









































Communication, Society and Media 
ISSN 2576-5388 (Print) ISSN 2576-5396 (Online) 

Vol. 6, No. 1, 2023 
www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/csm 

1 
 

Original Paper 

The L Word, the Television Series: Analysis of Its Lesbian 

Subjectivity 
Zhang Shuming1* 

1 School of Culture and Creativity, Beijing Normal University•Hong Kong Baptist University United 

International College, Zhuhai, China 
* Zhang Shuming, E-mail: 1337124950@qq.com 

 

Received: November 9, 2022    Accepted: November 20, 2022    Online Published: January 13, 2023 

doi:10.22158/csm.v6n1p1                         URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/csm.v6n1p1 

 

Abstract 

In January 2004, Showtime, a pay cable network, launched the first-ever lesbian-themed serial drama, 

The L Word, which boldly showed lesbians’ sex life and brought lesbian discourse into the narrative 

center of queer-themed series. This essay tries to analyze how The L Word presented lesbian 

subjectivity through the image as well as body construction, and narrative and also discusses some 

arguments towards the lesbian body presentation in The L Word. 

Keywords 

the l word, lesbian, lesbian subjectivity, female subjectivity, television series, lesbian discourse, bodily 

writing, gaze  

 

1. Introduction 

Since the 1990s, with gay liberation movements and the sitcom lead character Ellen Morgan coming 

out in 1997 (Note 1), the atmosphere toward queer-themed shows became more and more embracing 

(Note 2). From the first gay kiss in EastEnders to a whole series about gay life, Queer as Folk 

(1999-2005), gay people have gradually become regular sightings in TV dramas. After the American 

version of Queer as Folk got successful in America, Ilene Chaiken, who later became the director, 

scriptwriter as well as executive producer of The L Word, pitched her idea for a lesbian ensemble 

drama to a Showtime executive and succeeded (ibid.), bringing the female queer community into the 

center of the narrative discourse in queer-themed television series. 

Showtime’s television series The L Word (2004-2009) is the first lesbian-themed drama series with 

immense popularity in the history of American television series (Note 3). The lesbian community is 

constructed as the subject of narrative with female subjectivity in The L Word, in which the life of 



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lesbians in Los Angeles including but not limited to their sex, love, and careers are presented. While 

The L Word was praised for its pioneering significance in presenting lesbian images and subjectivity in 

television drama and offering an enlightenment spirit to later queer-themed television series, the 

broadcasting of the show provoked intense discussions on the presentation of lesbian sex and their 

bodies (Note 4). Therefore, this essay aims to analyze how The L Word showed lesbian subjectivity 

through rebellion in the narrative and the presentation of lesbian bodies, and discuss some criticism of 

it. 

 

2. Deconstruct and Rebel Against the Patriarchy 

One of the obvious ways that The L Word presented lesbian subjectivity and took lesbian discourse into 

the narrative center is to deconstruct the male image and rebelling the heterosexual or patriarchal norm 

in the story.  

2.1 Image Construction 

Queer theory seeks to construct a real sense of broad equality against the gendered politics and power 

system that oppress the queer community (Note 5). As an important part of Queer theory, post-feminism 

states that the traditional established relationship between male and female and the patriarchal family is 

the basis for the patriarchal society’s existence, which fundamentally excludes females from the power 

system and makes women subordinate to men as non-existent non-man (Note 6). According to Simone 

De Beauvoir in The Second Sex, “He” is the “Subject” and the “Absolute”, while “She” exists as the 

“other” (Note 7). Thus, the core spirit of queer-themed television series is the rebellion against the 

patriarchal society with heterosexual norms (Note 8). 

However, the dominant role of men in society still existed in queer-themed dramas, of which producers 

are mainly heterosexual and homosexual males. It was not until the lesbian producer Ilene Chaiken 

made The L Word that lesbian discourse and subjectivity were at the center of the narrative (ibid.). 

