"Degrassi" Portrays Lesbian Relationship with Class

Just got to say, this was an unfortunate shot of Paige and Alex, from the Sixth Season Finale  Alex looks pregnant. It's the arm or butt of another character, but with the darkness of the dance, it's hard to tell at first glance.  Anyway, good review of Palex, but I was surprised when you indicated that the season just ended; because I thought it ended months ago. Maybe they just repeat the whole season over the summer.

Great article Sarah!

 i have really enjoyed the Paige and Alex story and they are both gorgeous. If i were to request interviews, it would be on Lauren and Deanna :o) Cant wait for their development over the next season, but they will probably spilt up, damn the n writers

Really interesting article. Just a couple of thoughts in response:

1) I agree with what you say about it being a shame about them making Alex's character less tomboyish, and also that it seems like only straight women on TV are allowed to have a masculine side (Starbuck, Olivia Benson etc). At the same time, from the sound of it the way Alex has developed is kind of quite similar to the way I did ... I wore a lot of baggy trousers and jumpers in high school, and didn't really like ultra-feminine clothes, whereas as I feel like as I've become more comfortable with being queer, my style has ironically become quite a lot more girly. I think for me, that's just because I have more comfort with the idea of being sexual (though I know not all women express their sexuality through feminine clothes). But so the change in Alex actually kind of makes sense to me.

2) I find it hilarious that Kevin "Chasing Amy" Smith is now apparently the patron saint of lesbians and of telling girls to go for it.

3) Re the whole discussion of the girls' sexuality, and how Alex identifies as lesbian and Paige doesn't identify as anything but is probably bi... does anyone think that's sort of a pattern on mainstream teen shows? It seems like they're not prepared to put two lesbian-identifying women together. On South of Nowhere, Spencer is gay and Ashley is bi. On The O.C., both girls were bi (it wasn't even clear if Marissa was even that, actually). On One Tree Hill, Anna, who was bi, had had a girlfriend, Darcy, who was apparently gay. I don't know, maybe that's just realistic about teenage girls, or queer women in general. I just thought that was interesting.

4) Between Alex being a feisty, tough-talking, brunette tomboy, and Paige being a rich, faintly patronising, blonde femme.... Is anyone else thinking JO AND BLAIR REDUX??? LOL. Ah, Jo and Blair, together at last... if only through the incarnation of other characters.

I'm still mourning the untimely demise of that show. I know their story was cut short by series cancellation, but I thought Jessie in particular was one of the most compelling teen characters I've ever seen on television. (Grace and Eli were very interesting too, not to mention the adults ... but I digress.) It helps that Evan Rachel Wood is very talented - even if she is dating that dude. Heh.

Back to Jessie and Katie. I thought O&A did a very good job with that relationship. What I wouldn't have given for a fourth season.

Nice to see the Degrassi getting some action. ;)

Just a few notes though. Alex was introduced in the third season and, at the time, had short hair.

I disagree with your analysis of the sex issue and that the Degrassi writers are less comfortable with lesbian sex because Degrassi tends not to mention sex unless there are consequences. For example, in Season 5 Spinner lies to Darcy and says he's a virgin, when he had previously slept with Manny and two other girls in addition to that. That was never mentioned on the show until there were some consequences to his actions.

Likewise, Jimmy, who is the heterosexual in a wheelchair, has never had sex before, despite dating several different girls for many years. Alex and Paige dated for two to three months in high school and then only just got back together at the end of season six. It's completely in character that both girls would have waited since Alex had only been with Jay before and Paige's only other sexual experience was being raped.

This was a crazy good analysis. I think, however, that this following blurb may have been quoted incorrectly in this article:

In the sixth season, Paige's friend Hazel tells Alex accusingly, "Paige used to be gay, until you came along and made her gay."

