"Callie Torres" from Grey's Anatomy

Since we talked about her love interest on the show, I felt that it was only fair to discuss Dr. Callie Torres. Callie was, of course, involved with another woman doctor named Erica. At the beginning of the show, however, Callie was involved with George, a male doctor, whom she eventually marries. After their marriage fails because of George's infidelity, Callie discovers that she is having sexual feelings towards Erica. They start to have a serious relationship until Erica abruptly leaves the show.

It's sad that Callie's lesbian relationship had to be written out of the show, but at least this was the first show that had two main women characters having a romantic relationship. Other shows that involve a lesbian or bisexual woman show the woman in a relationship with a character that is only on the show for a few episodes, if that. Callie satisfies that stereotype that a lot of women "turn gay" after a man betrayed them. I'm not sure if Callie ever had feelings for women before George cheated on her because I am not an avid watcher of this show. I wish that her character had started off being interested in women so as to break away from this stereotype, but I understand that this does add a surprise element to the show which is sure to attract viewers. Along with Santana, Alex and Joanne (Tea is Italian, so I'm going to classify her as "white"), Callie breaks the mold because she is a gay woman of color. As you might have notice, 6 out of the 10 women that I have posted about are white. This is because I strictly thought of lesbian/bisexual women of color to write posts about. I didn't want to contribute to the stereotype that all lesbians/bisexuals are white women by writing about mainly Caucasians. I think this shows how the media only wants to show the lesbian relationships of white women, for some reason. This might make it harder for real lesbian/bisexual women of color to admit their homosexuality because they aren't familiar with other non-white women "coming out". Because she is a woman of color, I think that Callie is a very good example of how some characters on TV can positively influece gay women. A Latina or African American woman might watch Grey's Anatomy and realize that there are women of color out there that are lesbians/bisexuals. This character provides hope and inspiration for many gay women, both white and non-white.

"Erica Hahn" from Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy is, arguably, one of the most popular medical dramas on TV. Although Dr. Erica Hahn was only on the show briefly, she has left quite an impact. She was introduced on the show as the "rival doctor". She was working with Dr. Burke, a doctor who went to school with her. They were rivals because Burke graduated number 1 from their graduating class at John Hopkins Medical School, while Hahn finished second. After she enters the show, Erica turns down sexual advances from Dr. Sloan, a.k.a. "Dr. Steamy". This might have raised questions in the minds of the viewers because Dr. Steamy wasn't turned down too often. Later, Erica became involved with another doctor, Callie Torres. Their relationship was cut short because the TV network somewhat pressured the producers of Grey's Anatomy to get rid of the character. The TV network believed that the relationship between Erica and Callie was getting too explicit. The producers of Grey's Anatomy, however, said that the reason they got rid of the character was because they felt that the viewers would eventually get bored with Erica. The producers stated that they were not homophobic in the least because, obviously, they had a lesbian/bisexual character already on the show (Callie Torres).

Although the producers tried to make it appear that the reason Emily was written out of the show was because their was not enough chemistry involved with Emily and the other characters to keep the viewers' attention, I think that they definitely feeled pressured by the TV network. It's sad that they couldn't show more of a serious romantic relationship between two women. I think that a lot of lesbian characters on the shows either have relationships off camera or their relationships are brief and not mentioned that much. Even though the character was shortly lived, I think that Erica kind of fit into the stereotype that other white women did. This stereotype is that rich, white women and men are homosexual or bisexual. Erica breaks another stereotype, however, by being involved openly with another woman that she works with. Although she might have been secretive, she still had the courage to have a romantic relationship with her co-worker even if she could have lost her job. She was very brave and honest about her feelings for Callie.

