Over history, many issues have raised controversy in our society. One of such issues is the issue of homosexuality in our society. To be specific the issue of same sex coupling and marriages which attracts a lot of mixed reactions fro the members of the society. In as much as such an issue is controversial the society has had it’s creation of how life is for the homosexuals. Much of this creation has been influenced by the well presented life of gay marriages touching on men.
These types of marriages have been highlighted so much by the media to the extent of the society accepting the issue of men and gayism as a normal occurrence in the society. The issue of women and same sex marriages or coupling in women has not received much of the publicity as has been given to their male counterparts.
There have been stereotypic beliefs that lesbianism in the society would not be well accepted and as such any attention that had been given to such relationships had portrayed the negative picture. This perspective has prevailed for such a long time while it remained a fact that these people existed in our community. It is with the airing of the L Word show that this perspective has been changed or is bound to change. In my evaluation of this show it has gone along way in to changing the community’s perspective on the issue of lesbianism. This is because the show portrayed lesbians in a positive way just like other human beings.
They are seen in the show through the different characters as they face challenges and overcome them. This is contrary to the traditional view portrayed where the lesbian characters involved in previous shows ended up in pathetic conditions which would make no one to identify with them or want to be identified as lesbian. It has mostly been associated with stigma, has been repressed and viewed as sinful. This is contrary to what we witness in this show since it tries to normalize lesbian relationships through the media just like gayism has been.
I would also highlight that the show has made a step forward in recognizing all the members of our society. This recognition is regardless of an individual’s sexual preference and as such has acted as a voice for the minority lesbian members of he community. As the show portrays the lesbians are seen on a positive note. In their interactions they are seen supporting each other to go through the hardships that they face and eventually emerging victorious.
Such a picture in the show helps one to get a glimpse of how life is on the other side of life of the lesbians. Even when hey are faced by challenges and isolation from their families they always stand with one another. Such high levels of friendships help them to find solace.
The public appearances of lesbian groups to me are a changed focus on things by he community. Now that the lesbians can meet in public gatherings and not in the traditional night clubs and restaurants is big leap forward. The next thing likely to happen is the involvement of a lesbian’s movement in demand for their rights in the nation. Such rights will make them to be people fit to live in the society and to have families of their own just like other members of the community. This is clearly portrayed in the episode about adopting a family and the choice of the race of the child. Since such provisions are not there in the law. Then the show acts like a call up to the other lesbians to be aware that they can also head families and be successful parents. Such is a sensitive issue though it does not appear to materialize in the play.
The kind of lifestyle portrayed in the show about the lesbians is out of touch with the reality. This is because it is such a high class lifestyle to which many of the people can not identify with. The success portrayed by the lesbians is also a distorted view of reality. Therefore the identification likely to be seen by the lesbians who watch the show is not likely to be forthcoming. Although it is hard to portray the reality in a cast it is important to consider some aspects of reality in order to be in touch with the people’s way of life. As much as the aspects of the lesbian way of life are revealed there is little of the full representation of the average lesbian life. One can easily make a conclusion that the show was targeted at making financial gains not so to appeal to some kind of a group but both of these are important considerations to be put in place
The traditional view of women’s role is challenged so much in the cast. This because traditionally women have lived under male dominance, a fact that is far much challenged by the show. Other areas that have been challenged include the role of women as child bearers, domestic workers and objects of beauty. From the cast none of the afore-mentioned has been spared. To some great extend this can be viewed as an empowerment for women.
However this should not misguide the community that lesbians are always successful people. One thing that I think should have been portrayed and fought for is the liberation of women in our society something that could have been very effective.
Works Cited
The L Word from the Beginning. 2008. Web.
Fans of Lesbians on TV: The L Word Generation. 2008. Web.