LesBian visibility on television - What message is it sending?

great article faith :)

Even if the reasoning might sound far fetched for some people (though hopefully not to our faithful readers) and completely agree, cos I remember the times before. Times before we had regular lesbian characters on tv.

Most of the shows or movies ended with at least one of the lesbian characters committing suicide or going to prison for trying to murder the male partner of her female love interest. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Although I enjoy a good lesBian story line as much as the next lesBian I think we have to use the real life, open lesBians as our role models.

I think the typical dead, psycho, sperm-stealing and/or pregnant story line on TV is the reason why real life women like Gro and Katja, Rachel Maddow and many many more are so popluar among lesBians all over the world.

If you read an interview with these celebrities they always say that they hope to help somebody else by being open about their sexuality.

So what am I trying to say: if you want to choose a role model, choose a live one, not a character in a movie or a tv-show. Most likely you'll be disappointed. (Not that a live one will never let you down... you know what I mean)

First of all, I am trying to be fair with Los Hombres. If I recall right, Marián Aguilera wanted to leave the show, so creaters had to face the issue how to get rid of her character, Silvia. Obviously they want to keep other character, Pepa, thus there aren't many options.

They could send Silvia somewhere else but I doubt Pepa is the type who would just sit in San Antonio and playing longdistance relationship instead of moving with her. Well then, we are facing a breakup ending or a killing ending. And I have feeling creators wanted to keep their love "everlasting" (lol, sounds pretty morbir now when I am writting it). In the telenovels' sense, Pepa were the one Silvia was waiting if you consider her tendency to be with her no matter what which wasn't exactly the case of guys she was dating before. Even though, Pepa does almost every stereotypic lesbian's step she could, lol. By the way, I never really get why it was Pepa who seeks sexual favors of guys.

Yes, in the ideal series world, they'd give the character Silvia a better job offer in an another close police station/science institute/whatever and let her have a relationship with Pepa offscreen. But a TV sees this as "a bricked-up character". Seriously, how many characters - and I mean any gender - have you seen in TV like this? The problem is that media are unable to create (or just don't want to) stories which are about steady pairs in general. And even bigger problem to build characters having some private life which isn't a backbone of their stories AND having a solid non-love-making story. You are this or this, nothing between. Even detective series which are nowadays so not about main characters' private life, tend to feature a loner type of detective who maybe occasionally sleeps/has (another) relationship with someone for an unspecific time interval.

And at last, Los Hombres de Paco has:

1. killed almost every character who has left the screen;

2. used every possible TV cliché in the case of every pairs.

I don't say I like stereotypes but I think I should judge it in a wider reprospection. Actually, I am dealing with kinda media's burnout syndrom. It's like watching/reading almost always about same character, same storylines, same twists, same everything and not only about queer characters. Although, I don't deny we have serious problem with lesBian twisted/interestingly normal characters/relationships ratio.

The day, when I can say lesBians are treated same way as other portrayals in media, will be the day when their love partners will be known and their sexuality won't be any issue in discussion and a rational number of them just break up and keep on walking. I am fine with the second condition because I *know* media won't get over "dynamic" volatile relationships. That's sad since it's like saying that our lifes are boring or can't offer more unless we - as people - are promiscuous, experience nasty breakups, hurt others, etc. And because I do believe a steady partner life of character is sort of like stating that thematic background of series is sci-fi - something which has possible, interesting story (non-breakup-cheating-jealousy-like) sideways based or not on the fact it's what it is.

Duh. I'm sorry for my probably odd, imperfect English using repeatedly same words, I hope eyes of those who will read it won't hurt  :).

Sorry I thought this was about lesbian visibility on television and then I saw Go fish. I know, go fish was great in that it was an early foray into lesbian themed movies but with recent movies like the world unseen and Loving annabelle, the standard has gone up a notch or two

You are lucky you live in the netherlands where there was lesbian representation on TV. Until recently with guiding light [Olivia and Natalia], the L word, Bad girls, we really did not have much

Because of youtube and lesbians willing to create English subtitles, I have been able to see a lot of European, American, Australian, Japanese and Israeli tv with lesbian characters. There is a lot out there and a lot is good. Verbotene Liebe has run for many years with a lesbian being the most positive character on the show. Los Hombres gave us in Pepa a wonderful free character who had no hangups about her sexuality and showed us how living out and proud creates respect among colleagues and family. The storyline in Skins last year was an extremely sensitive and I think accurate portrayal of teen angst and problems with coming out.