Okay, so Erica fits the rich, white lesbian stereotype but that is not her fault. The producers chose the actress who played her. She defies other stereotypes, however, by her bravery towards having a relationship with a woman show works with and by being with a woman of color (Callie). She is nonapologetic and she does not feel like she has to conform to anybody's standards even if she is in a high respected profession. Erica can she other gay or bisexual women that, sometimes, you might have to risk everything for love. Erica risked her job, but she knew that she couldn't hide her feelings for love. She was a very honest character and I am sad that she is no longer a part of the cast.

"Thirteen" from House

House is a drama/comedy that shows a group of doctors in a diagnostic team who are trying to discover what unusual disease is killing their patient. Thirteen is a new character to the cast. Her real name is Remy Hadley but she has been given the nickname, Thirteen, because that was her assigned number when she was applying for the job. Thirteen is a beautiful bisexual that seems to make the men and women swoon. All of the male doctors dream of sleeping with here, while she can easily have her choice of any woman. She is a very secretive character who later reveals that her mother died from Huntington's Disease and that she is, indeed, a bisexual. Thirteen soon discovers that she has the gene for this terrible disease and acts out in horrific ways. She becomes addicted recreational drugs and has several one night stands with men and women. She has a serious relationship with another male doctor, later on, in the show.

I think that Thirteen fits the stereotype of the "oversexualized lesbian/bisexual woman". She has one night stands with both men and women but, sadly, this is understandable. She has found out that she might have the same fatal disease that killed her mother. Although Thirteen fits this stereotype, I think that she is still a good influence on other gay women. She is not perceived as an oversexualized woman because she is bisexual. She is having a hard time living with the reality of her illness. Other gay and bisexual women can learn to perserve through their struggles in life, as Thirteen is trying to do. Thirteen is a smart, successful doctor which shows that sexuality can't hold you back from achieving your goals in life. Her addiction to drugs and, maybe even, sex might be something to other people (gay or otherwise) can relate to. They might think "hey, if Thirteen can get through this, maybe I can, too".

"Joanne Jefferson" from Rent the Movie

Joanne Jefferson, as already mentioned, is Maureen Johnson's love interest in Rent the Movie. She is an African American lawyer with very important parents in the community (her mother is running for a judge position while her father is a politician). Joanne is very sensible and realistic so it is surprising that she is dating the free-spirit, Maureen.

Joanne definitely doesn't follow any stereotypes. She actually defies them. She is dating a woman of a different race while remaining a highly respected lawyer. Joanne is a great model for not only gay women, but anybody. She is true inspiration because she shows that your sexuality doesn't define you. "Openness about one's sexual orientation was related to better mental health among sexual minority women, but not among their male counterparts". (Kuyper and Fokkema) This shows that, because Joanne is so open about her sexuality, she is a happier person because of it. She definitely has stress about her relationship with Maureen, but that can be said about any relationship involving any sexuality. She does not show any signs of mental health issues because she has one less thing to worry about: people finding out her true identity. She does not have to hide herself. Joanne can show gay/bisexual women that even if people judge you, you can still be who you want to be. Joanne didn't let anybody bring her down. She was fearless, even more fearless than Maureen (which is a difficult task). I think that lesbian women can look up to her and try to live their lives without fear of what other people think because this can seriously bring down their stress levels and make them happier inside.

"Maureen Johnson" from Rent the Movie

Rent the Movie is very similar to Rent on Broadway. It is a movie about a group of friends that each have their own problems, whether it be alcohol, drugs or sexually transmitted diseases. Maureen Johnson is a Caucasian bisexual performance artist. She dated a guy named Mark until she left him for an African American woman, named Joanne. Maureen is a notorious flirt, which causes Joanne to not trust her. They break up and get back together at the end of the movie.

Maureen is another example of Mike Swift's survey because she had been involved in previous heterosexual relationships. Despite this, I think that Maureen would be a somewhat decent role model for lesbians or bisexual women to look up to. Although she has been a cheater in the past, she seems really faithful to Joanne. She is open about her love for Joanne and she is not embarrassed to show public display of affection. Gay and bisexual women will be inspired by Maureen's fearless nature. I think that, because Maureen is a successful and happy woman, homosexual women will realize that they can, also, have it all. You don't have to hide your true identity to have a successful career.

