Is the "L Word" Feminist?

By Sal Renshaw, Ms. Magazine. Posted March 11, 2009.

Given this unique focus on women's relationships, it's no surprise that some of us have mulled over the question of the F word in The L Word. I'm still holding out for an episode where the whole cast wears "This is what a feminist looks like" T-shirts -- although I did hear the Ms. Foundation for Women mentioned, and it was actually followed by cheering! In truth, there have been a lot of shout-outs to feminism, notwithstanding how successfully these scenes have been handled. To name only a few, there was the Gloria Steinem guest appearance in season two, which offered an embarrassingly didactic lesson for those not up on their herstory (on the table was the question of whether all lesbians are feminists and whether women who sleep with men could still be feminists). Then there was the beginning of season four, where Bette's half-sister Kit (Pam Grier) dealt with an unexpected pregnancy just as she started menopause. Kit decides to terminate, and arrangements are made by her supportive male partner, but much to her shock she is subjected to unconscionable harassment at the clinic she goes to -- which is actually an anti-abortion front. That's a nod to a very long-standing feminist issue (see "Dangerous Masquerade," Fall 2008) and it's hard to see why they went here if not as an homage.

Yet the stand-out feminist moment for me revolved around Jenny in season two. Mark, a wannabe filmmaker, moves in with Jenny and Shane and, unbeknownst to them, turns out to be as interested in lesbians' lives as we viewers are: He has gone so far as to hide video cameras all over the house to record the "secret lives of lesbians" -- imagine that! Eventually the cameras are discovered and the women express their sense of violation. In a shamefaced apology, Mark says: "When I moved in here I was the type of guy who was capable of doing shit like this, but I am not that guy anymore. …[Y]ou and Shane have made me a better man."

Jenny responds with a speech that still makes me punch the air: "Oh, fuck off, Mark! It's not my job to make you a better man and I don't give a shit if I've made you a better man. It's not a fucking woman's job to be consumed and invaded and spat out so that some fucking man can evolve."

The uncompromising force of Jenny's response speaks well to the broader question of how The L Word has tackled women's issues, but given that this is a show primarily about lesbians, we might ask: Where exactly is the lesbian feminism?

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