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HBO’s “Deadwood” Makes Room for Lesbians

HBO’s Deadwood, with its landscape filled with foul-mouthed male characters, is one of the last places one might expect to find a fascinating, three-dimensional female character, let alone a queer one. But once viewers are roped into this multi-layered series from David Milch (co-creator of NYPD Blue), they have the pleasure of meeting a handful of women who hold their own in an environment that is at its best, dangerous, and at its worst, deadly. One such woman, Joanie Stubbs (played by Kim Dickens), is not only well-drawn, but by Season 3 is firmly established as preferring the company of women.

Deadwood isn’t for everyone. The show’s language and violence are both very graphic, and many critics have labeled the show misogynist. But because the series is modeled on the historic town of Deadwood, S.D., and takes place in the early 1870s when the women’s suffrage movement was just beginning to take shape, the portrayal of female characters as disempowered is all too accurate.

Formed as a mining community, the real Deadwood was a dangerous place, full of harsh conditions. On the Deadwood Season 2 DVD, historians comment that because of this atmosphere, women in the camp were typically prostitutes who worked at the camp saloons. It is within the walls of one such “entertainment emporium” that one of Deadwood‘s unique and noteworthy female characters, madam Joanie Stubbs emerges.

Joanie is introduced during the first season in connection with the Bella Union Saloon, a high-class brothel owned by Cy Tolliver (Powers Boothe). It is quickly apparent that Joanie, who uses both her street smarts and her grace to win people over, is a woman who understands society’s rules but who also resists them.

As season one progresses, we learn that Joanie’s father sexually abused her and then sold her to Cy Tolliver, an experience that will later be revealed to have had significant consequences.

Joanie’s possible lesbianism is hinted at in the first season. In Episode 5, “The Trial of Jack McCall,” Joanie has a conflict of conscience which puts her at odds with Cy. Afterward, he walks in on her bathing some of the women who work at the Bella Union, and asks her if she has resolved her issue from earlier. Without blinking, Joanie kisses the woman she is washing, as if to tell Cy that she’s back to her old self, but after he leaves it becomes clear that Joanie is full of sadness.

In Episode 7, the arrival of a new prostitute at the Bella Union, Flora (played by Kristen Bell of Veronica Mars), once again revisits the question of Joanie’s sexuality. In one of their first scenes together, Joanie gives Flora tips on working in the world’s oldest profession, advising her that she needs to act happier if she wants to attract clients. Flora replies, “I thought I only had to act it with them that want to stick it in me.”

Joanie answers, “You never know who that might be, Flora.” From Kim Dickens’ delivery, it’s clear that Joanie is implying that Flora’s potential clients might not be the typical men she expects – they might be female; they might be Joanie herself.

In Episode 8, Flora shows up at Joanie’s door after being upset by witnessing a murder. Flora asks if she can stay with her for the rest of the night, and after Joanie agrees, Flora tries to seduce Joanie, who doesn’t take the bait. The next morning Cy sees Flora sneaking out, and he teases Joanie, commenting that it’s good to see her adding more notches to her belt.

From this point on and for most of the second season, Joanie’s sexuality is put on the back burner. She leaves the Bella Union and opens her own brothel with the help of a friend from back East, only to have the brothel’s working girls fall victim to a serial killer. Following the downfall of this endeavor, Joanie is at the end of her rope until she begins to form a friendship with Calamity Jane, one of the many historical figures sprinkled throughout the series.

The real-life Jane, one of Wild Bill Hickok’s traveling companions, was known to be a hard-drinking frontier woman who could stand up to any man but who also had a softer side, even helping to nurse the citizens of the town during a small pox plague. It’s worth noting that Deadwood‘s Calamity Jane follows this historical description and stands in stark contrast to the wholesome, blonde perkiness of the Doris Day version in the 1953 movie musical Calamity Jane.

Toward the end of Season 2, Jane (played with gusto by Robin Weigert) starts to spend a great deal of time in the company of Joanie Stubbs. At first their relationship is forged because Jane feels the need to look out for the former madam following her run-in with a killer. By Season 3, their friendship has developed, and both women are looking out for each other. Jane keeps an eye on Joanie, whose attitude about living is wavering, and Joanie keeps an eye on Jane, especially where Jane’s drinking is concerned.

As awkward moments between the two increase, it becomes apparent that what is being said isn’t as important as what is not said, thus setting up a developing subtextual lesbian relationship. The tension between Joanie and Jane finally comes to a head in the middle of the third season.

At the end of “A Rich Find,” Joanie finds a very drunk Jane in the streets and helps her return to the room she has rented. In the next episode, “Unauthorized Cinnamon,” Joanie tries to give the inebriated Jane a sponge bath while Jane, who is uncomfortable about stripping in front of Joanie, blusters about how she shouldn’t care. “I never had a sister,” Jane offers as an explanation for her discomfort.

Joanie replies: “I had two. And I slept with both of ’em.” Although the suggestion that Joanie has engaged in incestuous relations with her sisters is one of the most disturbing aspects of her character, longtime viewers will recall the first season revelation that Joanie was sexually abused by her father. Joanie continues, ” I don’t know why God let me or … if he forgives me when I pray, but ? but I’d never hurt you, Jane, or touch you if you didn’t want.”

Jane responds by inviting Joanie to kiss her, and after their kiss, the typically masculine Jane reveals a previously unseen vulnerability.

In the next episode, “Leviathan Smiles,” it is the next morning, and we see Joanie, fully dressed in her finery, staring out onto the streets of Deadwood. She walks to a pile on the floor who is revealed to be the sleeping body of Jane, whom Joanie wakens. Telling her she is leaving, Joanie offers up her bed to her friend. In an awkward moment, Jane leaps up and puts on her jacket and hat, never once making eye contact with Joanie.

As they both depart the lodging house, they come upon proprietor, standing in front of his door with what could be described as a protest sign. He quotes scripture about the sins he assumes are going on in the room upstairs. Although only moments before Jane was embarrassed about kissing Joanie, she nonetheless stands up to the man who is judging them.

But just as quickly she marches off, leaving Joanie behind. Joanie calls after her, saying she plans on finding another place to stay and that Jane is welcome to join her.

Deadwood concludes its third season on Aug. 27, and though the series has been canceled, two new two-hour movies will be filmed to wrap things up next year. Whether or not Jane and Joanie’s relationship develops further during these last few episodes is not known, but Deadwood has made a unique contribution toward representing lesbian and bisexual women on television and, in particular, within the Western genre.

Some viewers may question whether the show included lesbianism merely to titillate viewers, but the depth of the series as well as the complex nature in which the characters have evolved is evidence to the contrary. In addition, the character of Calamity Jane differs from the majority of lesbians on television in that she does not conform to traditional feminine norms. In fact, Jane is much closer to a butch character than is typically seen on television.

Even if Joanie and Jane’s story ends in tragedy or the relationship does not develop beyond friendship, Deadwood has done a wonderful job of showing a growing attraction between two women in a way that no other historical Western has dared.

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