"Santana Lopez" from Glee

Unless you are living under a rock, you have heard of Glee. It is a musical comedy that has become very popular over the last few years. Santana Lopez, a lesbian character, is a "mean girl" at school. She was a cheerleader (she quit, it's a long story) and she had her fair share of boyfriends. Her best friend, Brittany, and her are inseparable. Occasionally, they would make out but Santana insisted that she was only bored and she was not attracted to Brittany in anyway. Brittany was somewhat upset by this because she thought it could have been something more. Santana and Brittany both have boyfriends until Santana's relationship kind of fizzled out. Santana realizes that she had been hiding her feelings towards Brittany. After she finally admits to Brittany that she wants to be together, Brittany says that she likes Santana, but she doesn't want to break it off with her boyfriend. She thinks that her boyfriend is a great guy and she doesn't want to hurt him. This upsets Santana because she poured out her heart to Brittany, only to be rejected. Later, Brittany and her boyfriend break up. Santana sings a song to Brittany (because that's what people in Glee do) about how much she loves her and how she wishes she could take away her pain after breaking up with her boyfriend. Santana says that she is not ready to announce to everyone that she is a lesbian. Because of this, the relationship between Santana and Brittany are at a crossroads.

This character follows along with the other typical stereotypes of hiding your true sexuality and having relationships with guys to cover up your homosexuality. According to a study performed by reporter Mike Swift, "lesbians are also nearly three times more likely to have been in a previous heterosexual marriage (in this case, dating relationship) than gay men." Lesbians, however, can learn one thing from Santana: how to express yourself. Santana couldn't come out to everybody around her (only Brittany and a few other people) but she admitted it to her closest friend and crush. She laid it all out on the line, knowing that she could get hurt in the process. I respect that Santana accepted herself and tried to achieve happiness by forming a romantic relationship with Brittany. Although their exact relationship has not been determined yet, I think that lesbians can learn to express themselves in some way, whether it be singing, dancing, painting or writing. It might be hard to verbally tell everybody how you are feeling inside, but once you express yourself in some way, you will feel better.

"Tea Marvelli" from Skins

Skins is, from what I've heard, a very popular show in the U.K. Critics claim that the U.S. version is not as good, but it is the only version I have seen so I'm going to talk about it anyway. Tea is a lesbian and proud of it. She is a high school student (about 15 years old) and she has come out to her close friends. Her big, Italian family, however, does not know about her sexual preference. To keep them satisfied, she goes on dates with the sons of her father's friends or clients. She openly talks about her sexuality with her friends and kisses and holds hands with whomever her current fling may be. One night, however, she made a horrible mistake. Her dad had arranged a blind date between Tea and his friend's son. Tea was surprised to find out that her date was actually Tony, one of her really good friends from school. Later on in the night, they get high and start kissing. Tea stops herself because not only is she attracted to women, but her friend is Tony's girlfriend. After some provocative dancing, they quickly have sex. Tea laughs after they have sex and she claims that it was "horrible" and she didn't understand why straight girls like it. Although Tea made a mistake and she didn't enjoy sex with Tony at all, they later have sex again while on a camping trip for school. Tony's girlfriend finds out and breaks up with Tony. His girlfriend also stops speaking to Tea.

In the beginning of the season, Tea is very confident and sure of who she is. I like that the writers of Skins, at first, were showing a strong lesbian who is only attracted to girls and let's everyone know it (except her religious family). My opinion of her changed, however, after she had sex with Tony (twice). I think that one of the most common stereotypes of lesbians is that they will still have sex with guys. Men usually don't care if a woman is interested in other women because they automatically think, "threesome". At first, Tea seemed to prove the stereotype wrong by only being attracted to women. She reverted back to the stereotypical lesbian who will sleep with any gender.

I think that the character, Tea, shows the wrong message to gay women because they might think that it's normal for lesbians to have sex with men. I don't think that lesbians should feel pressured into having sex with men because they won't be attracted to them in the least. Gay women should realize that they deserve more than to be a straight man's sexual fantasy. They are real people with real relationships. I think that having sex with emotion, or at least sexual attraction, is pointless. If a lesbian sleeps with a man she will be using her body for all the wrong reasons.

"Fiona Coyne" from Degrassi

Here is the last lesbian character from Degrassi, I promise. Fiona can be labeled as the "perfect girl" for any high school guy at Degrassi. She is rich and beautiful so, of course, all of the guys try to win her affection. She seems very picky and the few relationships that she has had in the past were short and not very serious. She starts to date the star quarterback whom she later discovers is gay. She tells him that she won't reveal his secret. She moves back to New York where she starts dating a rich, handsome boy at her new high school. Their relationship seems perfect but then it, quickly, turns violent. He punched her in the face (resulting in a black eye) and pushes her down the stairs. She, eventually, tells her mom what happened and they take the case to trial. To deal with her emotional stress, Fiona turns to alcohol. She becomes an alocoholic and goes to rehab. She, later, moves back to Degrassi because she wants to rid herself of the negative environment in New York. She becomes friends with her brother's ex-girlfriend, whom she used to despise. Fiona feels attraction towards Adam, a transgendered student at Degrassi. After she finds out that Adam is physically a girl, she believes that she has the best of both worlds because she is attracted to girls and people won't stare because Adam looks like a boy. Adam gets offended at her reaction because he feels like a boy. They break up and Fiona quickly realizes that she has feelings towards Holly J, her brother's ex-girlfriend and her best friend. Only one other student at school knows about her crush, so Fiona can keep her secret for a little longer.

Fiona, along with Alex and Paige, had something tragic happen in her life. Although she doesn't have money issues, she was physically abused. Along with physical abuse, Fiona fits the survey that Natasha Rudra wrote about because she also wrote, "one-third of the women surveyed had received treatment for depression or stress". Fiona also follows the stereotype that lesbians typically go out with men, at least in the beginning of their lives, to hide their true sexual feelings. She, however, is not afraid to come out to her close friends and family. She is very brave and I think that gay women can learn from her. After dealing with physical abuse and alcoholism, she realizes that it is not worth it to hide her true identity. Because she is open and honest about her feelings, except towards her feelings for her straight best friend, I think that Fiona will grow as a character.

Lesbians should follow Fiona's example and, eventually, come out to their close friends and family. They will realize that it can only lead to greater things. Although Fiona's only female romantic relationship ended shortly, she was still happier during that short time than she had been before she came out.

"Paige Michalchuk" from Degrassi

There are a few characters from Degrassi whom are lesbians, so I might as well discuss each of them. Paige Michalchuk starts of her high school career as the "queen bee". She is popular, but also mean so people are somewhat afraid of her. She has had her share of boyfriends, each of them pretty decent guys except for one. While she is still in high school, she has a crush on a college guy while she has a boyfriend. She meets up with Dean (her college crush) at a party where things quickly get heated. Paige tells him that he is going too fast, but he doesn't listen and proceeds to rape her. The rape, of course, causes her to be emotionally unstable and makes her very mean to those around her. She finally tells people that she was raped and goes into therapy.

Paige gets a job at the movie theater and she is surprised to learn that Alex, the rebel girl, also works there. After a few fights, they become close friends. Alex reveals to Paige that she is a lesbian and she has feelings for her. Paige, in turn, confuses and frustrates Alex by sometimes kissing her, but insisting that it means nothing. Paige later admits that Alex makes her happy and they start dating. They break up because Paige is going away to a top university. Paige, eventually, goes to college and comes back very upset because she is failing most of her classes. Alex is a source of encouragement to Paige by telling her that she is a smart and talented person. Paige starts to have feelings, again, for Alex but they don't stay committed and they eventually start seeing other people. Alex is the only woman that Paige has ever had romantic feelings towards.

