'Lesbians as Represented in Mainstream Television Essay\r'

'Lesbian images baffle been entering into principal(prenominal)stream media more and more. Some argue that this is a sign of a wider acceptance of sapphicism in westbound culture. In this paper, two mainstream tv programs, white-haired(a)’s Anatomy and Law and target: SVU, exit be looked at to assess the nature of sapphic images. It will be argued that if and when homosexuals argon portrayed in mainstream television receiver they be highly feminized, de commoveualized, and their lives ar almost everlastingly framed in styluss that appeal to heterocentric norms.\r\nThus, hoi polloi media almost always fails to provide the watchman with an high-fidelity and unbiased perception of homosexualism or homosexuality in a broader sense. gray-haired’s Anatomy has emerged onto the lesbian moving-picture show in the last twin of eld by developing Callie Torres, a beautiful, vivacious, Latino fair sex, into a lesbian in the fifth eon. A recognizeledge deve lops betwixt her and Erica Hahn, a successful, ‘sassy’, and appeal newcomer, and it gradually progresses into something more until final examinationly the two deal a buss.\r\nBefore the romance plenty flourish, Torres w remnantles with her sexuality, her fears, and her insufficiency of understanding of lesbianism. Soon after the race establishes itself, Hahn by chance breaks up with Torres and leaves the show. Typical… or is it? A season afterward, Arizona Robbins, a semi-regular of the show, comes into focusing when she blatantly hits on Torres. Shortly after, the two erupt to date and afterwards find themselves in a committed relationship.\r\nThe caput is how good a job does the show do of accurately portraying lesbians? To start, all three of the women mentioned to a higher place ar beautiful and feminine. all told three arrest eagle-eyed flowing hair †always nicely styled and maintained †and pretty faces mensurablely done up with light make-up. This is what Ann Ciasullo refers to as â€Å"sanitizing of the lesbian through her feminizing” (599). In other words, greyness’s Anatomy offers up an image of lesbians that is non in any case homosexual for the straight person audience.\r\nWhile it could be argued that much(prenominal) representations help to fight the rigid stereotypes of lesbians as ugly, neerthelessch feminists, the very far-flung nature of the ‘femme’ image in media indicates something more is leaving on (Tamsin). The have got forbidden of Focus, suggests that such feminine representations act to lower the threat of lesbianism by lull viewers that such (beautiful and feminine) women green goddess or must actually be straightaway (Kath Davies). In fact, in Grey’s Anatomy, as in more television programs, the ‘ savech’ lesbian is completely absent.\r\nAll of this suggests that the lesbian chic of the ‘90s is far from dead (Tamsin). Grey’s is well known for its scandalous omen room sex scenes. Characters, heterosexual portions that is, escape to abstruse corners of the hospital w here(predicate) they argue, make up, and make love on a regular basis. This is interesting because such scenes are practically nonexistent between Torres and Hahn or later Torres and Robbins. In fact, physical contact of any genial is somewhat limited between Torres and Robbins. An example of this can be seen in Season five circumstance 13 when Robbins` patient dies during surgery.\r\nWhen she gets home to see Torres has plan a surprise birthday party for her she bursts into rupture oercome by her grief. The pair leaves the room and at this signal you would expect a comforting hug, a loving embrace, or a reassuring kiss on the cheek from any reasonably evoke couple or from any other couple on the show for that matter, barely not in this case. Torres tells Robbins that she will explain the situation to their friends an d at that Robbins leaves. Additionally, sex scenes between Torres and Robbins are few and far between; those that exist are cut short by interruption or not shown at all.\r\nThe last mentioned is evidenced in Season five outcome 11 when the viewer is shown only the aftermath †them imposition in bed together, presumably after make love, eating pizza. It is a cute scene scarcely not a sexual scene. This is a known purpose found in most television programs or movies featuring lesbian couples and bonny one way lesbians are desexualized (Ciasullo). A notable exception to this pattern is The L Word, but it will not be the focus of this paper. Since the beginning of their relationship Callie and Arizona make believe slept together three times.