Before The L Word appeared, lesbians as females were still constructed as the subordinate and passive 

“other”, being belittled to be laughed at. In the queer-themed sitcom Will & Grace, lesbian images were 

presented as clumsy and pot-bellied to accentuate the male gay image as a sophisticated and intelligent 

modern yuppie (ibid.). However, The L Word constructed its lesbian characters variously as active and 

confident with independent and thoughtful minds. Though not all of the lesbian characters in The L Word 

are affluent superiors like Bette Porter and Helena Peabody, the former is the director of California Arts 

Center and the latter is a billionaire heiress, most lesbian characters advance their lives through their own 

abilities, not like the patriarchal narrative in which women are either service or punished for having 

successful careers. The life change of Tina Kennard also well showed lesbian independence and 

subjectivity in the story. Before giving up her career to prepare for pregnancy with Bette, Tina was a 

successful film producer. After her relationships with Bette and later with her ex-husband fell apart, Tina 



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realized the importance of having her autonomy and started to assert herself instead of being controlled 

and determined by her romantic partners, and she rebuilt her successful career in Hollywood eventually. 

As a female image, Tina left subordinating to anyone, neither to the lesbian female nor to the 

heterosexual male, and became a true “person” who is equal to all males and females, heterosexuals and 

homosexuals, which rebelled against patriarchy’s limiting or destroying the label of “career women”. 

Meanwhile, male characters in The L Word are constructed as assistants and other inessential or 

downgraded roles, such as assistants of Bette and Helena. 

The main way of constructing the queer community into the absolute center of narrative discourse is to 

place hegemonic heterosexual patriarchal norms into subordination, absence, and even deconstruction 

(Note 9). It is noticeable that the presentation of the “father” image in The L Word is marginalized, which 

could be explained by Judith Butler’s theory of performativity that gender and sex are performative, 

non-natural, and socially constructed in parodic contexts (Note 10). Shane is a tomboy in The L Word 

who had sex with numerous people but tended to avoid being in a relationship. Due to the absence of her 

father in childhood, Shane was afraid of failing others, falling in love with others, and being betrayed. 

Shane tended to fall in love with mature married middle-aged women, who made up for the lack of 

Shane’s feelings of parents in her childhood. When Shane decided to get married to her girlfriend, she 

caught her father cheating, and then Shane escaped from her own wedding because her father insisted 

that he and Shane were alike and that they could never be faithful. When it comes to intimate 

relationships, Shane chose to escape again and again, and those behaviors were more or less related to her 

father. The absence of patriarchy influences the parodic contexts of lesbian characters’ gender 

performance in certain fields. Additionally, Bette’s father was presented as a selfish and cold father who 

always refused to acknowledge and disrespected Bette’s relationship with Tina for over 8 years, and his 

daughter’s pursuit of freedom and happiness meant nothing to him. When lesbian characters gathered to 

choose a word to describe their fathers, such as invisible, dying and distant, those words directly 

expressed The L Word’s notion of deconstructing the patriarchal norms in the family that the role of 

“father” is no longer the symbol of authority. The L Word deconstructs the centrality of patriarchy in the 

family system through the absence of paternity and the degradation of father images. 

2.2 Lesbian Discourse Construction & Conscious Reflection 

Lesbian subjectivity was also presented by showing lesbian characters’ reflections on certain events in 

The L Word. When Jenny listens to her straight male classmate reading his writing, in which he turns 

all the women into nameless, faceless, body part whores, Jenny sharply points out that the reason why 

he belittles the sex act between women by turning it into pornography is that men can’t handle the fact 

that these women can have the amazing, beautiful and mind-blowing orgasm without a cock (Note 11). 

Lesbians’ accusation and exposure to the male gaze at lesbians is expressed through the characters’ 

mouths. As a writer, Jenny always writes things reflecting tightly on her feelings and her experience 



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with self-awareness. According to Hélène Cixous, who promoted bodily writing, women must write 

themselves and let the body be heard (Note 12). Jenny’s writing about her pain, desire, and body 

feelings constructs a lesbian discourse, rebelling against the phallocentric discourse. After Jenny finds 

her straight male roommate secretly recording their lesbian private lives through hidden cameras for 

weeks, which stimulates her childhood memory of being sexually violated by her stepfather, she started 

to look at her family photos, asking her grandma about how her Jewish family members being tortured 

in the Nazi concentration camp with very descriptive questions that full of specific feelings on bodies, 

which shows Jenny’s inner feelings after being violated again, reflecting female subjectivity 

consciousness on their bodies. Later, she goes to a strip club, showing her body completely nude on the 

stage, men below all yell at her with twisted faces and widely opened mouths, as if they would gobble 

up her. When Shane asks why Jenny did that, Jenny says it’s important to herself because “it’s my 

fucking choice when I take off my top, my pants and show my breasts and pussy. I stop when I want to 

stop. It makes me feel good because I’m in charge.” (Note 13) This reminds her of all the violating 

things that have happened to her and this time at least she can have autonomy. Leaving Jenny’s 

self-destructive tendencies aside, when Jenny stands nudely in front of men and presents her body for 

the male gaze, she is never a woman being objectified because she’s exploring her experience or 

feelings about her body with her subjectivity consciousness. Seems like The L Word merely presented 

