Girl-on-girl kisses on prime-time TV might be ratings stunts employed during sweeps season, but lesbian advocates in Chicago say they welcome the attention to issues of experimentation and shifting sexuality.
Exploring lesbianism and bisexuality is more accepted–and even seen as trendy–among younger people, said Aimee Pine, director of operations for gay rights group Equality Illinois. So why not embrace young characters such as Marissa on “The O.C.” starting an affair and sharing a kiss with another girl?
“They’re in high school,” Pine said. “Everybody experiments then. I still think it’s good it’s out there.”
Sexuality is complicated, and it’s good whenever television tackles that, said Jessica Halem, head of the Lesbian Community Cancer Project. Showing experimentation among female characters, lesbian relationships or even straight characters with deviant sexual preferences, such as “Desperate Housewives” Bree’s husband being into S&M, gives a fuller picture of the sexual lives of both gay and straight people.
“It starts to get at the reality of what’s going on out there,” Halem said. “It brings it out of the closet, out of the shadows.”
But the recent “Postcards with Buster” incident, in which PBS decided not to distribute a children’s show criticized for showing a real-life lesbian couple in Vermont, showed TV hasn’t come that far, Halem said. Television seems to be comfortable with lesbians only when they’re pretty and make-believe and not dealing with issues real lesbians face.
“If it’s glossy, OK. If it’s real, no,” Halem said.
One show that many lesbians say bridges those two worlds is the lesbian drama “The L Word,” which started its second season Sunday on Showtime. While the characters are all glamorous and beautiful (much like the four friends of “Sex and the City”), Halem and others say the drama takes on real topics important to lesbians–careers, relationships and breakups, raising families, coming out, discrimination, harassment, even transgender issues.
Michelle Baladad, a lesbian who lives with her longtime partner in Skokie, said “The L Word” episodes always spark discussions among her friends–gay, bisexual and straight–who gather at her home to watch every Sunday.
“It reflects a very sincere and emotional dimension that everyone, gay and straight, can relate to,” she said.
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kmasterson@tribune.com
