Dick
Wolf’s Law and Order
franchise dominates television
ratings in the US and has proven that hour-long dramas also do
well in syndication: The Law and Order mothership and
its spinoffs, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (nicknamed
SVU) and Law and Order: Criminal Intent, all
rank in the top twenty shows on a weekly basis, even after years
on the air.
Although
there are no explicitly lesbian characters on any of the Law
and Order shows, SVU's Detective Olivia Benson (played
by Mariska Hargitay) has attracted a large lesbian following.
Although the fictional New York cop is not out or even directly
hinted to be gay, she is one of the few characters on TV to exhibit
what are often considered to be dyke characteristics--with short
hair, a leather jacket, and a gun at her hip, Olivia sits with
legs apart, commanding the space around her. She is the protector
of the victims who come through her department, a strong woman
in a profession filled with men, and often physically or verbally
dominates “perps.” Her uniform includes t-shirts,
sweaters, slacks and sensible shoes – no heels, no frills,
and little jewelry except for what appears to be a man’s
watch.
During its five seasons, the detective has had
a few unsuccessful dates with men, or ex’s
have been met or discussed, but the show deliberately does not
focus on the personal lives of its characters so not much more
is known about her personal life. What little we have seen of
Olivia’s romantic life has led us to believe she's straight,
but the fact that those references are few and far between makes
it easier for viewers to speculate about the character’s
sexuality.
Co-Executive
Producer Ted Kotcheff referenced this in the season one dvd interviews.
“We tried to give Mariska a boyfriend. Never worked, and
I don’t know why. We didn’t want Mariska to have a
boyfriend. We didn’t want Benson to have a boyfriend."
The audience, he maintains, made it clear they didn't want Benson
to have a boyfriend. While the producers might not understand
why a strong androgynous female character works better without
a boyfriend, we do.
SVU
has had a handful of gay-related episodes, including
the groundbreaking “Lowdown” this season, which tackled
the issue of African American men who do not consider themselves
gay but have sex with other men. Another one, Episode 4.21 (“Fallacy”)
dealt with a transgendered MTF named Cheryl Avery (played by The
L Word’s Katherine Moennig), who killed someone under
threat of being outed. Despite her guilt, both Detective Benson
and Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March)
tried to help Cheryl work through an inflexible justice system.
When
Benson's partner Detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni)
appeared uncomfortable with Cheryl's gender, Benson confronted
him with the statement, “Sounds like you’ve got a
problem.”
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