The L Word: Sex and the City, but for lesbians
The L Word follows the lives and relationships of lesbian and bisexual women in Los Angeles and was essentially the first show of its kind.
Queer representation has always been a finicky thing in television, even more so when it comes to queer women. HeartBeat, the first show to regularly include a lesbian character, aired in 1988, and the first sapphic kiss on television took place in 1991. As the years went on, queer characters began to trickle into famous sitcoms but they were usually side characters: a plot device to hurry along the leading couple’s relationship development.
That is, until 2004, when The L Word first aired on Showtime. Boasting a run of six seasons, this iconic show built the foundation for the representation of queer women in television today. The show followed the lives and relationships of lesbian and bisexual women in Los Angeles. This was groundbreaking because, in the early 2000s, a show where all the female characters were queer and this was the norm was almost unheard of. Queer women all around the globe could resonate with this show because, for the first time, they felt seen. Viewers saw these women explore new relationships, both platonic and romantic, as well as newer characters who were dealing with their newfound attraction to women and coming out.
Another annoying aspect of the representation of queer women before The L Word was that they were usually butch lesbians or women who were made to look like they had no sex appeal. The L Word counters that by featuring some very feminine and conventionally attractive women, such as Jennifer Beals. And instead of falling into the butch and hyper-femme stereotype, they showed quite a few femme-femme relationships, too.
The charm of older sitcoms, like Sex and the City, lies in their feel-good, romantic quality. They portray women as central characters who have amazing friendships and learn how to navigate their personal and professional lives with lots of bumps along the way. But these characters are usually straight as a ruler, and, naturally, their love-life drama revolves solely around men.
The L Word took everything that we love about Sex and the City and reproduced it—this time, with queer women at the forefront. And the best part is that the show isn’t one-dimensional. It isn’t all attractive women who make out and cheat on each other and get back together afterwards. In terms of representation, the show covers some very common difficulties faced by queer people. For example, one of the central storylines follows a lesbian couple who try to conceive a biracial baby, wanting the child to look like both its parents. Another delves into the trials and tribulations of gaining equal parental claim over children, relevant at the time as same-sex marriage was not yet legal in the US.
Although The L Word did have some storylines that would not hold up in today’s political climate, like their treatment of one of the main transgender characters, for its time, it was extremely progressive, and its impact was unsurmountable. It has been 21 years now since the show first graced daytime television, but I am yet to see another show that revolves exclusively around queer women, with that same feel-good quality. The queer men get Heartstopper, but where are the modern shows about queer women?