Thanks for the corrections above, I've fixed them. I spent so many hours yesterday researching/writing this piece (I know all the season six stuff, but didn't watch Degrassi much before then, so I had lots to catch up on) that by the end, I could barely remember my own name (I think I called my girlfriend Palex at one point :) So I had a feeling there'd be at least a few mistakes out of the 7 pages. Thanks for your help pointing them out! If you find more, let me know and I'll fix 'em.

degrassi makes me a little more proud to be from Canada, although it saddens me that ya'll in the states are so far behind. Degrassi in one form or another has been a staple in Canadian TV, I doubt there is a Canadian out there who has never seen an episode... well maybe those who live in Bountiful (Google it).

Even in the 80's they hit on 'controversial' topics, Spike got knocked up; but she stayed in school, a straight guy got HIV, Spikes babys’ daddy got high on LSD and jumped off a bridge (my personal favourite). It's nothing new for degrassi to be on the fore front, it's just new that ya'll down south are getting into it (I’m sure of you remember the 80's version).

high five for an awesome article Sarah.

Palex is most deserving of a grade of A!  It's an exceptional story, told by amazing storytellers...

Most Americans know very little of "Degrassi", save the occassional Kevin Smith appearence; but, with the help of websites like yours, and fans like these...Palex may one day rank up there with the likes of Willow & Tara sooner, rather than never...

*LS keeps fingers crossed!*

Thank you, Sarah! 

Palex and Spashley in the same day on the main page of afterellen.  I think I'm in love.  I could just stare at the top of the front page all night.  Seeing Palex get some love around here has been awesome.  So many of us watched their scenes on video sharing sites when they aired in Canada it seemed remis that they weren't getting any love here.  The article was awesome though. 

There were two couples I thought were missing in the comparisons, one someone already brought up... Jessie and Katie.  While they were "together" for only a couple episodes their relationship developed over the season.  The other, I know I risk being stoned with this name, but...  Kennedy and Willow.  Love them or (more commonly) hate them, they were a lesbian (teen-ish) couple who shared several kisses.

Is is Friday yet?   *looks at clock*  Schweeet!  It is.  18 hrs til Spashley madness.

^
Quick...Someone pass me a brick!

Willow AND Kennedy???  Your right Wicked, it's common to hate that 'ship...In fact, it's a practical necessity!!! >_<

But, on the upside...Jessie and Katie...Awww, they were sweet! *wub*

I loved your statement "apparently, lesbianism must be packaged in femininity to make it less threatening."

I've had to deal with this one on a first-hand basis. I've consciously dressed more feminine than is necessary, possibly moreso than some heterosexual women. It totally has to do with the whole "butch" stereotype and not drawing more attention to myself than necessary.

...and all was well, and the world smiled.

First, again, my thanks to Sarah for offering such a comprehensive look at this amazing couple, who I agree, has been one of the best portrayals of a lesbian teen relationship we've seen on American television. Great writing and incredible insight (the class issue doesn't get talked about nearly enough). And my apologies to Lori, who apparently had to stomach a mini-marathon of Degrassi, while you researched...I hope that you were able to fast-forward through all the terrible Craig, Peter and Darcy storylines that littered Season 6.

A few thoughts to add (and I'll try to avoid gushing too much over Deanna Casaluce, as I have in my previous responses on Degrassi posts on AE):

Sexual Orientation: Was Alex okay with the kiss between her and Paige in "Lexicon?" Yes. Was she always okay with the idea that she liked girls? I don't think so. Alex didn't have an audience for her freak-outs, whereas Paige had Marco, Dylan and, oddly enough, Kevin Smith to voice her concerns to. I look back at "King of Pain" now (the episode where Alex runs against Marco for Student Council President) and wonder how much of her anti-queer campaign was out of a real disgust for the popular crowd versus any self-loathing she came to the realization that "Oh God, I'm Gay." And then there's the Lovecats mini, which has a lot of those same undertones. Anyone else have thoughts on that?

Lesbian Sex: I might be in the minority on this, but I'm glad that Paige and Alex haven't had sex yet. Hard to believe I'm saying that, after having replayed the Spashley make-out session on SoN a few times last night, but I appreciate the consistency of the storyline. We don't know much about Alex's sexual history (though it's presumed she had a physical relationship with Jay), but Paige has only had sex (willingly) with one other person and she dated him for a long while before anything happened. For her to rush into a physical relationship with Alex would betray what we know about Paige's character on the show.

