Lesbian_kiss_episode

Lesbian kiss episode

Lesbian kiss episode

Using two women kissing on television to boost a show's ratings

The "lesbian kiss episode" is a subgenre of the media portrayal of lesbianism in American television media, created in the 1990s. Beginning in February 1991 with a kiss on the American L.A. Law series' episode "He's a Crowd" between C.J. Lamb and Abby Perkins,[note 1] David E. Kelley, who wrote the episode in question, went on to use the trope in at least two of his other shows. Subsequent television series included an episode in which a seemingly heterosexual female character engages in a kiss with a possibly lesbian or bisexual character. In most instances, the potential of a relationship between the women does not survive past the episode and the lesbian or suspected lesbian never appears again.

In 2005, Virginia Heffernan, writing for The New York Times, examined the lesbian kiss episode phenomenon. She concluded that women kissing women is often used as a gimmick during "sweeps" periods, times when Nielsen ratings are used by the broadcast networks to determine advertising rates. Lesbian kisses are:

Eminently visual; cheap, provided the actors are willing; controversial, year in and year out; and elegantly reversible (sweeps lesbians typically vanish or go straight when the week's over), kisses between women are perfect sweeps stunts. They offer something for everyone, from advocacy groups looking for role models to indignation-seeking conservatives, from goggle-eyed male viewers to progressive female ones, from tyrants who demand psychological complexity to plot buffs.[1]

Michele Greene, who played Abby on L.A. Law, confirmed in an interview with AfterEllen.com that her kiss with Amanda Donohoe's C.J. was a ratings ploy and that there was never any intention on the part of producers to seriously explore the possibility of a relationship between two women.[2] The attitude about portraying lesbian relationships with any longevity persisted in Hollywood, as Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003) writer Marti Noxon encountered resistance from television executives when setting the groundwork for the long-term relationship between Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan) and Tara Maclay (Amber Benson). Noxon spoke of the resistance Buffy writers encountered in 2002, saying in an interview, "You can show girls kissing once, but you can't show them kissing twice… because the second time, it means that they liked it."[3]

Examples

More information Program, Title ...

See also

Explanatory notes

  1. [N 1]
    21 Jump Street included a kiss between series regular Holly Robinson Peete and guest star Katy Boyer in "A Change of Heart" (1990) but it did not inspire the critical or popular attention later such kisses would engender (Capsuto 2000, p. 235).

References

Citations

  1. [1]
    Heffernan, Virginia (February 10, 2005). "CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK; It's February. Pucker Up, TV Actresses". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
  2. [2]
    Warn, Sarah (March 2003). "Interview with Michele Green (sic)". AfterEllen.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2008.
  3. [3]
    Conan, Neal (January 24, 2002). "Analysis: Portrayals of gays on mainstream TV and the future of gay cable channels". Talk of the Nation. National Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 22, 2015.
  4. [4]
    Tropiano, Stephen (May 28, 2003). "When a kiss is not just a kiss". PopMatters. The Prime Time Closet (column). Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved October 31, 2008.
  5. [5]
    Gardiner, Jeff (February 18, 1994). "The Kiss Off". Entertainment Weekly. No. 210–211. Archived from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  6. [6]
    Capsuto 2000, p. 335.
  7. [7]
    Kay, Jonathan (June 30, 2001). "Gay 'Trek'". Salon. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  8. [8]
    Bianculli, David (January 10, 1997). "On 'Relativity,' a (Lesbian) Kiss is Not Just a Kiss". Daily News. New York. Retrieved November 12, 2009.[permanent dead link]
  9. [9]
    Stasi, Linda (April 11, 2000). "'Talk' Is All Dogs & Kisses: The Producers of 'Talk to Me' Can't Risk Waiting Out a Second Season Slump for the Obligatory Lesbian Kiss-Scene, They Get to It in the Second Episode Instead". New York Post. p. 82. Archived from the original on June 22, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  10. [10]
    Shister, Gail (March 15, 2002). "'Once and Again' needs to [sic] high ratings to stay with ABC". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2015. (subscription required)
  11. [11]
    Parry, Ryan (March 29, 2007). "Let's Be Friends". Daily Mirror. London. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  12. [12]
    "Hayden Panettiere's lesbian kiss". The Boston Globe. June 6, 2008. Archived from the original on October 16, 2009. Retrieved October 12, 2009.
  13. [13]
    Snead, Elizabeth (October 12, 2009). "'Heroes' newbie Madeline Zima wants to fly and kiss Hayden Panettiere again!". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 16, 2009. Retrieved October 12, 2009.
  14. [14]
    Ausiello, Michael (July 24, 2007). "Heroes Scoop: Cheerleader Exits, D.L. MIA and More!". TV Guide. Archived from the original on June 22, 2015. Retrieved October 12, 2009.

General bibliography
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