The New L Word Promo Poster Gives Us Pause

--Grace Chu from AfterEllen.com

 

The L Word has never billed itself to be anything more than a lesbian soap opera; however, it looks like the promo staff of The L Word took a cue from MTV and fully embraced the “sex sells” doctrine.

As queer women, we are often in a bind as to how to react to overtly sexualized images of queer women in the media. We are sexual beings, so part of us may react with some level of excitement, yet we are also put in the position off wanting to portray to the general public that we are not the type of sex hungry deviants that right-wing muckrakers claim that we are.

 

The Gossip Girl promos also fall into the vein of salacious and sensational, yet no one would assume that all straight people are deviant nymphos — only the straight people in Manhattan. Kidding, of course. I think. But then again, it’s just television for crying out loud! Shouldn’t we just loosen up? Maybe?

This promo poster seems to be just a tad over the top. Of course, I find the thought of Shane and Jenny knocking boots to be rather abhorrent, so I may be biased.

Do you know what this poster reminds me of? Back in college, we had a dance at the end of senior year nicknamed “The Last Chance Dance.” Everyone knew that we would be going our separate ways a few days later, so this realization acted as a cue for some people to jump on other willing participants and perform R and even X-rated acts on them right on the dance floor. After all, this was our “last chance.” In a few days we would be back in our parents’ houses in places like Dubuque, Iowa and Raeford, North Carolina pondering the next step in our lives.

As the run of The L Word draws to a close, a similar feeling of urgency seems to be going through the heads of the producers and promotions staff. This is the last chance for the characters to get into some steamy scenes, because once this show goes off the air, it’s all over.

Quick! Let’s just throw any two actresses on the show on any flat surface on the set and let them go at it! There is definitely a sense of urgency and desperation emanating from that poster, especially on the part of Shane, since she seems to have gone through all of Los Angeles and is running out of options.

 

So, what do you think: Sexy or icky?