When we think of queer love being represented on TV, most often the first image that comes to mind is two men. While the LGBTQIA+ community has fought incredibly hard to have any representation at all, there is still plenty of work to be done regarding the representation of non-cis males in this group. The lack of female lovers, transgender, nonbinary, bisexual, and even asexual people is still incredibly evident in current media and is being fought for. Today, I want to talk specifically about lesbian representation. What does it look like? What effect does it have on audiences? Does it need specific attention as opposed to just general LGBTQIA+ representation?
Lesbian representation in media is, as it is in real life, a spectrum. This is especially true in fictional media, but that does not mean that every character is an accurate representative. Let’s think about those shows where the two lesbians are high school enemies and end up making out at a party or actually dating or something. How many teenage girls do you know who would set aside hatred just for the sake of finding someone else with their sexuality (granted, often the only other person who shares their sexuality in the show)? I, personally, still know how to hold a grudge against someone for so much as giving me a dirty look in high school, or even middle school, and know that is not someone I would ever be willing to settle for. There are also lesbians for the sake of turning boys on in many, MANY, hetero-romance movies (which is incredibly rare to find with gay men). Often, they are the targets of jokes or are really just there for the visual appeal. This doesn’t mean that every representative of being lesbian is a bad one; on the contrary, there are plenty of female homosexual relationships showcased that really do show the struggles of being queer or not, considering it to be a huge part of their identity, just a regular part. They also show the ups and downs of any relationship, the fights and inner conflicts, in a way that may either be unique to a queer relationship or generalized across any sort of romance.
You’ve heard of “you are what you eat”, but what about you are what you witness? People typically tend to consume media that appeals to them and their opinions and beliefs. This means the news, books, articles, and even TV shows. When you surround yourself with scenarios you are familiar with and comfortable with, that is what you stick to. This becomes an issue when it makes people close-minded (about anything, not just LGBTQIA+ people) and forms a prejudice. If people are only watching a show where lesbians are there for the sex appeal, that is how they become viewed in real life, as well as where we may get that “I can change her” mentality (which is potentially traumatizing). Or if they only see shows where toxic lesbian relationships are shown, that may become the belief, or may make a queer person believe that that is the average standard (which becomes dangerous). Shows that show healthy female romantic relationships tend to end early if they are the main focus, audiences commonly do not want the minimal drama that comes with them, and the lack of entertainment. Here’s the thing: those relationships exist on TV to help young (or old) queer people realize that they are not isolated and that there is hope for them to find the person they are looking for. It is not meant for people to watch and force their hate-filled biases upon, rather meant to breed acceptance.
Lesbian representation in our media is just as important as any other type of queer representation; I am not arguing otherwise. All I am saying I that it has yet to come as far as gay male representation (I’ll leave the speculation of why up to you). Just because something needs more attention in this moment as opposed to something else does not mean it holds more or less importance as a topic itself. We still have a long way to go with gay and lesbian representation; on that note, more still needs to be done with asexual, bisexual, transgender, nonbinary, gender-fluid, and many more identities, with how they are portrayed to the general public in almost every sense.