in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteAlso the women who is bi explaining how she falls in love is a great example of universalizing discourse. I think is really show sexuality as a continuum which is something that many people have a hard time grasping.
I have never actually seen The L Word, and while I think that is positive that a show that feautures non-normative characters I see a few potential problems. First, the show silently cites the norm by establishing a group of women who deviate from it. The show does not simply include a few lesbian characters, it is a show about lesbianism. The emphasis placed on this deviation from the norm of heterosexuality can reinforce that norm. It would be better if the show did not place emphasis on the sexuality of people (homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual). Second, as someone commented above me, most of the characters are white which does not challenge any norm. This reitterates what we discussed in class about when a character is queer she is otherwise normative, rendering her a "non-threat". Third, the show debuted on HBO which is a cable network that is not available to everyone. The access to this series was limited to those who were wealthy enough to afford a deluxe cable package.
ReplyDeleteoh, it such a great romance series. i love it. i had watch The L word episodes online complete series. The main thing which i like to much in the l word show is that it depicts the life of lesbians as beautiful, sex-hungry, cheating women and with some relationships which seemed sincere, such like as between Alice and her soldier mate. i had watch season 6. Really I adore this show. it is ended series but i still like to watch it every Saturday with my girlfriend. She also love and like to enjoy all hot stuffs of Spicy gossips of The L word show with me.
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