\r\nThree times in an entire season and for a relationship in its beginning stages is incredibly low by Grey’s standards (or anyone’s standards really). One of these scenes is the ‘pizza scene’ previously menti oned. In other â€Å"sex” scene, Lexi Grey walks in on the two in the squander and quickly walks out; the viewer sees what Lexi sees and nothing more. The final scene implies the two may have sex, but it is not pursued any further. Considering the show develops long, base sex scenes between its heterosexual characters, following them from start to finish, the unwillingness to do the same for its lesbian characters is problematic.\r\nThis is not an isolated phenomenon. The pattern of desexualization is evident not dependable in television but also in movies as noted by Ciasullo and Yvonne Tasker in her book Working Girls (Ciasullo; Tasker). Another problem with the depiction of Torres and Robbins’ relationship is that it is often framed by the heterosexual constructs of trades union and reproduction. Tasker discusses this issue noting that by explaining lesbianism within a heterosexual context the (heterosexual) audience is assured that lesbians are regular (by h eterosexual standards) (Tasker).\r\nSuch a practice adheres to naturalized social norms while ignoring the differing reality of lesbian’s lives. After Torres’ father finally accepts her lesbianism his first header to her addresses the issue of marriage and children. She assures him that she will put on a â€Å"big white dress and bounce down the aisle” if Arizona wants to spend the rest of her life with her. Another example takes place in season six episode three, when Torres talks some being married and having a house, kids and a favourite dog with Robbins.\r\nThis description perpetuates heterocentric beliefs that heterosexual activities and institutions are fracture than homosexual ones simply because it gives no thought to the disaster that things could be different within homosexual relationships. Furthermore, this childbed to depict lesbian couples as ‘normal’ by tying them to conventional social norms suggests that homosexual practices are not normal and as such fails to altercate heterocentrism. Law and companionship: Special Victims Unit (SVU) is another show with some problematic representations.\r\nIn over 11 seasons, it has aired a total of five snappy-centred storylines and one lesbian specific episode. This discrepancy seems to invent the idea touched on in Out of Focus that â€Å"coverage of ‘homosexuality’ actually refers to gay men” (Kath Davies 91). A recent episode authorise PC features Kathy Griffin as Babs Duffy, a rude, abrasive, man-hating lesbian activist. First of all, the stereotyping evident in Griffin’s character is troublesome because it feeds into the contradict view of lesbians. visibility is important, but the cost of portraying lesbians in such a light is possibly greater than or as great as not exhibit them at all.\r\nFurthermore, this particular episode is strewn with negative or inexact images of lesbians. The episode begins with the discovery of a wom an who has been left for dead in an abandoned building. She has been attack and beaten and later dies in the hospital. It is not too long before the viewer finds out from Babs Duffy that the victim was a lesbian. Duffy makes a dramatic entrance into the detectives’ station ordering for the capture of the murderer whom she alleges is targeting lesbians. The investigation commences with a visit to the victim, now known as Alyssa’s, girlfriend.\r\nAs the episode progresses, you notice something striking †all the main lesbian characters are conventionally attractive, feminine women. to a greater extent than that though, any lesbian character who is questioned and thus comes into the focus of the camera, is also feminine and pretty. The few macho lesbians in the episode are in the background and tho noticeable. The absence of the macho lesbian is telling. Ciasullo notes that â€Å"without the signifier of the butch, the femme’s lesbianism disappears†¦ ” (Ciasullo 599). Thus, by eliminating the butch lesbian from the forefront, Law and Order: SVU effectively downplays the lesbianism of the episode.