Jenny as a toy being sexualized by males, which is one of the criticisms of The L Word (Note 14), 

while this essay wants to state that Jenny is also scorning men who can only objectify and sexualize 

females’ bodies. When subjectivity is forced to be violated, constantly feeling and reflecting on one’s 

self that is objectified and sexualized is also a representation of subjectivity. 

When Jenny’s straight male roommate Mark seeks her forgiveness, Jenny’s words have well shown 

female subjectivity even if females are forced to become the “Other” in the story. From a lesbian’s 

perspective, Shane forgives Mark because she knows how rare it is to have a heterosexual male’s 

understanding of lesbians. While Jenny stands from a women’s perspective, “It’s not a fucking 

woman’s job to be consumed and invaded and spat out so that some fucking man can evolve.” (Note 15) 

These words also express the female or lesbian community’s predicament in that they hope for 

understanding and equality, but they know that is difficult to achieve in reality. Later in the story, 

Jenny’s script about lesbian life being changed to a heterosexual ending also reflects the lesbian 

community’s realistic predicament. 

 

3. Lesbian Bodies in Sex Presentation 

There are lots of sex scenes in The L Word, where lesbians’ bodies are not only the subject of desire but 

also the object of desire. At the beginning of The L Word’s first season, Jenny sees Shane and his 

girlfriends naturally taking off their clothes and making love in the pool. Their private parts are 



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straightly exposed to the camera, to Jenny, to the audience, and especially to the gaze of heterosexual 

audiences. The bold presentation of bodies in having sex challenges the social mainstream acceptance 

of sex acts on the screen, especially bodies presented in sexual minorities’ sex acts. However, some sex 

scenes are decried by some feminists as soft porn, deliberately titillating the heterosexual male 

audience (Note 16). Criticism argues that in The L Word’s opening representation of lesbian sex which 

has been mentioned above, at that time Jenny was a heterosexual woman, and the audience is forced to 

spy on Jenny spying on lesbian sex, which is a reified heterosexual gaze for male audiences (Note 17). 

While critics have argued that some sex scenes are presented through the male gaze for heterosexual 

audiences’ pleasure, this essay states that The L Word’s presentation of lesbian bodies gratifies both 

heterosexual and queer audiences. It can’t be merely explained as falling into the trap of a heterosexual 

constructed perspective, because its way of presenting lesbian sex not only makes mainstream 

heterosexual audiences gradually understand “the other” in their eyes but also provides the opportunity 

for lesbian audiences to recognize themselves or the community they belong to through the fantasy of 

authenticity (Note 18). Therefore, The L Word’s sex scenes can also be seen as bodies presented under 

the lesbian gaze for lesbian audiences’ pleasure. Additionally, lesbians in The L Word can freely talk 

about sex life and nicknames they give to the pussy at the breakfast table. Moreover, to avoid the 

male-gaze way of consuming and objectifying lesbian bodies, The L Word uses camera movement to 

interrupt the pleasure of gaze, deconstructing the power relationship of gaze. When Jenny and Mark 

chat behind the fence, Mark takes a final peer through the fence at the naked girls playing in the pool, 

which is not shown from a male gaze, instead, audiences see Jenny hit him: “Don’t look”.  

Mark as a heterosexual male gaze, initially voyeurs lesbian sex life through hidden cameras. But later 

in the story, when Shane brings girls into her bedroom, the image Mark zooms in on is not lesbians 

who are making love, instead, he is concerned about Shane sitting in the corner. It’s presented through 

the behavior change of the heterosexual male to rebel against objectifying lesbians and concern about 

them as the real “human” instead of gazing at them as sexualized spectacles for pleasure. 

