Table of Contents

Acknowledgements List of Contributors Introduction Loving and Losing: From The L Word to The ‘R’ Word Dana Heller Part 1: Lamentations 1 “Slip under my cloak of boringness. No one will even know we’re gone.” Kim Ficera 2 The T Word: Transgender Representation in The L Word Rebecca Beirne 3 The End of The L Word: Fan Pleasure or Fan Pain? Faye Davies Part 2: Laudations 4 Queering The L Word Sal Renshaw 5 The Trouble With Shane: Lesbians and Polygamy Heidi Schlipphacke 6 “L” is For Looking Again: Art and Representation on The L Word Margaret T. McFadden Part 3: Lineage 7 Trash, Trivia, and Testimony: From Pulp Novels to The L Word Marnie Pratt 8 From the Bottom to West Hollywood: Finding Community in Sula and The L Word Winnie McCroy 9 “No-Limits” Entertainment: All-Consuming Transgressions in Showtime's The L Word Deborah E. R. Hanan Part 4: Legacy 10 Imagining Queer Community in The L Word Cristyn Davies and Kellie Burns 11 “The D Word” Candace Moore 12 Why The Real L Word Matters: Community and Lesbian Sex, in the Flesh Tara Shea Burke The L Word: Character/Actor Guide The L Word: The Complete Episode Guide Film and TV Guide Bibliography Index

Promotional Information

Explores the series' quantum contribution to the evolution of queer television. Including complete Character/Actor, Film/TV and Episode guides, this title also proceeds from the understanding that while "The L Word' ended in 2009 it manages to live on - in the lives of its fans, as well as in a new reality spin-off, "The Real L Word".

About the Author

Dana Heller is Professor and Chair of the English Department at Old Dominion University. She writes about popular culture, television, queer studies, and most things considered to be in bad taste. A four-time Senior Fulbright Fellow, her books include Family Plots: The Deoedipalization of Popular Culture (1997), The Great American Makeover: Television History, Nation (2006), Makeover Television: Realities Remodelled (I.B.Tauris, 2007) and Hairspray (2011).