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Why Are Lesbians Still Obsessed with ‘The L Word’?

January 29, 2025

Original 'L Word' Cast members Jennifer Beals, Pam Grier, Erin Daniels, Leisha Hailey, Laurel Holloman, Mia Kirshner, Karina Lombard, Eric Mabius, Katherine Moennig and Executive Producer Ilene Chaiken in 2003

16 years after the series ended, 'The L Word' is still taking up a lot of lesbian oxygen.

Lesbians, huddle up. There’s something we have to talk about. We all know that we are multidimensional, multi-faceted, multi-talented people with complex ideas and a deep understanding of nuance and empathy. We see the world through a whole different lens as seemingly the only American cultural group that decenters men and focuses on the divine feminine. There’s something vast and omnipotent about the power of being a lesbian. So why are we, as a collective, still obsessed with The L Word?

I largely don’t think it’s our fault. Amongst the mountains of media in the world, we have been offered The L Word, Ellen, and *checks notes* that’s it. Sure, we also have lesbian period pieces, but they are simply not that fun to talk and kiki about. These stories have no shot at resonating with modern queer audiences who are starving for relatable contemporary stories that they’ll want to revisit.

Movies like Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Carol, and Ammonite are masochistic homages to repression, tragedy, and forbidden love— not particularly topics you want to call your girls and gab about. It tells the world, “For centuries, lesbians have been sentenced to a life without joy or community, and it’s not going to change now.” That’s not exactly making me want to pop some popcorn and have a steamy movie night with my lesbian besties.

Related: Kristen Stewart To Play Lesbian Astronaut Sally Ride

Now, there are movies and music that are obviously for queer women, but as a whole, we haven’t had the chance to see ourselves in a long-running TV show just for us or in many characters with enough nuance that would free us from the stereotype. We get glimmers of hope, like Bottoms and But I’m A Cheerleader, but they don’t have the same staying power that a multi-season TV show can. So we take what we can get.

There have been attempts at lesbian representation, but it just hasn’t stuck. Shows like A League of Their Own would have been a cultural reset for queer women, especially queer women of color, had it not been canceled after a single season. We see lesbians in One Day at a Time, Orange Is the New Black, and Grey’s Anatomy, but those storylines are simply features of a broader, straighter narrative. Shows like Killing Eve and Agatha All Along have been claimed by lesbians, but it’s not actually for or even about lesbians. It has just enough yearning to get lesbians salivating but not too much that it drives away general audiences.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t explicitly mention The L Word: Generation Q. This was the fresh modern reboot we all wanted, but it ended up being a little all over the place when it comes to addressing contemporary lesbian experiences. It deserves credit for finally showing a broader spectrum of queer identities and intersections that the original series severely lacked.

Related: Jennifer Beals Auctions Off ‘The L Word’ Script To Benefit Charity

But we must be honest with ourselves that it stumbled into some of the same pitfalls. Some characters feel underdeveloped, the drama can tip too far into soap opera territory, and it still struggles to capture the fullness of everyday lesbian lives. While it’s nice to see a new generation of queer characters, the show feels like it’s trying too hard to live up to the original’s cult status instead of focusing on authenticity.

Ultimately, the key to our obsession with The L Word is it shows lesbians existing outside of romantic relationships. Even queer women are not freed from the shackles of needing a relationship to be viewed as successful or functioning members of society. Lesbians can often feel like they have two options for existence: single and depressed or in a relationship and completely wrapped up in love and domesticity.

The L Word gave us a third option: part of a queer friend group.

There’s definitely more queer representation in media, but there’s usually one dedicated queer per friend group. If a lesbian is bestowed the momentous opportunity of being the main character of a mainstream movie or TV show, they are the only gay friend. Sure, at least it’s not a side character, but instead of a group of queer friends who she can relate to, she is gifted a straight best friend who doesn’t understand queer culture and channels their energy and misguided support into getting their friend “laid” (see Am I Okay?, Booksmart, etc.).

However, The L Word demonstrated what a queer group of friends can look like. Some of them might hook up with each other or even date, but at the end of the day, they make a chosen family. It is the single piece of media that I can think of that centers around lesbians, is made for lesbians, and (as problematic as some of the storylines are) shows lesbians as real people with real(ly dramatic) lives.

Related: Julia Fox Says ‘The L Word’ Influenced Her Personal Style

Unfortunately, there’s no way to change lesbian representation overnight. I don’t have a solution to the problem, but I do propose a new Bechdel test for lesbian media (we’re keeping the name Bechdel for obvious reasons). Here it is:

-2 queer women must be featured.
-They must be named (going by their last name only counts).
-Not dating each other (previously, currently, or future-ly).
-Talk to each other about something other than yearning.

It’s not enough to simply throw a lesbian character into a story as a token or have queer relationships reduced to longing gazes and unfulfilled desires. We deserve stories that reflect the full spectrum of our lives. Stories about friendship, ambition, humor, struggles, and joy.

The camp of The L Word is undeniably iconic, and the impact that it has had on the queer community can’t be understated, so I’m not saying we need to leave it behind. But I do think that we can take a second to recognize what we love about The L Word so much and start to demand that from future lesbian representation. Being seen isn’t enough, we need to see ourselves as the whole, complex, and vibrant people we are. But in the meantime, we’ll keep meeting up at The Proverbial Planet, updating The Chart, and loving The L Word flaws and all.

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