 

4. Conclusion 

As the first television series to revolve around a group of lesbian characters, The L Word boldly 

presented lesbian subjectivity by rebelling against patriarchy and reflecting lesbians’ body 

consciousness. Though it received some criticism, it is undoubted that it brought lesbian discourse into 

the narrative center of queer-themed series through lesbian subjectivity construction with great 

significance. 

 

 

 



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Kourany, J. J. S., & Rosemarie, T. (1998). Feminist Philosophies: Problems, Theories, and Applications 

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Notes 

Note 1. Rhonda Gibson, “From Zero to 24–7: Images of Sexual Minorities on Television,” News and 

Sexuality: Media Portraits of Diversity, 2006, 257–78, accessed December 25, 2022, 

https://www.sho.com/the-l-word


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https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452233062.n13. 

Note 2. Deirdre Moore, “An Irish Audience Negotiates Lesbian Visibility in the L Word: ‘But It’s Not a 

Perfect World and Not Everyone Looks like That,’” Socheolas: Limerick Student Journal of Sociology 

1, no. 1 (April 1, 2009). 

Note 3. Lu Lu, “Subject Consciousness Female Myth and Body Politics: A Cultural  Analysis on the 

American Female TV Series,” Journal of Nanjing Agricultural University(Social Sciences Edition) 9, 

no. 02 (June 20, 2009): 112–17. 

Note 4. Deirdre Moore, “An Irish Audience Negotiates Lesbian Visibility in the L Word: ‘But It’s Not a 

Perfect World and Not Everyone Looks like That,’” Socheolas: Limerick Student Journal of Sociology 

1, no. 1 (April 1, 2009). 

Note 5. Martha Albertson Fineman, Feminist and Queer Legal Theory, 1st ed. (Routledge, 2009).  

Note 6. Janet Kourany, James Sterba, and Rosemarie Tong, Feminist Philosophies: Problems, Theories, 

and Applications (2nd Edition), 2nd ed. (Pearson, 1998).  

Note 7. Simone De Beauvoir, Le Deuxième Sexe, Tome 1 (Folio Essais) (French Edition) (Gallimard 

Education, 1986). 

Note 8. Dan Cheng, “The Queer in American Opera and the American Queer Opera,” Hunan Normal 

University, 2018, 28-31.  

Note 9. Dan Cheng, “The Queer in American Opera and the American Queer Opera,” Hunan Normal 

University, 2018, 22. 

Note 10. Judith Butler, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (Routledge Classics) 

1st (First) Edition, 1st Edition (Routledge, 2022).  

Note 11. “The L Word Season 2nd,” SHOWTIME (MGM Television, 2005), accessed December 25, 

2022, https://www.sho.com/search?q=The+L+Word. 

Note 12. Meimei Zhang, “Body／Language: The Reconstruction of Female Discourse by Cixous and 

Wittig,” Foreign Literature 013, no. 03 (2008): 77--83, https://doi.org/10.16430/j.cnki.fl.2008.03.013. 

Note 13. “Lacuna,” SHOWTIME (MGM Television, 2003), accessed December 25, 2022, 

https://www.sho.com/the-l-word. 

Note 14. Rebecca Beirne, “Dirty Lesbian Pictures: Art and Pornography in The L Word,” Critical 

Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies 2, no. 1 (March 2007): 90–101, 

https://doi.org/10.7227/cst.2.1.8. 

Note 15. “Loud & Proud,” SHOWTIME (MGM Television, May 1, 2005), accessed December 25, 

2022, https://the-l-word.fandom.com/wiki/Loud_%26_Proud. 

Note 16. Rebecca Beirne, “Dirty Lesbian Pictures: Art and Pornography in The L Word,” Critical 

Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies 2, no. 1 (March 2007): 90–101, 

https://doi.org/10.7227/cst.2.1.8. 



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Note 17. Susan J Wolfe and Lee Ann Roripaugh, “Feminine Beauty and the Male Gaze in The L Word,” 

MP: An International Feminist Online Journal 1, no. 4 (2006): 1–7. 

18. Candace. Moore, “Having It All Ways: The Tourist, the Traveler, and the Local in The L Word,” 

Cinema Journal 46, no. 4 (2007): 3–22, https://doi.org/10.1353/cj.2007.0045. 


