Is the L Word for You?

Showtime has garnered some well-deserved press recently with the ratings and critical success of shows like Weeds and Huff. Both shows are quirky, well acted, and have complex characters that still maintain a semblance of accessibility. Not that the aforementioned qualities make up a list of the necessary characteristics for a successful hour-long (roughly) television show, but they appear to be overall positive qualities. Showtime's other borderline successful hour-long series, The L Word, is a different story. The L Word distinguishes itself as something different from the start; it focuses on the lives of a specific group of people. Now, when I say specific, I mean specifically specific. Let me explain...

Most television series nowadays mix and match characters: the wild partier, the responsible clean freak, the nerd, the professional and the basket case are some examples. The L Word centers its world on the lives of lesbian women. Not just lesbian women, but Los Angeles, West Hollywood lesbians. Further, these West Hollywood lesbians are of the upper crust; they wear designer clothes, lots of dresses, jewelry and make-up. They also have money, seemingly endless amounts. I don't deny there are lesbians of this specific type in existence, in fact I know a handful, but from this humble writer's perspective, this doesn't represent the lifestyle of the lesbian majority. Perhaps it is due to this writer's locale, the San Francisco Bay Area. Maybe the hippy vibe keeps most everyone in beanies, cut-off jeans and hiking boots. However, in interviewing my hiking boot-sporting lesbian friends for this article, they certainly back-up my earlier point: The L Word is highly unrepresentative of the real lesbian world.

At this point The L Word hasn't garnered much critical praise. Many cite the lack of meaningful character development, less than stellar acting performances and, more often than not, lackluster writing. Perhaps, because of the series was already pigeonholed as a lesbian show, critics just aren't giving it a fair shake. But - now this might incite some angry mail but stick with me here - when someone wants to watch lesbians on television, they really only have one choice. And if that one choice is less than stellar, tough, it's all you've got. Introduce more competition into a marketplace and a product's value goes down while selection and product quality go up: bad for the seller but good for the buyer. Add another lesbian-oriented drama on television and watch the quality of The L Word blossom. Whether that means better actors, better writing or better directing (or a combo of all three) is up for argument. (I'll throw my hat in the ring and say the writing is the worst of the three.)

With that said, who is The L Word for, if not the many lesbians searching for images of themselves on television? I've heard from television critics and television aficionados that The L Word is for straight men. The abundance of lesbian sex scenes, kissing scenes and hugging scenes, the almost absolute absence of men (nude or otherwise) might lend to this argument. However, men do not typically stay tuned for an hour-long drama about women when roughly eighty percent of the time is allotted to dialogue and, you guessed it, lady drama.

So, is The L Word for straight women? I'm a straight woman and I watch The L Word. Point proven; article over. But if only it were that simple. Straight women like drama and they like seeing stylish, funny women on television. But do straight women like watching two women getting intimate in the bathroom? Do they enjoy watching Cybill Sheppard go down on Leisha Hayley? My guess is not particularly, but your guess is as good as mine.

Now, there is one group left that I have yet to ponder: the curious. This group includes straight men, gay men, straight women, gay women, bi-men, bi-women... you get it, basically the kitchen sink. Maybe people who don't know about the lesbian lifestyle tune in to get familiar, ease their curiosity or, as I was informed by my hiking boot lesbian friends, perhaps straight women who aren't so straight watch it out of a yearning to free a hidden part of themselves they are afraid to expose. This last explanation is an article, nay a book of its own, but it is worth pontificating...

Perhaps straight women enjoy The L Word despite the sex scenes and perhaps straight men like it despite the drama. Maybe lesbians like it despite it being far from representative of their lifestyle. Whatever the case, the crossover effect of the show is undeniable. Whether this was the intention or not, it bodes well for the success of the show and, hopefully, a breakout star or two (Leisha Hayley anyone?).