Love It, Hate It, Love to Hate It, Hate to Love It!

So I spent the past four seasons of The L Word ranting about everything I hate (and love) about the show to anyone who would listen, and lately, I've been reading the essays in Reading the L Word: Outing Contemporary Television (ed. Kim Akass and Janet McCabe). Check it out on Google books: Reading the L Word. Needless to say, I could probably be more productive with my thoughts on the show instead of unleashing on innocent bystanders. Not to mention, the book is actually pretty inspiring for an aspiring academic like me. Hence, the creation of this blog. Now, I know, there are a gazillion other L Word blogs out there in addition to AfterEllen.com, where the writers do a pretty decent job of recapping and reviewing the show, so what makes my blog so special? Well, here are some goals/descriptors for my blog, which I think make it unique: This is not a gushy fan blog. I will not emote over how attractive the characters are (no, I won't, no matter how hott Shane is, no!) I will not post spoilers and I do not read them! This will not simply be a dramatic recap of the dramatic events occurring around the dramatic characters of the lesbian television drama. I'll offer a little summary and recap here and there to make my point, but my main focus will be on thinking critically about the L Word. This means thinking about representation and social responsibility. I don't want to enter the tired debate of whether or not the show accurately represents the lesbian community and lifestyle; rather, I would like to think about the possible social effects that arise from presentation and representation on the show as it is.

That said, here are some gripes I've carried from season to season, and/or my hopes for the new season:

1. Safer Sex! The show is chock full of sex, but not once (correct me if I'm wrong) did I see any mode of safer sex being utilized or even talked about. No dental dams, no finger condoms, no saran wrap, and not even a condom in het. sex scenes. Not once! Why is this a concern? Well, let me get personal for a moment. I was a hotline volunteer at an urban rape crisis center, and as part of my training I had to take a workshop on gay and lesbian sexuality and rape. The presenters were a gay man who works for the local LGBT center and a lesbian woman, who is a sex educator. At some point in the workshop, we got into STIs, and when HPV came up, the lesbian sex educator said, "I'm sorry, what is HPV? I've never heard of it." At this point, I fell out of my chair. As I was scrambling back into my seat, trying not to hyperventilate from the shock, she continued on, "Well, I guess I just don't have to worry about it as a lesbian. STIs really aren't an issue in the lesbian community." At this point I passed out; I'd heard enough. The problem is that this seems to be a perpetual myth in the lesbian community, and it's the most horrendously false, inane thing I've ever heard! I hold the belief that as the show about lesbians, The L Word has some sort of responsibility to dispel that myth. It would be as simple as having one character mention a dental dam, even if to joke. Or, have Shane go get tested; God knows she probably needs to be checked with the amount of unprotected sex she has! I know also that there are many lesbians, mostly young lesbians, who really try to emulate the characters on the show. C'mon, you've seen the Shane look-a-likes out there, you know it. Anyway, some presence of safer sex practice would really help our young L Word wannabes out there be safer in their sex lives.
2. Give me some resolution! In the writing, that is. The show is fairly well written: well-developed loveable and hateable characters who encounter pretty realistic issues. However, I would like to see those enounters really be dealt with. Provide some resolution. This is sort of abstract, but I'll give one quick example: Bette and Tina's violent love scene in the Season 1 finale. This raises the issue of violence and sexual violence in lesbian relationships, but Tina gave in to Bette's force, turned the tables and pulled Bette's hand to her crotch with no later repercussions or thought about what had occurred between them. The resolution could have easily come when Tina went over to Alice's house, crying and asking to stay with her for a while. Tell Alice what happened, even if it doesn't make sense yet, but voice it! That's just one example of the many abounding issues that surface and fade away without proper acknowledgment. I'll be watching for an improvement in this writing trend in Season 5.
3. Trans issues. I'm curious to see where the trans stuff goes with Max. The sneak peak of Episode 1 suggests that Max decides not to go through with top surgery. There is a little conflation of "sex" and "gender" in his little speech about why he chose not to get the surgery, but I'll get into a more nuanced critique of that after the first episode actually airs. I have to add that I was disappointed with the treatment of Ivan's character in Season 1, especially in that dialogue between Kit and Bette in the season finale, when Kit kept referring to Ivan as "he," and Bette returned with an emphatic "she." Bette's insensitivity to the gender pronoun for Ivan was never addressed, and Kit had the perfect opportunity to stand up to her sister about it.
   
4. Diversity. The creators/writers have responded well to the criticism about diversity on the show by adding characters of more racial and ethnic backgrounds, and they even introduced a character with a "disability" in Marlee Matlin's character, Jodi. I still want to see a short-hair butch bull dyke as a main character. You catch a glimpse of them every now and then in the background at a party at The Planet, but at least give one a couple speaking lines! Oh, I'd also like to see a woman with muscles as solid as mine!
5. New theme song! Please, oh God, please ditch that tired annoying old theme song, and give us some snazzier, hipper opening credits while you're at it!

All in all, I would like to see The L Word step it up and really subvert the heteronormative matrix. Don't worry, this blog will not be entirely negative. I intend to highlight the positive contributions of the show as well. So, alongside the criticism, I would like to mention that I am a huge fan of the show. I love it, hate it, love to hate it, and hate to love it! I'm not sure yet where I'll be watching the season premiere. Most likely, I'll be at the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco, kicking back a few, getting down with some hotties (okay, with my hottie...damn, I miss being a player!), and watching our favorite group of lesbians at the beginning of their 5th year of drama!