Topic: The L Word

Do you have your showtime back Marin???? I really hope they put season 3 up so I can see the breast cancer story line.

Marin you need to talk to your cable company and get it for free. Ask if there are any specials for a free or reduced trial-- particularly if you have comcast. I did mine in person when I had to exchange a cable box and I KNOW she went out of her way to make sure I got the best package. She bundled all the free things together for me when you're only supposed to get one (like HBO or showtime) for 3 months.

Amy....Why don't you rent the DVDs for the earlier seasons? That's how I got caught up. Then you can watch as much or as little as you want at once. And we all ready for the upcoming season!

~Marin

my gf and i are in season 3 - - just watched the bc episodes.  they could have done a better job with the topic - - it seemed like they rushed through it

Oh YAY, Amy...I'm fainting with excitement (I really need a freakin' life, huh?)! I love the website and will be sure to catch it early. The season comes just in time for me to re-up with Showtime. I need to catch up with this past season of Weeds too. Oh so much to do and not enough time!

~Marin

I adore Bette too. She is my type. On one hand I love the Jodi character and Marlee Matlin is a marvelous actress. On the other hand I don't like Jodi if that makes sense. I don't want her back with Tina-- unless Tina stops being so confused.

I really like Shane-- I've seen her on Law and Order and think she's hot. I like Cybill shepard's character too.

I only got to see last season- I never rented the other seasons-- or at least haven't yet.

I can only speak for myself, but I have no interest in being with someone who's bi. Maybe I'd change my mind if I was really attracted to one who was. I think it's a trust issue for me. As for Shane, I think she's sexy for some reason although personality wise I doubt I'd ever date her. I need someone way more together than her. Do you have a screen name on ourchart.com? I just signed up. I'm a lot older than many of the women who post there, I see a lot of college age women.

Wait--- Jo March was gay?????? I must have missed that. Funny, I always wanted to like the character Amy because we shared a name, or to be selfless like Beth or good like Meg-- but I was a Jo at heart.

Hmmm-very interesting article, but I can't help to agree with some of the comments that it's "lesbian wishful thinking" and not really based on known fact. Even the quote from Alcott "'I am more than half-persuaded that I am a man's soul, put by some freak of nature into a woman's body ... because I have fallen in love in my life with so many pretty girls and never once the least bit with any man" to me isn't convincing, because during the period when she lived, gender expression was clearly defined in clothing and role. While she may well have been a "man's soul" she may just have been more progressive in women's roles in society and Jo did end up with the prof if I remember correctly. I wish it was clearer because I'd be thrilled if Jo was for sure.

No, I enjoy the debate. I find intellectual companionship incredibly sexy. It's one of the biggest turn ons for me. I don't think Alcott could have written about "sexual" in a mainstream book during that time period, though she could have written about romantic. I think she showed different types or romances between the 3 surviving sister. I'm going to reread the book, if I can find it upstairs. I haven't ruled out that Jo was gay, just that as some on afterEllen called it "lesbian wishful thinking". I reread the article you linked to and the comments. It's impossible to know for sure whether Jo was an early feminist or a lesbian or bisexual or straight. I'd love to be gung-ho she was a lesbian-- I just can't with the information.

I was a big LW fan as a kid and read an autobiography of Alcott for a book report in 5th grade. It was a huge book and I don't remember anything from it, but I might check out a current autobiography of LMA to look for "clues".

What about Ramona the Pest? She was my alter ego when I was in kindergarten. I liked Nancy Drew too, but also could have done without Ned no relation to NED. I liked the Little House books and The Five Little Peppers. I never read Caddie Woodland or heard of Trixie Belden. The first "lesbian" themed books I read were when I was a teenager and they fascinated me, but I never made the connection probably because in a small town in the 70s I didn't know anyone or have anyone to talk to about it.

Great job, Amy! It does seem that LMA might have been pretty uncomfortable with traditional female roles and though that may have caused her some pain in her own emotional life, I'm happy that she created Jo as a strong role model for growing girls. She was that for me and reinforced the idea that girls & women could express themselves and aspire to more than becoming only a socially-acceptable wife and mother. The other books did the same for me. I never read Ramona before my daughter started reading them and i liked them too. One day I'm going back and read all of the children's books that I missed and the ones that have come out since! Oh, and Little House on the Prairie? I was SO Laura, even to the point of trying to dress like a pioneer girl!

Were we talking about Bette and Jodi?

~Marin

Wow, Amy, thanks for the website...I'd never heard of it and the book prices are great! I've wanted to buy Dr. Oz's newest book, but since it's still in hardcover and about $25, I was planning to wait it out, but half.com has it for....you guessed it, half the price!

I'm astounded that there is a book about a lesbian at boarding school that went out of print 30 years ago! I'll have to mention it to my daughter who, as you know, is in grad school for library science and has a special interest in women's lit and, as she calls it, "queer lit"! She may even be familiar with the book you cite.

~Marin

Ah, the Classics! I went to an all girls' Catholic college and Classics was a required course. I recall that I tried to pass off the same term paper for both Ancient Art (art history) and Classics....it didn't go over well!

I understand about intelligence being a turn-on though...as long as it's attached to a beautiful body that is !  I'm just kidding (sorta)...there is definitely something sexy about an exploring mind and the sense that the other has a broad scope of experience and perspective. And, conversely, there's nothing so unattractive to me as someone who is ignorant and close-minded, no matter how gorgeous the physique!

I'll have to ask her how she feels about Jo. I'm guessing that she may consider her a bit cowardly and a sell-out, but I don't know for sure...

Yes, I'm so incredibly excited that the new season is approaching! And we'll have nothing but new episodes to look forward to every week, unlike the regular network viewers who will be seeing just reruns until the strike ends.

~Marin

If you're not watching Gay Usa you should. They often have authors on in the last 20 minutes. There was one woman who came out later in life and has been writing lesbian fiction for 50 years. I wish I could remember her name.