Plus, I think when you're as visibility conflicted about your own sexuality, as Paige is (or has been), the notion of having sex with another girl is scary. I've always been mystified at how other television shows treat it as it's no big deal, like the transition from having sex with men to having sex with women is just semantics, when, of course, it's so much more than that. I'm anxious to see how (and if) they deal with this in Season 7.

 ----

That being said, there is one thing that bothers me terribly about the Palex pairing: it quietly teeters on feeding into the notion of lesbian sexuality developing as the result of victimization by men, as opposed to it being the natural order of things. Think about it: they paired the only two girls (to my knowledge) on the show who have experienced some physical abuse--Alex, presumably, at the hands her mother's boyfriends and Paige's rape by Dean in Season Two. As subtle as it is, I worry about how that depiction's being internalized by a presumably straight audience.

Actually, Willow and Tara kissed seven times. Admittedly, two of the kisses are a little on the chaste side with one them being filmed from far away with a staircase almost in the way.

Yeah, I really don't have anything to say about DeGrassi. Nice article though.

good run down sarah.

keep in mind that this show is entirely canadian...and was picked up by the N and other networks because of the success of the previous degrassi shows.

here in canada it airs on basic cable...ctv is one of only a few national broadcasters, and most people can pick up reception of the channel with bunny ears.

when a show like south of nowhere is created for a major american channel that is not on cable...that will be a big deal.

until then...i'll be glad i can get this show, and that my american neighbours are getting exposed to it through people like you.

but I had to make a few comments. First, great article! I love "Palex" (one of two ships that I am comfortable name-smushing, since they're canon - Marco actually _called them Palex on the show_ :), and it's great to see some publicity for them.

I just wanted to note a few things:

1. Regarding Paige's sexuality, and her difficulty with self-identifying, yeah, it can be frustrating. But it's really important to note the fact that at the point in the show where Alex kisses her (and she kisses back), she'd been dating guys for years, had had a couple of significant and long-term relationships, and, I think most importantly of all, had an older, very out, very proud gay brother. Now, the fact that she and (presumably) their parents support and love Dylan being out doesn't mitigate the fact that it's got to be difficult for Paige to all of a sudden be faced with this big change in her life. If anything, I thought it was almost _more_ difficult for her, because, as she says in the show, her brother is "the gay one" in the family. They have their places, just like he's the oldest and she's the youngest, and changing that up can be really hard. (I wish like hell there had been some discussion between Dylan and Paige about her new relationship, but Dylan was off the show during most of this season. :()

2. Regarding the way Paige talks - she calls everyone on the show "hon." Seriously, it's just Paige-speak, and while I realize that it could be grating on some, I find it endearing and really essential to her character. She's that sort of person, and everyone - older, younger, male, female, friend or lover - gets "hon"ed at some point. She's the nicknamey type - I should know, I come from an entire family of them. :)

3. Regarding the sexuality of the couple, frankly, I think I was more disappointed by the lack of Dylan/Marco love scenes than a lack between Paige and Alex. By far, Palex was the more up-and-down couple, on and off again so many times. But, again, Paige is an affectionate, touchy, teasy, "hon"-ey character, so I never felt that there was a lack of love between her and Alex. I guess, it's a difference of what we want to see as an audience. I am way more interested in seeing genuine affection and closeness between _anyone_ than I am in any harder scenes, and, really, there's not much difference when it comes to sex between any of the straight couples on the show, unless it's a "very special" episode on sex. And, even then, we see/hear more of the leading up/aftermath than the actual act. "Degrassi," for all of it's frankness and adult topics, remains a kid's show, and there isn't an episode that can't (or doesn't) air in the afternoon on CTV now that there's enough shows for them to be seen in reruns every day up here in Canada.

So, anyway, thanks again for this great article! I really enjoyed reading it, and remembering one of my favourite couples.