Lesbians Are So Chic (Listen Up!)
by Laura Cottingham
Category: Philosophy

Uncomfortable close encounters with 'real' lesbians such as k.d. or Martina, the production of absolutely fake lesbianism a la Madonna, the life and death of Beth from Brookside, the now-you-see-it-now-you-don't lesbian relationship in Eastenders, Roseanne's quick affirmation of her heterosexuality following 'the lesbian kiss', the overt heterosexualization of the lesbian narrative in Thelma and Louise or Fried Green Tomatoes and the cooptation of the 'lesbian look' on the streets and catwalks of Paris, London and New York all attest to the superficiality of dominant media's mis-representation of lesbians and lesbianism. Cottingham contests the lesbian significance of the mainstream media's 'lesbian chic' phenomenon which, she argues, is less a manifestation of lesbian cultural power than a commodification of lesbianism whose primary purpose is to disempower and marginalize lesbians, and all women, who threaten the existing political structure. The author suggests that the threat actual lesbians (as opposed to their mass media simulacra) pose to the social and sexual economy of contemporary society should be refocused into a radical new definition of feminist politics.