When
Ally McBeal premiered in September
1997, lesbian kisses and lesbian characters were infrequent and
controversial on television, as illustrated by the media frenzy
over the coming-out of Ellen Degeneres' sitcom character that
same year. But by the time Ally McBeal finished its last
season in May of 2002, same-sex kissing between women--gay and
straight--had become almost commonplace on television.
Despite
the many ways in which the show routinely rendered lesbian and
bisexual women invisible, Ally McBeal is one of the reasons
lesbian visibility has improved on television in the last few
years.
David E. Kelley's hour-long series about post-feminist
lawyer Ally McBeal (played by Calista Flockhart) was a ratings
hit for Fox in its first few years because of its witty, un-"p.c."
dialogue, quirky characters, and unusual mix of drama and comedy.
It
was also frequently controversial (usually deliberately so), and
thrived on exploring contentious topics like homosexuality--especially
when it involved homosexual encounters between attractive young
women. Through frequent conversations between the (heterosexual)
characters about lesbianism or bisexuality, as
well as several kisses between the female characters, homoerotic
dancing, and the occasional lesbian character, the series contributed
to the increasingly popular belief in American culture that most
women are secretly attracted to other women, but (almost) always
in addition to—and subjugated to--their attraction to men.
This
curiosity by heterosexually-identified women isn't new, but the
increase in public awareness and public acceptance of it is a
recent development. It is best described by the term "heteroflexible,"
which Salon.com writer Laurie Essig explains as the willingness
to explore same-sex encounters while clearly and publicly maintaining
a preference for heterosexuality. "Heteroflexible,"
she elaborates, "is a lighthearted attempt to stick with
heterosexual identification while still 'getting in on the fun
of homosexual pleasures'" (Nov 15, 2000).
For
some women, to paraphrase Ally's roommate Renee (Lisa Nicole Carson),
heteroflexibility is what happens when opportunity and curiosity
collide (Season 3, Episode 2).
Unlike
heterosexual women, heteroflexible women are open to
homosexual experiences, as long as these experiences stay firmly
in the "experimentation" camp. And unlike the bisexual
woman or bisexual straight woman,
the heteroflexible woman makes no claim to bisexuality and has
no interest in developing a romantic relationship with women outside
of sex. Quite the opposite, in fact--her identity is securely
rooted in heterosexuality.
In
this way, a heteroflexible woman's sexuality functions much like
a weeble wobble, the popular egg-shaped plastic child’s
toy from the 1970’s with a round, weighted bottom that causes
it to spring back into place whenever it is knocked down or pushed
over: she might occasionally dabble in Sapphic encounters, but
she eventually and inevitably returns to heterosexuality as her
normal state of being.
There
are numerous scenes and storylines throughout
the lifetime of Ally McBeal that propagate the concept
of heteroflexibility; in the second season alone (1998-1999),
Ally McBeal discussed or portrayed sexual relationships
between women in five of the twenty-two episodes.
But
it is perhaps most clearly illustrated by the now-famous kiss
between Ally and Ling (Lucy Liu) in Episode 2 of Season 3 (November
1999), in which Ling's erotic dream about Ally causes the women
to briefly flirt with the idea of having a sexual relationship.
After a few days of wondering and talking about it, their desire
culminates in a kiss, which both women enjoy. Although after the
kiss both women conclude that what they really want out of a relationship
is “a penis,” both women were at least willing to
consider the possibility that they might be “gay,"
as Ling verbalized in her statement prior to the kiss that conveyed
she was “afraid” she might end up with a woman.
