Lesbians on TV

I hope I’m not going to bore you here, but I want to talk about lesbians on television, again! You may remember that the last issue of Velvet featured an article on Stonewall’s research that showed a conspicuous lack of lesbians on TV. Their investigation showed that lesbian and gay people are only realistically and positively represented on the BBC for 0.06% of evening viewing.

Since then I have read various articles on ‘lesbians on TV’. I’m glad that the media is finally showing a bit of interest! Interestingly, in contrast to Stonewall, and our own view that the portrayal of lesbians on TV is pitiful, DIVA, the leading national lesbian magazine raved about the number of lesbians now on our screens and how much better things are. It is true; things are much better than the angst-ridden misery of The Killing of Sister George and Prisoner Cell Block H. But let’s take a slightly closer look at some recent lesbian programming:

Tipping The Velvet & Fingersmith: Both well done, in my opinion, quite true to the books, and quite a lot of girl on girl action, as they say. BUT… they are period dramas – does this represent your life as a 30+ (apologies to any younger readers!) lesbian, living an ordinary life, quite possibly in the country, and maybe with some children? No.

Sugar Rush: I confess I watch it, I enjoy it, and I’m very glad it’s there. It is great for the youngsters, but again it does not reflect my life, and I’m not convinced it reflects the average life of a lesbian teenager even in Brighton. The characters are far too pretty, and having far too much adventurous sex. Then again, maybe I’m being an old prude (or I’m jealous!)

Emmerdale: As mentioned before in Velvet lovable lesbian Zoe Tate soon became a mad bad lesbian stereotype. There was a lesbian wedding, but recently a lesbian couple split up after one of them began an affair with her girlfriend’s father!

Eastenders: Naomi and Sonia – didn’t last long, did it?

Of course the trouble with soaps is that they are often about people hooking up and splitting up. So when lesbians split up they either have to leave the area, go off with a man, or meet another sticky ending. Otherwise soon all the women in the show would have to be converted, or at least dabble on our side!

And then there’s Dynasty for Lesbians: The L Word. Although some of us who are poor and/or technically challenged haven’t yet seen it except one episode on video at a friend’s house, we don’t seem to be able to stop talking about it. Views range from ‘it’s great that it exists, and it wouldn’t be on TV at all if it didn’t pander in some way to Hollywood fantasies and stereotypes’; to ‘it is SO unrealistic, how can anyone watch it?’ with various opinions in between. What I’ve seen of it is entertaining, and I think portrays more realistic lesbian relationships than a lot of programmes and films, but only one character looks even vaguely lesbian, and I think all but the most blind among us would agree it’s not a realistic representation of your average lesbian’s life!

In a recent article for The Guardian, Julie Bindel wonders if we haven’t exchanged one stereotype for another – angst-ridden miseries/butches for hyper-femme, sexy and having lots of sex. She says that it is “this overt sexualisation that is the most striking aspect of recent portrayals of lesbians on television.” (The Guardian 12.06.06) Just look at all the dildos and vibrators on show in Sugar Rush, and what was the most memorable part of Tipping The Velvet?

Bindel spoke to Finn Mackay a lesbian feminist in her 20s who is not enamoured of ‘designer lesbians.’ Even though she is closer in age to the characters in Sugar Rush, she says, “they don’t represent me, because they are never political and look straight. They never look like any lesbians I know.” Similarly, Bindel herself says, “at 44, I have never seen my lesbian ‘type’ characterised on TV, and probably never will. Middle-aged, political and in a long-term relationship, I never go to gay clubs and I am not glamorous.” I think that probably describes a majority of Velvet readers too, so when are we going to see our lesbian ‘type’ portrayed on TV?

Naomi Young (From Velvet issue 9)