Reading 'The L Word' : Outing Contemporary Television

The L Word immediately captured international attention when it debuted on American screens in January 2004. Given its standing as the first television drama series to focus on lesbians,it attracted controversy and devotion from within the lesbian community and beyond - and continues to make headlines and draw an enthusiastic fan base trading gossip through websites and weblogs. The groundbreaking primetime drama from Showtime is about a group of lesbian and bisexual friends living and loving in Los Angeles, and challenges traditionalnotions of relationships, queer lifestyles, gender identities, race and ethnicity, and sex and sexuality. Reading 'The L Word' is the first book about this television phenomenon, and offers a rich variety of explorations of the show and its impact on popular culture.With an Introductionby Sarah Warn, the founder of leading lesbian entertainment website AfterEllen.com, and foreword by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, this collection brings together leading academics,feminist critics, scholars and award-winning journalists to discuss The L Word through a range of topics like third-wave feminism, queer theory, bisexuality and sex as well as how TheL Word has been marketed to and received by its audience. There is a complete episode guide as well as a series of interviews with the actors and the writer Guinevere Turner (GoFish). Reading 'The L Word' addresses both humorously and analytically what The L Word says about lesbians-and what both lesbians and straights have to say about The L Word.'A must-read book about the must-see lesbian sex drama that everybody loves but some love to hate.' -Jane Feuer