Representation: Lesbians

TV Dramas we looked at representing lesbians:

• Hollyoaks
• Skins
• Brookside
• Sugar Rush
• Shameless
• Smack The Pony
• Grey's Anatomy
• The L Word
• Tipping The Velvet

When looking at how lesbians are represented in TV Dramas, he found that there were three main representations: Normal lesbian relationships (Sugar Rush), Teenage experimentation (Skins) and One-night-stand mistakes (Hollyoaks). It was also interesting to see that all the TV Dramas representing this group were modern - the oldest programme in the list, Smack The Pony, is a comedy. The most recent, Skins, portrays young girls experimenting maturing into having an actual relationship and realising their sexuality, and despite there being criticism, this is made to look petty. Clearly before the 1990's lesbian, and gay, representation would be quite astonishing and considered very 'explicit'. It was interesting to see too that there is a significant amount more of gay representation than lesbian.

The representation of lesbians in the listed dramas is generally very positive. There is always a period of shock and resentment from friends and people outside the couple, but this fades to acceptance, which makes an interesting, realistic storyline (such as in Skins, with Emily and Naomi and Emily's sister, Katie, generally coming to terms with her sister's sexuality). there is also one half of the couple that cannot accept what they have done, or are hung up on their sexual confusion (like Sarah in Hollyoaks, who feels she is a lesbian and lashes out angrily at Zoe, who is straight).