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Nip/Tuck
Increases Lesbian Visibility by Leaps/Bounds
(page 2)
Sarah Warn,
September 2003
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Matt
agrees because he wants to get close to Vanessa (although
he pretends otherwise), and his concern for Vanessa is evident
in this follow-up conversation in the same episode:
Matt:
Vanessa, this isn’t all about Ridley. What do you
want?
Vanessa: I just want her to love me,
that’s all.
Matt: Is all this effort worth it?
Vanessa: You tell me, Matt? Is all this
pain worth it to you?
Matt: Pain? I’m a guy who’s
about to have a three way!
Vanessa: Look, I know you think that
maybe this is a way for us to be together, Matt. But I
have to be honest. Its not. You can never have me the
way that Ridley can. I love you….as a friend., but
that’s it.
Matt: Well, that’s fine. I feel
the same way. I told you, I’m just a guy helping
a girl out in trouble.
Vanessa: God, Matt. If only you were
a girl.
Matt: Mmmm. Yeah.
This
is the first time it is made clear that Vanessa is a lesbian
(not bisexual), and it is also clear that she isn't really
"out" to anyone but Matt (and Ridley). The end
of the episode shows Matt, Vanessa, and Ridley beginning
their first threesome.
In
the seventh episode ("Cliff Montegna"), after
several threesomes, the teenagers finally get caught when
Matt's mom Julia walks in on them one afternoon. She
immediately calls the girls' parents over for an "intervention,"
during which Julia insists that their behavior was very wrong
and asks them to agree that it was a one-time incident and won't
happen again. Although he doesn't think he did anything wrong,
Matt reluctantly agrees with his mother in order to protect
Vanessa (whose very conservative parents are blaming Matt and
his parents for allowing this to happen).
But
Ridley refuses to go along, and outs Vanessa to her parents
in the process:
Ridley:
I’m sorry, Vanessa, I tried, but what Dr. McNamara said
is true. I have to be honest with my feelings, no matter what
they are. I’m not like you. I’m not a lezzie.
Vanessa's Mom: What’s a lezzie?
Ridley's mom: Your daughter likes vagina.
Ridley: Vanessa, I think you’re pretty
and cool and sexy and all, but (turns to Matt) I’m in
love with Matt now...we’ve been seeing each other.
Vanessa (tears in her eyes): That’s
not true! (turns to Matt) Deny it, Matt………..deny
it, Matt. (Matt doesn’t answer. Vanessa turns to Ridley)
But I love you!
Vanessa's Mom: I’ve heard enough. Come
on (takes Vanessa out)
This
creates a love triangle straight out of Sartre's "No
Exit": Vanessa loves Ridley, who loves Matt, who loves
Vanessa. Since he can't have Vanessa, Matt continues to see
Ridley. But when his father finds out, he asks Matt "is
that the kind of man your going to be?" and proceeds to
lecture him on being a good person. When Matt protests, "I
didn’t mean to hurt [Vanessa], Dad." Sean cuts him
off with "Vanessa’s gay, Matt. It's not a choice.
You dating her friend is."
Sean's
comment that "being gay is not a choice" reinforces
the series' stance that sexual orientation is pre-determined,
and there's no attempt to portray Vanessa's sexuality as "a
phase" or even a bad thing (except that it means Matt can't
have her). Vanessa herself is a sympathetic and realistic character,
although the fact that she hid her relationship with Ridley
from Matt for such a long time and then broke his heart made
many viewers feel that she deserved what happened with Ridley.
Ridley's
sexual orientation remains a little fuzzy; although she appears
bisexual, she may be bi-curious or heteroflexible
instead. Regardless, her character doesn't do much to help misconceptions
about bisexual girls/women, since she reinforces the idea that
bisexual girls/women will always choose a man over a woman.
It
is still unclear whether Matt with continue seeing Ridley, and
what will happen to Vanessa--but since Kate Mara is listed as
regular cast member, we can assume we'll be seeing more of her.
But
Vanessa isn't Nip/Tuck's only lesbian character--the
cast also includes Liz Winters (played by Roma
Maffia of Profiler), an anesthesiologist
who works with Christian and Sean. Unlike Vanessa, Liz is very
secure in her sexual orientation, as she reveals in this conversation
with Christian:
Liz:
I have a tattoo on my right breast. Two female symbols
intertwined.
Christian: Double dykes?
Liz: I’m expressing my lesbian
identity.
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