Fashionably Femme: Lesbian Visibility, Style, and Politics in The L Word

Dove-Viebahn, Aviva

doi:10.1007/978-1-349-29011-6_6

Cited by 1 publication

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“…Much of the work discusses how successful its representations of LGBTs (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered) are in terms of political recognition of dis-advantaged minorities, for example bisexual women (Moorman 2008), queer femininity (Douglas 2008) or issues of race (Muñoz 2005). In a highly interesting piece, Aviva Dove-Viebahn (2007) analyzes some L-word story arcs through the concept of visibility and lesbian fashion, particularly the upper middle class fashion style commonly referred to as "lesbian chic". According to Rebecca Beirne (2008), The L-word has much in common with the lesbian chic of the 1990s (Clark 1995;Ciasullo 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Commercialization of Lesbian Identities in Showtime’s The L-word

Ladendorf

2010

Cult. Unbound

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The article discusses recent developments in media culture through one case study: The L-word, the first television series narratively centered around lesbian and bisexual characters. The business discourse surrounding the series' production is examined together with the televised text itself and the merchandize connected to The L-word brand. The main research question is why lesbians, a target group previously deemed uninteresting by advertisers and international media conglomerates, have suddenly become demographically desirable. Media producers show increasing interest in the active audience, and encourage fans' own creativity, for example through social web 2.0 media productions and events, and intermedia storytelling. This is made possible through the televised text's discursive re-positioning of lesbian identities. The article argues that lesbian identity is a social construction and that it can be seen as an empty or floating signifier, which is filled with new meanings. It also analyzes the immersive online communities and various other merchandize connected to the series as an aspect of thingification, a process were the media is increasingly occupied with things and brands rather than stories and representations. The result is the branded lesbian, or the lesbian brand, which can be seen as an appropriation of lesbian identities.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Commercialization of Lesbian Identities in Showtime’s The L-word

Ladendorf

2010

Cult. Unbound

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Fashionably Femme: Lesbian Visibility, Style, and Politics in The L Word

Cited by 1 publication

References 3 publications

Commercialization of Lesbian Identities in Showtime’s The L-word

Commercialization of Lesbian Identities in Showtime’s The L-word

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