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“Skins” Controversial Lesbian Storyline

It’s been a difficult year for lesbians on television. When they haven’t been dying, they’ve been falling in line with the classic and highly offensive stereotype of hooking up with men.

So when the UK’s hugely popular Skins, a sometimes-far-fetched but always-racy teen drama, came along to portray a well-developed, realistic lesbian storyline that poignantly explores first love, it was like the Hallelujah Chorus blaring.

But then there was a record scratch and the jubilation stopped.

After being praised for the way it handled a gay male’s story previously, the show left many lesbians dumbfounded after Emily (Kathryn Prescott), a self-declared gay girl, helped social outcast JJ (Ollie Barbieri) lose his virginity in a “once-only charity event” – after making love to object of her affection Naomi (Lily Loveless) just one episode earlier.

While many viewers called it a plot contrivance that refuses to take Emily’s sexual orientation seriously, others have defended the show as equally allowing all characters, gay and straight, to make stupid decisions regarding sex.

For those unfamiliar, Skins is a bit like The O.C. It’s a primetime drama that has taken the UK teenage demographic by storm with its attractive but eccentric characters, angst-ridden histrionics and indie rock soundtrack – but it has enough foul language, drugs and sex to make The O.C. look like Sesame Street.

Skins, while sometimes guilty of using gimmicks and plot devices at times (MDMA brownies anyone?), is largely focused on character development, devoting each of the series’ ten episodes to one member of the core cast.

The show began its third season, which debuted Jan. 22, with a new batch of troublemakers beginning their two-year stint at Roundview College (the British equivalent to 11th and 12th grades in the States). Among them was Naomi who, brash and politically aware, apparently has some history with Emily, a twin who lets her boy-crazy and seemingly homophobic sister Katie (Megan Prescott) boss her around.

At new student orientation, we learned Katie hates Naomi because she thinks Naomi kissed Emily pre-Roundview. But it quickly became apparent Emily doesn’t share her sister’s disdain for Naomi.

Over the course of the season, Naomi insisted (unconvincingly) that she was straight, but the two girls developed a friendship permeated with romantic tension.

The tension reached a breaking point in the Feb. 26 episode, “Naomi.”

Naomi, who hides her loneliness with a rude, guarded exterior, found herself with three unlikely suitors: Kieran, her politics teacher who sees himself in Naomi but ultimately betrayed her trust by trying to kiss her; the obnoxious and crude Cook, who seems intrigued by Naomi’s aloofness and indifference toward him; and Emily, who sees someone special in Naomi.

Each time she got closer to Emily, Naomi pulled back, struggling with the vulnerability that letting herself fall in love allows.

“I do want you,” Emily tells Naomi after they spend the night together, “so be brave, and want me back.”

In a scene that channeled ABC’s Once and Again when Jessie’s mother unwittingly helped her realize she can’t lose Katie (Mischa Barton), Naomi’s mother unknowingly advised her to go after Emily by telling Naomi, “The people who make us happy are never the people we expect. So when you find someone, you’ve got to cherish it.”

In a symbolic closing scene, Naomi went to talk to Emily after rejecting her earlier, but they spoke through the door and held hands through the cat flap. Both girls cried, hidden by the door between them, but Naomi finally let her guard down, telling Emily, “When I’m with you, I feel like I’m a better person; I feel happier; I feel less alone.”

Not since the superbly written Once and Again was canceled seven years ago have we seen such an honest and organic mainstream portrayal of a teenage lesbian love story, where it is explored as part of character’s core being, rather than an issue to later be ignored (One Tree Hill) or a ratings stunt (The O.C.).

Skins also managed to avoid the popular television cliché of focusing on others’ negative reactions when gay teenagers come out or begin relationships.

While we see Emily’s sister disapproving of her possibly being gay throughout the series, the other characters mostly regard it as a non-issue. Naomi’s revelation is represented to the audience as a positive event in which she realizes she is worthy of being loved — something that is worth the feeling of vulnerability.

After it aired, the Skins homepage at E4’s website declared, “The response has been overwhelming for Naomi’s ep.”

Indeed, Naomi’s episode has received more viewer comments than any so far, including some from viewers who said the episode helped them accept they are gay, or inspired them to come out to a friend.

But comments from lesbian viewers were much less positive by the next episode, which focused on socially awkward good guy JJ.

Autistic and experiencing bouts of rage, JJ bumped into Emily at a counseling center where she was trying to learn to be more honest with people about her sexuality.

The two quickly bonded over feeling abnormal at times and JJ said if he were normal, his friends would listen to him and he wouldn’t be a virgin. After a day of trying to get through to his friends failed, Emily offered to sleep with him – but as a “once-only charity event,” because she’s gay.

While the scene used one of the oldest and most offensive TV clich̩s about lesbians Рthat they are willing to sleep with men Рthe writers seemed to go out of their way to make sure viewers knew Emily was a lesbian and not sexually interested in JJ.

Some say this is par for the course on Skins – saying the sex on the show is casual would be an understatement.

Sex is used in all kinds of ways, from telling a friend you’re mad at him to thanking someone for teaching you how to play Twister (don’t ask). With sex as a central theme and form of expression among the characters, Emily sleeping with JJ as a gesture of kindness may seem believable on Skins.

Some viewers also noted that young characters are prone to making poor decisions, and such actions are not unheard of in real life.

But in a media environment where representations of lesbians are so poor and lesbians who aren’t lured into romantic situations with men are the exception rather than the rule, Skins‘ transgression is harder to brush off. By choosing to defend such portrayals of lesbians, some viewers worry writers will never be forced to take depictions of lesbians and bisexual women seriously.

Other viewers have pointed out one glaring behind-the-scenes difference: Naomi’s episode was co-written by a 19-year-old female, Atiha Sen Gupta, while JJ’s was written by series co-creator Bryan Elsley, a 47-year-old man.

Of course, rather than deliberately attempting to undermine Emily’s sexuality (although certainly a byproduct) or catering to a male fantasy, this storyline could simply be the result of lazy writing. Any bets on whether some drama will be squeezed out in the future by having Naomi find out about Emily’s good deed?

Though promotional materials reveal a commitment to Emily and Naomi as a couple, the show has already given us both the best and the worst of lesbian representation. With three episodes left in the season and one more season with Emily and Naomi in the cast, how the rest of the pair’s story plays out may ultimately decide just how lesbians perceive Skins.

Skins has already successfully shocked audiences with its raunchy depictions of teen sex and heavy drug use – we’re just hoping it can shock us in a good way and finish Emily and Naomi’s stories without drudging up more ways to undermine what it means to be a lesbian.

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