\r\n on that point is, however, one exception †the victim’s girlfriend Sharon, but tear down here on that point are issues with her representation as a butch lesbian. The fact that the show chose to make her ‘butch’ is interesting because they also make her a operative class, aggressive, even violent, woman. This in effect vilifies the butch lesbian. Sharon even conks the main suspect at one point because of her temper, and while it is important to shed light on the issue of domestic violence in lesbian relationships the choice to make Sharon, who is butch, into the abuser is not by accident.\r\nAnn Ciasullo talks close how presenting butch lesbians in this negative way makes butches into the â€Å"’oppressor,’… the ‘bad’ lesbian” (Ciasullo 600). Further still , her status as a bouncer (and thus as a member of the working class) adds to her mainstream undesirability (Ciasullo). Moreover, even though Sharon is presented as a butch or as Law and Order puts it an â€Å"aggressive,” she is simultaneously portrayed as somewhat feminine. In the first scene that we are introduced to Sharon, her long hair is pulled back into a devoid ponytail and she wraps herself up in her long feminine sweater.\r\nShe is not wearing any noticeable makeup but she is conventionally pretty. After this initial introduction she is seeming not yet labelled as a butch by the viewer. It is not until later when she appears in a p determined shirt and leather capital that it becomes evident that she is butch. It seems butch images are permitted as long as they’re not too butch and as long as the butch character is not framed in a cocksure way that could be make her desirable. Perhaps the outgo example of how lesbians are desexualized in Law and Order is in a scene between Babs and Olivia Benson, the pistillate nvestigator. In the initial taping of this scene Babs kisses Olivia, but the kiss doesn’t make it past the swell room floor. Even worse, the editing is atrocious. It cuts awkwardly from Babs angle of dip in to Olivia proclaiming that she is straight and something is noticeably missing. The kiss may not be necessary to the plot, but to throw quality in order to remove it demonstrates how f functionful the media are of lesbian sexuality. Further evidence lies in the fact that a kiss between Babs and Elliot Stabler (the manlike investigator) that happens at the end of the episode remains untouched.\r\nHowever, this revelation, that Babs isn’t actually a lesbian, has a lot of problems on its own. The discovering that Bab’s has a boyfriend, plays on the â€Å"I know she’s a lesbian but… ” scenario so often found in mainstream media. This idea presents the viewer with the possibilit y that the lesbian can always become straight or as Ciasullo puts it â€Å"’unbecome’ lesbian” (Ciasullo 592). This places the heterosexual audience in a more contented position where they can entertain the idea that the attractive lesbians in the show may actually be straight. This issue comes up once again when the pretend murderer/rapist is in interrogation.\r\nOlivia pretends she is a lesbian in order to get a excuse out of him: Olivia: â€Å"You know how to correct us… you’ve got everything you consider to make me a real woman right between your legs â€â€ Suspect: â€Å"and you’d love it just like those other two [victims] did †every irregular of it” While this scene may be laid out this way specifically to show the pallid thinking of the rapist/murderer, the notion that a lesbian can be â€Å"corrected” or make straight as well the idea that cross victims enjoy being raped are never addressed and corre cted. The audience is never informed about how inaccurate these views are.\r\nWith all this said, the homosexual viewer tends to be somewhat accepting of the images in Grey’s and Law and Order, because as Clare Whatling puts it â€Å"we’re [the lesbian population] so starved, we go see anything because something is better than nothing” (86). Thus, because of the lack of representation, lesbians are more willing to accept inaccurate portrayals. This is troublesome because such images can potentially be detrimental to lesbian’s self perceptions and they’re all the more vulnerable because of the relative variation of lesbianism in mainstream culture.\r\nIn conclusion, lesbianism in mainstream television is bad and inaccurately represented. While shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Law and Order: SVU, have taken steps towards representing lesbians in mainstream media, we have to be careful to assess how big these steps really are. There are severa l issues with the representations of lesbians in these shows, some of which are addressed in this paper, others which have been left untouched. Thus, there is still a long way to go and many hurdles to surmount before lesbians can be done justice in mainstream media.\r\n'