2)
It's unfortunate that the only time butch lesbians are shown
on television, it's in a negative light. The are usually shown
in a scene similar to the one in this episode where a butch
lesbian makes unwanted advances towards a straight woman or
newly out lesbian, and is rejected. The cumulative result is
that anyone watching television would come away with the impression
that butch lesbians are destined for a life of invisibility
and rejection.
3)
In the hot tub, Sara tells Billie she is drawn to women who
are similar to herself because "I figure if I can't be
a better me, I might as well date her," which reinforces
the "lesbians are narcisstic" stereotype.
4)
The show featured a warning about "adult sexuality"
at the beginning, which is hypocritical and unnecessary considering
the nature of the show and the fact that this warning is not
shown before episodes which contain explicit scenes of heterosexual
sexuality.
The
Mixed
1)
Billie's comfort with kissing and feigning attraction to Sara
is in marked contrast to Van and Deaq's clear discomfort at
the idea of kissing another guy when they are pretending to
be a gay male couple in the club. While this makes Billie appear
less homophobic, the episode does nothing to challenge the men's
homophobia, and worse, actually plays their homophobia for laughs.
2)When
the cops discover the women are gay, they have the following
conversation:
VAN:
They may be lesbians but they don't have to stay
lesbians
DEAQ: Van thinks he can turn 'em.
BILLIE: (laughing) Okay, I'll let you in on a little secret--you're
the reason lesbians become lesbians.
Although
the last line is said in jest, it does subtly reinforce the
stereotype that lesbianism is a choice, and that it is not
a choice for women but a rejection of men.
It also obviously references the stereotype that lesbians
just need to meet the right guy, but Billie clearly dismisses
this idea at the same time--her tone is teasing and she makes
fun of Van's assumption that he can "convert" lesbians.
3)
When Van and Deaq ask Billie where she's going, she says
"I'm going to see the lesbians." The way the sentence
is structured makes it sound like Billie is going to visit
zoo animals, or a circus act, but Billie's mocking tone
appears to be making fun of the guys' this idea of lesbians
as strange and different.
4)
Almost all of the women in the bar are ultra-femmey (i.e.
long hair, trendy tight-fitting clothes, makeup, etc.).
This isn't too surprising given that it's television where
everyone has to look glamorous all the time, but
it's not exactly realistic (although if any lesbian bar
actually looks like this, it probably would be
one in L.A.)
5)
Although she's a criminal, the character of Sara is actually
presented in a fairly sympathetic light, and Billie appears
to genuinely care for her, at least a little (although not
necessarily in a sexual way) as evidenced by Billie's treatment
of Sara after she has been arrested (she speaks gently to
Sarah, reassures Sarah that her life isn't over, and then
offers her a deal which will prevent her from going to jail).
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