Lesbians of whatever age just have to have a position on The L Word, the American TV show which ran for six season between 2004 and 2009. If you haven’t got anything to say about it, that’s like being straight and never having watched Friends.
News that the show is set to return later this year means that all of us Pillow Princesses will be wanting to lie down and watch the re-boot.
I’m half-joking but the importance of this show should not be underestimated. Back in 2004 it was the first TV drama series with lesbians as protagonists. Before then, there was TV for gay men and under-the-counter romances for women, but nothing much for us ladies on the small screen. The fact that this show even existed, helped many women to come out of the closet.
As I write this, I’m feeling nostalgic about what it meant for me personally. The series tells the story of a group of lesbians and bisexuals and their straight friends. The focus was on the LGBT community in all its diversity. Topics such as transgender transition and IVF were addressed, along with the sex life of elderly and disabled people.
As soon as I had a television set in my bedroom, I had it tuned to the The L Word – always with the remote in my hand in case my brother or my parents came in. The show told me there was absolutely nothing wrong with being in love with another woman. It also gave me the feeling of acceptance, of not being alone. Above all it made me believe that I was not doomed to be a failure or a victim because I am lesbian.
The L Word came off air 10 years ago. Since then, many of us have tried to find something similar elsewhere, such as Orange Is The New Black or Sense8. But there has been nothing to match the impact of The L Word.
Returning later this year, the new series will bring together original stars Jennifer Beals (Bette), Katherine Moennig (Shane), and Leisha Hailey (Alice), who are all executive producing, “alongside a new generation of self-possessed LGBTQIA characters experiencing love, heartbreak, sex, setbacks and success in Los Angeles.”
This might sound over-the-top, but it feels like normality has been resumed and we ourselves are coming home to The L Word.
We’re bound to have butterflies when we finally hear the theme music once again. But the key questions remains as it was when we were teenagers: are you in love with the lipstick Carmen or are you more into a Shane-dyke-style?
