"Lesbians Gone Wild." This title is no accident.

The much anticipated wrestling match.

Okay, so it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. That is, only a few of the characters were scantily clad, while the rest of the "wrestlers" managed to keep most of their clothing on. This shifted my thoughts around the lesbian as sex object for men. Although all the women were of your standard L Word fare (thin, femme, etc), there is of course the possibility of this scene casting the women as sex object for the onlooking lesbians and other women as well (Molly is straight, but still thrilled and somehow turned on, at least emotionally, by the spectacle). The eroticization really seems to occur during the wrestling match between Jenny and Niki where there isfighting mixed with kissing and groping. There is also a sense of fun and play even amongst the onlookers and their catcalls. Additionally, there was definitely some "real" fighting going on when Shane felt compelled to jump into the ring and help out Phyllis' daughter, Molly, and also to take it up once and for all with that Dawn Denbo and her "lover" Cindy. Shane even ended up with a fistful of Dawn's hair, but even amongst this violent fighting, there were smiles that lent to the semblance of play. So what does this scene accomplish? I'm not sure. Let me know what you think . . . take the poll or comment!

Out Loud and Proud

Alice is getting herself into some pretty hot water with her friends, but her behavior and the behavior she encounters from both Tasha and Tina regarding how "out" she can be raises some interesting issues. Is there a clear line that Alice is breaching when she outs celebrities in her own self-interest? Well, it could be argued that her outing of that basketball player was more of a political move and less out of self interest, but outing Niki just to secure a spot on a talk show where they want her to play to a fabricated image of a "happy gay" talk show host? Clearly this points to the manipulation of gay representation on television, especially on prime time family TV, some idea that there is a certain kind of gay that society wants to see. Why didn't Alice retaliate against the "happy gay" instead of playing into the role? Why does such a vocal and assertive character suddenly crack under pressure of a strategic career move? Why does Alice sell out? Follow this immediately with Tina's protection of Niki's sexuality, the banning of Alice from the set of Lez Girls because she crossed the line. Tina is quick to note the politics of Hollywood: "We want this movie (Lez Girls) to reach a large mainstream audience, alright? And if everyone thinks the lead of our movie is gay, then that makes it a small little niche film." I wonder if this doesn't parallel the L Word itself and the variety of openness the various actors have regarding their own sexuality. The important point to take away: strategic expressions of sexuality, our outness, still dominate our everyday lives, and move in relation to others' perceptions, reactions, and how we want to be perceived or treated. Alice is operating in a utopian future of open sexual expression with no repercussions or consequences; she's far too ahead of her times and leaves everyone else (even some fans!) disgruntled.

What's with Bette and Violent Sex?

So way back during the finale of Season 1, I was troubled by the final sex scene between Bette and Tina. Question of rape circulated, and even though Tina became complicit in the act at some point, I worried about the lack of follow-up confrontation with the incident, as in Tina's upset emotional state and no communication around that interaction.

Now, I do not know what to make of that fucked up sex scene with Bette and Jodi. It was so laced with violence. The force with which Bette removed Jodi's pants, the shoving away of Jodi's hands, the reluctance to return Jodi's kisses, the forceful movement of Bette's own hand down her own pants, and the uncertainty of the placement of Jodi's hands, and the look, oh, the look on Jodi's face as she lay beneath Bette. Disturbing, yes, indeed. Of course there is a slew of pop-psych analysis on the webboards regarding this scene, but my concern is not so much to make sense of it, but for follow-up. Where was Jodi at with this; confusion, was it violent for her? And Bette, near tears . . . communication is so so necessary.

A Final Reiteration
The characters are constantly thrust into these disturbing circumstances with no resolution, my constant gripe regarding the quality of writing. But also, to return to this compulsory monogamy that only breeds drama on the show: are we doomed to think that every relationship is doomed to failure? Doomed doomed doomed . . . and LLLOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVVE!