The storylines have also moved up a notch. There is a woman (Tasha)—who served in Iraq, who is haunted by flashbacks, and who happens to be black—dating a pretty silly white girl. A fan favorite, Shane, has always been a player with no heart, but she is touched by the arrival of her little brother, and moved to be responsible and to show her feelings for the first time on the show. There is a straight couple who is dealing with infidelity, and a former girlfriend who left her partner for a man. There is the transsexual character (Max), who is “coming out” at his job. There is a real “playa” type (Papi) who is falling for a straight woman who is inspiring her to change her ways. The show is not just about lesbians, it is about how our lives connect with and are affected by our relationships with everyone in our worlds.
I used to think of The L Word as a “gay” show, and I would watch it for the same reason I would watch Queer as Folk or Will and Grace—to see some gay people, hear some gay jokes, and to see some of my reality on TV. In the past, The L Word was a gay show that happened to be about women. But now, with all of the cast additions and deep, provocative storylines, I think that The L Word has matured into a show about women, most of whom just happen to be gay.
And that’s a big difference. When Ellen goes from “lesbian comedian” to comedian, Brokeback Mountain goes from a “gay movie” to a moving love story, and Melissa Etheridge goes from “lesbian singer” to Academy Award winning songwriter, it shows that society is focusing more on talent than on sexual orientation, which is the way it should be. The L Word is a really good show that just happens to be about lesbians. Give it a whirl—I bet that you’ll like it.
