SistersTalk reader Cairo made the following comment: "The L word does not carry the responsiblity of representing EVERY lesbian lifestyle. Straight women across the country aren't freaking out because they don't identify with one of the desperate housewives . . . ." That comment grated my nerves; however, it prompted the following rant.
I don't really care if straight women aren't complaining about representation on Desperate Housewives. Why would they anyway? The show is about beautiful, married, white women who live in big fancy homes, yet they're still desperate and unhappy. WHO -- in her right mind -- would want to see herself in any of those characters? To me, the show makes fun of all those straight married people who pretend they have perfect lives just so they can judge the way other people live their lives. Picking Desperate Housewives to illustrate what Cairo sees as whining from the lesbian community was a pretty poor example.
In 60 seconds of channel hopping, I counted several dozen shows that represent one or more factions of the straight comunity. In 60 seconds of channel hopping on extended cable, I counted 127 shows about straight people. In 60 seconds of channel hopping, I counted two shows about homosexuals -- one show was on LOGO and the other show was a talk show about a man finding out his wife was a dyke.
No, straight doctors don't look like doctors on ER and straight police don't look like the police on CSI. If doctors and police choose to keep quiet and allow the entertainment industry to grossly exaggerate things, then that's really their business -- and really, they have the right to keep quiet if they choose. I choose not to keep quiet about what I see as a pathetic attempt by The L Word to represent lesbians in LA because I know there are Black lesbians in LA! If the show was about lesbians in a small town like Chilton, WI, I wouldn't expect to see any Black lesbians on the show. Black people don't live in Chilton, WI!
Cairo wants all of us folks who are complaining about The L Word to just wait for more shows that capitalize on lesbianism. I guess she's sure one of those future shows will do a better job with diversity -- as long as we stop complaining. I mean, straight women aren't complaining about Desperate Housewives, right?
It's the year 2005 2006; why should thousands of non-white lesbians keep waiting for someone to acknowledge that? And if we don't complain, future shows about lesbians will simply spit out the same bullshit The L Word is giving us. Entertainment big shots will say, "well nobody compalined, so we figured it was ok to use anorexic white girls to represent all lesbians in the world."
The only person who wouldn't complain about The L Word is a white lesbian who's happy to take whatever Hollywood will give us. I don't fit that description so I'll complain as much as I please.
My biggest concern is what I view as a very real divide among Black women and white women. Even in the lesbian community -- one of the segments of our society that really needs a solid foundation -- Black women and white women haven't figured out how to work together. People like Cairo tell non-white lesbians to suck it up and wait. It's divide-and-conquer at its finest.
For those who are interested in learning more about diversity in the lesbian community, please visit:
