Abstract
Lesbian politics have long been underscored by a discourse of fashion and visibility. However, the very feminine fashions portrayed by characters in The L Word—the first mainstream television drama about lesbians and bisexual women—has attracted criticism of appropriating heterosexual conventions. Is such a highly stylized version of lesbian visibility still politically potent or is The L-Word simply catering to a popular demand for images of beautiful people? This chapter considers the ramifications of this affirmation of the fem(me)inine, while, in turn, exploring whether overtly feminine stylistic trends can sustain the queer and feminist political potency implied by lesbian visibility.
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© 2011 Thomas Peele
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Dove-Viebahn, A. (2011). Fashionably Femme: Lesbian Visibility, Style, and Politics in The L Word . In: Peele, T. (eds) Queer Popular Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-29011-6_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-29011-6_6
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
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Online ISBN: 978-1-349-29011-6
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