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Written by Angel Sevilla
Jul 14, 2010
A recurring topic in my columns is the importance of advocates and role models in today’s media for young gay people. As the oldest of 12 siblings, I understand that one does not always choose to be a role model. Sometimes people just look up to you, whether you like it or not.
People in the media should understand that by choosing to be on television, they’re positioning themselves as role models, whether they like it or not. I don’t think a lot of them realize this.
When I heard that a new show called “The Real L Word” was coming to Showtime, I made time to see it with the hope that one of the stars would have her life together enough to deserve the responsibility she was taking on as an openly lesbian role model.
The “Real L Word” is a reality show that follows six Los Angeles lesbians through their friendships, relationships and careers. The episode begins with each of them taking turns telling about their first sexual experience with another woman (or another girl – as in the case of Whitney, who was only 9 and whose sex partner was 11). The characters vary from the girl who has a lot of random hook-ups to the lesbian couple planning their wedding, giving viewers a wide enough range of personalities from which to find one to identify with.
But in watching the episode, I struggled to find any reason why these women deserved to be on a reality show, other than the fact that they were lesbians on a show about lesbians. A couple of the women were professionals in their chosen fields. Almost all of them were in some type of relationship, but none of them had lasted more than a few months. Even the couple who were planning their wedding – Jill and Nikki – had only been together for just over a year.
I was watching the episode and losing faith (and interest) in these average women doing nothing but walking around aimlessly on camera. That is, until I saw Mikey’s story. Mikey is kind of a soft butch lesbian. She works in the fashion industry and is very hardworking. She and her girlfriend had been together for nine months, and I noticed immediately that they seemed to have the healthiest relationship of the bunch. They both have a lot of goals as well as an equal amount of respect for each other. This couple was, in my opinion, the couple for young people to look up to, gay or straight.
Jill and Nikki seemed pretty put together too. The only tension I saw was when they were planning their wedding, which can be stressful on any couple. It doesn’t necessarily mean that their relationship is doomed to failure. I also really enjoyed their philosophy on how they live their lives. Nikki described them as “the straightest gay couple” she’s ever seen. That’s not my favorite choice of words, but I understood what she was getting at.
“The Real L Word” has potential in a couple of the characters to exert a positive influence on the LGBT community.