Although my blog is mostly about lesbian relationships, I have to make an exception in this case because Paige is actually bisexual. There will definitely be more posts about bisexual women because, sadly, that is more common in TV than lesbian women. Paige, in my opinion, is not as stereotyped as many other lesbian/bisexual characters. Like Alex, she deals with the trying to understand and accept herself. I feel that Paige isn't attracted to one sex because she is attracted to the real person. Alex, later on, reveals that she is only attracted to females. Because Paige has only dated one woman, I think that she falls in love with a person for their heart and how they treat her. Since Paige was raped, she realizes that she deserves to be treated with respect. Alex respected and admired Paige and she made her feel better about herself. Sadly, Paige follows that survey that the journalist, Natasha Rudra, reported on that stated that many gay or bisexual women have been involved with sexual abuse. I don't think that this has completely change Paige, however, because she continues to date guys even though she was raped by one. I think Paige is a good character for lesbians to look up to because she doesn't stress about labels. She doesn't think of herself as straight or gay. She likes a person for their inner self and she doesn't care what other people think of her.

"Alex Nunez" from Degrassi

Let me start off by explaining the show "Degrassi" to those of you who are unfamiliar. "Degrassi" is a high school (and middle school in the beginning), that shows the lives of several teenagers. The teenagers deal with various issues, including: drugs, relationships, alcohol, abuse and many more. Alex is a character that was in the first few seasons, but has since left the show (or made small appearances). She can be described as the poor, "bad girl" who changes drastically throughout the years. In the first season that she appeared on the show, Alex was dating a guy who was also bad news. They drank, did drugs, stole and had a lot of sex together. Their relationship, however, ended soon after Alex discovered that he was cheating on her and he gave her gonorrhea. Alex's life at home was very shaky as well. Her mom's boyfriend was usually violent and after he ran up her mom's credit card debt he left them scrambling to find a way to pay their rent. Alex turned to stripping because it was easy money. She, eventually, turned her life around after she met Paige. Paige was a smart, popular girl who never got along with Alex. Somehow they became really good friends and Paige became a good influence to Alex. Alex then realized that she had more feelings for Paige that she had initially thought. She announced to her close friends that she was a lesbian.

Now that we have the back story to Alex's life (or at least a glimpse), I want to discuss how lesbian stereotypes might have been used to further dramatize the story. Although she had a hard life, that doesn't have to do with her sexual interests. Many people have grown up in a poor background and have suffered abuse, but are heterosexual. The same goes from stripping. I'm sure (pretty much) that there are gay and straight women working on the pole. Alex is relateable because she has suffered domestic abuse. "More than half (of the woman studied) reported experiencing an abusive relationship, with most citing emotional abuse as the main form of aggression, followed by sexual and physical abuse." (Rudra) It's devastating to learn that, whatever the reason may be, gay women are more susceptible to abuse. It's not clear if that's what makes them change their sexuality or if that is why they remain to keep their sexuality a secret.

The only stereotype that I can detect is her secretive nature. She stays with a guy for many years although she comes clean later and admits that she is only attracted to women. I think it is common for lesbians to form sexual relationships with men in the beginning of their lives because they think that is what is expected of them in this society. It doesn't mean, however, that every lesbian should date a guy just to fit in. I mean, I'm straight but I have never dated a girl. I just know that I am only attracted to men. It's sad that lesbians feel that they must hide their true sexuality to satisfy the norm.
In all, I encourage gay women (and men) to not hide from their sexuality. I'm sure it must be difficult to accept yourself and announce it to the world, but you shouldn't have to live a lie. Sometimes gay women date many men just so people will not question their sexuality. It's not safe to risk your life by having multiple sexual partners who actually mean nothing to you. So, please, don't follow the stereotype of going out with men to make it seem that you are really straight. It's not safe for your body or your happiness.

