OK, before we start, I know what you're thinking. "The L Word" is super old and irrelevant, something for the lesbians and queers of generations past. Well, yeah, it's definitely dated. And yes, it's definitely (a little more than) slightly dorky that it is 2016 and during the past few months, I started and finished the series. I know the show has problems--especially in the ways it handles trans identities, bisexuality, and sexual fluidity. It is centered around a community of lesbians, so it tends to become really focused on the importance of binaries and sort of undermines anyone who doesn't identify as either gay/lesbian or straight, woman or man (which is bullish•t, first off, but also a product of the early 2000s and the desired audience--adult/middle aged binary lesbians). The majority of the characters are white, skinny, feminine-presenting, hot-in-a-traditional-way lesbians, which is nowhere near realistic or representative of queer women as a population. A lot of people also have issues with the crazy degree at which lesbians are hyper-sexualized on this show, which is completely valid.
Even though it's got some issues that are not excusable in any way, this show can still serve as a helpful reference for young LGBTQ+ people as they try to figure out how to embrace and navigate around their identities in order to have a successful, interpersonally connected life in our heteronormative, cisnormative world.
Also, a lot of the time, "The L Word" is super awesome garbage-y, gossipy TV, and who doesn't love that? Much of this endlessly entertaining drama is accidentally stirred up by a certain character on the show named Shane McCutcheon--the one that everyone falls in love with. Whether you're a character on the show or a real-life human watching "The L Word" in your living room, it is guaranteed that you have fallen/are falling/will fall in love with Shane McCutcheon, and it's also guaranteed that you sort of have no idea why Shane has that effect on you and the rest of the world. I've been trying to figure out why the heck I get so overwhelmed by Shane McCutcheon lately, so let me tell you what I've discovered, because it might help you understand how you became so suddenly enamored.
1. Because, well, duh.
2. Because she walks around looking like she just finished a gig as the drummer for a 90s punk band all of the time.
3. Because she seems to give zero sh•ts about anything that's going on ever
4. ...But she's actually just a really cuddly dude with a lonely heart.
I mean, who are you kidding? Bad boy who's crying on the inside is your secret type.
5. Because she's like, super successful and smart.
6. Because Kristen Stewart vibes.
7. Because she's kind of everyone's dad, which is adorable.
8. Because arms!!!
9. Because entire corporeal form!!!
10. Because you can be 100% sure, at any given moment, that everyone else wants a little Shane McCutcheon in their lives, too.
