Stereotypes of Race, Gender, and Sexuality Within the L Word

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Exploring By: Sydney Sanders WGST-201 Srs397 11155642 By: Sydney Sanders WGST-201 Srs397 11155642 Stereotypes of Race, Gender, and Sexuality Within Stereotypes of Race, Gender, and Sexuality Within Airing six seasons (2004-2009) on ShowTime, The L word is an American/Canadian coproduced television drama which follows the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, straight, and transgendered people in the trendy Greater Los Angeles California city of West Hollywood (Cavanaugh, 2009). In a time where majority of main characters seen on TV were heterosexual, the series is viewed as groundbreaking for being one of the first television series closely depicting lesbians with glimpses of other members of the LGBT community. While The L Word is seen as very progressive, and challenges many stereotypes, there are still issues behind the series. The series reinforces negative stereotypes held by society about lesbian women, and also faces a lack of representation for some groups. The L Word mainly follows a group of six close friends. The first being Bette Porter, who works California Arts Center and is a Yale Art History graduate. Bette Porter is a biracial character, and very feminine looks wise, but is very career driven. She is also in a seven-year relationship with Tina Kennard, who is also a very feminine character but is a more nurturing individual than her partner Bette. It is emphasized throughout the show/episode that Bette is the primary breadwinner in their relationship, for instance Tina leaves her job to be the “stay at home mom”. Shane Mccutcheon is an up and coming hairdresser, and is notably the only androgynously gendered lesbian displayed throughout majority of the L Word. She is notoriously known by her friends and the lesbian community for being promiscuous/ having multiple sexual partners with no intention of monogamy. Jennifer

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