As the number of lesbian characters increases on TV, it would seem a healthy development that the portrayals include lesbians who explore their sexuality in different ways. When Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended, for instance, it marked the end of one of most refreshing lesbian characters in network television history. The teen lesbian witch Willow (Alyson Hannigan) had a long-term girlfriend; she also enjoyed some single sexual adventures. This week, the controversial BBC lesbian mini-series Tipping the Velvet arrives from the U.K., offering an even more diverse mix of lesbian romance and sex.
However, like the many gay people who object to Queer As Folk for its portrayal of the promiscuous sex lives of its gay male characters, it now seems that there is a new crop of nay-sayers who don't like the presentation of lesbians with lively sex lives.
In a May 18 letter to The Los Angeles Times, viewer Sonia Collazzo wrote:
'The problem I see with lesbian portrayals on TV, especially this season, (is that) it has all been about two women having sex without any sort of relationship or love expressed. For example, in last season's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the Tara and Willow relationship was loving and committed. It was never played up for sweeps ratings and had many scenes of the two women talking and acting like any other couple. However, it ended in the lesbian cliché of one dead lesbian after sex (Tara) and one evil lesbian (Willow tortured a man to death).'
'This season, Willow and Tara were replaced by a relationship more in tune with straight male fantasies: two women just having sex. Willow and the new girlfriend have expressed no love or affection. They just have sex for the camera, most literally in an episode where they are videotaped by a gay male character, played for laughs in yet another ugly stereotype. The episodes with their first kiss and sex scenes were done during February and May sweeps ... .
'Part of the reason portrayals have devolved this season is that gay organizations are ready to praise any lesbian portrayal on TV without much reservation. They should adopt the NAACP's more critical stance on portrayals or we will never move beyond the stereotype of two women just having sex to a portrayal of a loving relationship that does not end in tragedy.
'Many states are trying to pass laws to outlaw gay marriage. More images of committed gay couples with real relationships on TV would go a long way to generate 'the acceptance of women who challenge gender stereotypes in the real world' as AfterEllen.com's Sarah Warn says, than a hundred scenes of two women having sex on camera for sweeps ratings.'
Collazzo's letter was in response to an article about the Bianca/Lena kiss on All My Children, in which the author observed, 'For some, sex is fine, but love is controversial.'
While it is true that portrayals of loving relationships may increase the understanding and open-mindedness of some straights, it would be a dis-service to gay viewers to whitewash the reality of many gay and lesbian lives. Like many straight people, gay men and lesbians have extended periods of their lives when they are not in a committed relationship, and there's nothing wrong with that. Many gay men and lesbians also have periods of their lives in which they engage in casual sex. To suggest that TV portrayals should shy away from these truths is to promote continuing shame and invisibility, all on the flimsy hope that a falsely 'only wholesome' presentation will win over some straights.
Randy Barbato of World of Wonder Productions (Party Monster) put it best. Talking to The New York Times in April about the MTV documentary School's Out: The Life of a Gay High School in Texas, Barbato said: 'The new post-Will & Grace gay man is just like the guy next door. But it's a myth. Gay people are not like straight people. I mean, we are like straight people, but we're not like the straight people that straight people like to pretend they are.'
WEDNESDAY, MAY 21
ALL MY CHILDREN (ABC, daily at noon) Like mother, like lesbian daughter ... Now that Bianca knows that Lena was a spy for Michael Cambius's rival perfume company, she feels betrayed by Lena's professions of love—and has told her mother Erica (Susan Lucci) that she only wants revenge.
PRIMETIME GLICK (COM, 9:30 p.m.) Jimmy Kimmel and Sharon Stone
THURSDAY, MAY 22
ANY DAY NOW (LIFETIME, 12:30 a.m.) Repeat: A case involving a lesbian couple entangles Rene with a representative of a group called the Alabama Values Committee.
RICKY MARTIN ON REGIS AND KELLY (WGN, 11 a.m.)
FRIDAY, MAY 23
TIPPING THE VELVET (BBC America, 9 p.m.) Part One: The controversial British mini-series based on Sarah Waters's popular lesbian novel set in Victorian England. Repeats at midnight.
SATURDAY, MAY 24
TIPPING THE VELVET (BBC America, 9 p.m.) Part Two. Repeats at midnight.
SUNDAY, MAY 25
QUEER AS FOLK (SHO, 9 p.m.) Brian is fired when he's caught undermining Stockwell's campaign. Melanie and Lindsay entrust Ted with managing Gus's college fund—but Ted uses the money to go to The White Party.
TIPPING THE VELVET (BBC America, 9 p.m.) Part Three. Repeats at midnight.
MONDAY, MAY 26
THE MATTHEW SHEPARD STORY (Bravo, 8 p.m.) As Matthew Shepard's parents (Sam Waterston and Stockard Channing) deliberate whether to recommend the death penalty for their son's killer, flashbacks recall Matthew's life and tragic. Originally an NBC TV Movie.
ROSIE ON JAY LENO (NBC, 10:35 p.m.)
Gay Boy Ric is a comedian and pop singer based in L.A. To receive free GTV E-Mail Alerts: gayboyric@yahoo.com
Chamberlain's Secrets
Border's Books on Michigan Avenue welcomes actor Richard Chamberlain Thursday, June 12, 7 p.m., discussing Shattered Love: A Memoir. The star of stage (My Fair Lady, Sound of Music) and screen (Dr. Kildare, Centennial, Showgun, and The Thornbirds) writes about his childhood with an emotionally abusive, alcoholic father, to his development and growing awareness of his homosexuality.