All About Me

I am writing this blog for my Women's Studies class. The idea is talk about issues that women deal with, whether it be related to gender, sexual preferences, race or political views. As I was thinking in my mind of all the things that I could discuss, one topic stood out to me: lesbian (and bisexual women) relationship stereotypes.

Let me start off by saying that I am a straight woman so I am not writing about my personal experiences in this blog. I consider myself to have a wide range of friends that vary in race, political views and sexual preferences. I thought about some of my friends whom are homosexual and I realized that they are all male. Come to think of it, all throughout high school and college, I have known women who have had threesomes or fooled around with a girl while intoxicated, but I don't recall any women who date only women and have romantic relationships with other women. "Romantic relationships" meaning that they date a girl and call her their "girlfriend".

After I realized that I don't know a woman whom is involved with another woman romantically, I became very sad. Not only because I realized that my group of friends were not as diverse as I had originally thought, but because if I was a homosexual woman, how would I learn about having a healthy romantic relationship with my partner? Because I am heterosexual, I can go to a lot of people with questions about relationships, including my family and friends. I can talk to my mom about sex (maybe when I'm older), dating etiquette (should he pay on the first date?) and marriage (she's been happily married for 22 years). Many lesbian women don't have the luxury of talking to their family or friends unless someone else they know is also a lesbian. In this case, the only way to get advice would be from a doctor (embarassing) or by watching TV.

I have seen several TV shows or movie with a lesbian as a character. The only bad part about TV is that most of the stuff that we are watching is fiction. The lesbian characters on TV are acting out a part that the writers wrote to add comedy, drama or romance. In many TV shows and movies, the lesbian character is overly sexual. "She" (not one specific person in mind) might have sex every weekend with a different girl, but she might never have a real relationship.

Whatever the case, I feel like lesbian women should watch TV to possibly relate to some lesbian characters, but not expect their lives to be the same way. The goal of this blog is to show different lesbian TV characters and discuss the stereotype (if there is one) and how lesbian women can learn from this character. Because although the character may be a sex-crazed freak, it doesn't mean we can't learn from her!

My Sources

Pictures
Paige: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/62/Paige_Michalchuk.jpg
Alex: http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110117191218/degrassi/images/d/d7/Alex.jpg
Fiona: http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100812040550/degrassi/images/c/c2/Degrassi-fiona-04.jpg
Maureen: http://moviecitynews.com/archived/arrays/images/2005/rent/poster_maureen.jpg
Joanne: http://images.wikia.com/rent/images/8/89/Poster_joanne-1-.jpg
Tea: http://static.wetpaint.me/skins/ROOT/photos/tea_punch_fb.jpg
Santana: http://thetvaddict.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/naya_rivera.jpg
Thirteen: http://www.tvfanatic.com/gallery/thirteen-house/
Erica: http://www.zimbio.com/Brooke+Smith/articles/7/Brooke+Smith+Dr+Erica+Hahn+Fired+Grey+Anatomy
Callie: http://rohadi.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Callie-Greys-Anatomy.jpg

External Resources
Rudra, Natasha. "New Light Cast on Lesbian Issues". Canberra Times (Australia) Dec. 2010: Section A, p. 8. LexisNexis Academic. June 2011.
Swift, Mike. "Survey Shatters Stereotypes of Same-Sex Duos". San Jose Mercury News (California) May 2008. LexisNexis Academic. June 2011.
Kuyper, Lisette and Fokkema, Tineke. "Minority Stress and Mental Health Among Dutch LGBs: Examination of Differences Between Sex and Sexual Orientation". Journal of Counseling Psychology April 2011: Vol. 58 Issue 2, p. 222-223. EBSCOhost. June 2011.