Add to the mix, all the net series (and internet productions is where marginalized niche groups can have their entertainment untainted by heterosexual male studio heads) I would say we are doing very well. Chica Busca Chica and Plan V are my favourites.

I think the inclusion of characters that just happen to be lesbian such as in Stargate Universe, Fast Forward and Grey's Anatomy are wonderful too. Cable tv because it is by subscription has been less susceptible to censorship. And when they did well economically with programming that was concerned with and positive about lesbians, networks joined in. And when American networks started featuring gays in a positive way (perhaps influenced by a more liberal European view too) we have a snowball effect.

I really feel things are developing quite nicely and even feel that we will soon be getting past the getting married and  having a baby as the stereotypical plotlines lesbians participate in. In fact I don't think I have seen a predatory lesbian in any recent series.

I guess the way we view lesbians in tv is a glass half full or half empty thing. I think we are doing well.

thanks for the analysis, faith!

in regards to LHDP, I'D say that there a two debates, one regarding the diegetic horizon (Aguilera wanted out, all leaving characters were killed, so what, it's just fiction) and the much bigger debate on cultural representation and perception where "it's just fiction" doesn't cut it when it comes to representation of a legally still discriminated minority.

Other than that, I see progress in international and online networks and accessibilitiy, in the whole move to the web and a "let's do it ourselves" attitude that also includes "Reality" TV and the public personae of real people (Maddow etc. have been mentioned above).

Of course there have been many shows ending and many characters written off in 2009. That affects leabian visibility negatively, although I'd argue that there is a vast difference in how each storyline ended - LHDP ended gory horror bad, but e.g. Forbidden Love ended with the couple riding off into the sunset, as did Otalia. There's been some good and some bad, but the real win may be the gain of a more differentiated field of lesbian portrayals, until someday, in a distant future, we'll have characters like a repressed housewife who simply happens to be a lesbian, or a straightforward cop who happens to have a girlfriend, but the shows will be about full characters, and not just about one aspect (the gay one) of those characters.

The TV landscape may be empty just now, and some holes have been torn into fabric in a manner with bad cultural repercussions, but some have gone gently, and leaving positive images behind. Let's hope that 2010 gives us more of the latter (and also some characters who simply STAY - and don't get pregnant!) 

---- I just want to make you aware of possible SPOILER about Buffy's storyline ---

Hi,

Before anything else, I'm sorry for the late response. Yes, I don't have any good excuse :).

Thank you for your compliment, I am pleased with your articles too :).  Your last reply made me seriously think more about a points of view like yours. 

My opinion of LHDP, which could be called less harsh, is mostly based on the fact that I don't perceive the end in the way you do, faith. What I see are long and at some moments extreme scenes written by creators who wanted try something more dramatic for 100th episode. I don't see dying a lesbian but a LHDP character.

The cause probably is that if you compare it with other shows, in these lesbians were usually only ones who have to die. Now I can think only about ER, many anime/manga series (usually in the "Let's sacrifice only myself for sake of humanity" fashion), some books with more than less minor gay characters (right now Wiedzmin comes to my mind).

Maybe I have just watched/read too many specific materials where a death of lesbian - usually being in a relationship of lesbian nature before - is "an exclusive death", I tend to view Silvia's ending differently.

Sorry for not refering larger amount of particular titles, I am going to jog my memory and bring them up in a possible further discussion.

And I don't think it's fair to compare LHPD with Buffyverse. I quite like Josh Whedon's treating an issue of quick death but if we compare deaths in storylines, we would have to say Tara was treated differently too. Unlike others (Angel, sort of Spike, some particular bad ones, Anya, Buffy, ...)  she dies quickly. In the comparison with LHPD we could say she ends in similar circumstances. Tara was only one dying fast way. In other cases their last steps were longer or we sort of know it was coming thus audience was a victim of creator's emotional wringing. Silvia's last appearance was an exact opposite but it was special like Tara's. So if we judge LHPD for unusual handling of character, we should consider criticize Whedon too.

We can object Silvia has been shooed away in a gory matter when other characters haven't been but why are we okay with reverse situation? In my eyes, creators' meaning of extra-dramatic situation is just switched. 

Like I said before, I am not satisfied with current state of entertainment but I like to judge things equally.