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The real L Word is "Lie"
There are a lot of reasons why Showtime's series "The L Word" is not a very realistic portrayal of the lives of gay women. For one thing, the entire cast is too conventionally attractive (the ratio of femme to butch is much too high), and for another, the characters in the show have WAY more sex than any lesbian I have EVER known.
But the most glaring example of "unreality" is the fact that the character who is supposed to be the hot new up-and-coming hairstylist in LA looks like her own cut was the result of being run over by a lawnmower. Either that or she was the victim of a three-year-old playing with blunt-edged scissors while she slept off a hang-over. Seriously, this woman's haircut is AWFUL...it's all I can think about whenever she's on the screen...and yet we're supposed to believe that celebrities are lining up to have her do their hair. NOT!
Then again, perhaps the hidiously-coiffed hairdresser is intentionally far-fetched so as to distract viewers from the fact that the entire cast is too conventionally beautiful and the characters have WAY more sex than any lesbian they know in real life. Which in my case, is working.
One of my favorite quotes from a lesbian friend:
Someone made a joke
about her supposedly superhyperactive sex life. "Heterosexual couples only
have sex because the guy initiates. We don't have no guy here."
I couldn't agree with your post more. While I do enjoy watching the L Word,
I can see how it can be dangerous to young lesbians, or those with low
self-esteem. They're watching the show thinking, "How come I don't get laid
that often, with that much passion? What's wrong with me?"
I happen to think Shane looks hot, and if you'd ever spent any time in L.A.
or at a high fashion show, you'd know that her hairstyles aren't unusual.
They can even be rather tame at times. As for the amount of sex... why do
you think we all admire Shane? She's getting more than any woman I've ever
known or know of
I feel the similarly of Queer as Folk. I wish I could find a show like it
where the producers of a gay-audience-targeting shows doesn't give into the
same stereotypes that the mainstream shows' producers do like "Most Gay men
have a very loose definition of monogamy, and the rest have none" or
"...Most gays have unprotected sex, often with strangers!". And also as
you posted, the cast is unrealistically hot... I guess that's Hollywood
though.
all you people are wack! i am a 23 year old femme lesbian, and i get plenty
of action..... infact i probably have more sex then MOST of the characters
on the L word..... no lesbian bed death in my relationship..... and i
dont think its bad for young lesbians to see that on tv..... thats
how it should be.... its you all who dont have sex on a regular basis
that have to fix your issue!! and so what if they are attractive? i
wouldnt watch if they were ugly! and good looking lesbian groups do
exist.... they are just a minority, that`s what makes them special.
i think it's ridiculous for people to complain about the L Word not being a
legitimate depiction of the lives of gay women. it's a television show.
it's FICTIONAL. its primary purpose is to entertain, NOT to inform.
honestly, what person with half a brain regards a showtime series as a
legitimate source for information? would you cite The Tudors in an essay
about henry viii? do you think the drug dealing industry is like a day in
the life of nancy botwin? probably not -- HOPEFULLY not. we watch these
shows because they're sexy, funny, dramatic, etc. if you're foolish enough
to elevate them to the status of "reality" (and a lot of "reality tv shows"
really stretch what might rightfully be referred to as "reality") or
documentary then you deserve to be misled.
Wow! First of all, I'm shocked (and simultaneously delighted) that a
tongue-in-cheek post I wrote OVER FOUR YEARS AGO is still capable of
generating comments. Secondly, I LOVED the show and was bummed when the
series ended.
In China, they say that "a frog only knows its own pond". This means that
we believe our reality is everyone elses reality. To the OP, in your pond,
there might be lots of butches but in my pond, all my lesbian friends are
feminine, pretty, intelligent and have great careers. The L Word is a very
accurate representation of wealthy, glam lesbians in L.A. You would be
surprised at how many feminine lesbians there are if you knew they were
gay. Butches are easy to spot, they are very visible but it's not because
you are loud and visible that you are the majority. More and more lesbians
are feminine and live quiet lives with their equally feminine partners.
They have better things to do with their lives than sit at a bar, drink
beer and play pool. I would even say that most women-loving-women are NOT
butch. Butches are just the loudest. I'm happy Illene is showing the world
that we're not all fat, masculine, ugly trailor trash dykes.