Lesbian predators redux

Lesbians are abuzz about the recent I Kissed a Girl episode of Rizzoli & Isles—which, I concede, was remarkable in just how thoroughly it was steeped in sapphism—HOWEVER, I must offer a word of caution in the celebration. I must turn on the lights at this rowdy house party. (Fair warning to those who have not yet seen the show.)

The plot of the episode relies on the age-old portrayal of lesbians as crazed sexual predators, and it also presents a clear anti-butch theme throughout. Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles are trying to solve the murder of a lesbian, whose sexually assaulted body is discovered in an alley near a dyke bar. In the victim's wedding photo, we see her in a white dress holding hands with her butch spouse in a suit. To catch the killer, Rizzoli is urged by a giddy Isles to go undercover as a lesbian. Isles herself ultimately joins in, posing as a busty waitress at the dyke bar. To attract the killer, Isles posts Rizzoli's profile on a dating website for lesbians. While our two gals spend most of the show acting like adolescents with crushes on each other—this includes discussing what kind of lesbians they would be if they were lesbians, talking side-by-side in bed while fully clothed, trading shoves during yoga class, and reacting excitedly to the slightest hint of emotion or insult from each other. When checking the categories of the online dating form, Isles seems to think she is defending her beloved tomboy friend by insisting that Rizzoli should be classified not as a butch, but, rather, as a "sporty" lesbian. "Butch" clearly indicated a slur. In the end, of course, it turns out the victim was killed by her butch spouse, who was working in cahoots with the butch bartender. As the curtain closes, Rizzoli & Isles celebrate their confirmed heterosexuality. The butches are punished, and the straight girls stride into the future.

All this is not to say that I did not enjoy the show. (Embrace double negatives.) Yes, it was fun to see Rizzoli brush up against Isles's breasts. Yes, it is generally a thrill to watch Angie Harmon swagger around as a rangy tomboy. But the show also confirmed that the ugly stereotype of the mannish lesbian predator is alive and well in popular culture. Are we still celebrating crumbs of visibility?

We've seen all this before. The Celluloid Closet documented it well. For most of the history of film (and television), gays and lesbians have been portrayed as something to laugh at, pity, or fear. Lesbians in particular were often seen as predators. The Rizzoli & Isles episode, with its murderous lesbians, fits this unfortunate model. The lesbians on the show reminded me of the sadistic drunk June Buckridge in The Killing of Sister George, of the doomed Martha Dobie in Lillian Hellman's The Children's Hour, of the chilling Mrs. Danvers in Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca. For the film, Hitchcock modified the masterpiece novel by Daphne du Maurier (herself a secret bisexual, as often was the case with lesbians of her generation), to amplify the creepy lesbian undertones. It's interesting to note that Mrs. Danvers was played by Oscar-nominee Judith Anderson, who also played another hated mannish woman on screen: Memnet in The Ten Commandments. I always kind of liked Memnet, but, naturally, she was thrown off the balcony.
I am reminded of another recent memorable unfeminine villainous lesbian. Regal old Dame Judi Dench pursues scrumptious Cate Blanchett in Notes on a Scandal. Both women behave very badly, but the straight woman behaves criminally. Nevertheless, be confident that the dyke is the villain. Even so, I can't take my eyes off Blanchett's performance as her character—dressed in the most beautiful knitwear—completely loses it. When things go badly, blame the dyke.

Sapph Gaz Update!

Rizzoli & Isles was a disappointment. I wish they'd kept to the light banter and bad ass action that make a good cop show rather than dwelling on sadistic killers and horrific violence. The Silence of the Lambs thing is not going to work on weeknight television. At least not for me, my love of Clarice Starling notwithstanding. There were, however, some positive points. The "faintly lesbian undertones" were more than faint. Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles touch each other a lot and mention the possibility of their attraction. Also, the show has Angie Harmon, who is still a stone cold fox. Though I agree with Ginia Bellafante in The New York Times that it's just implausible that no one on the show seems to recognize Harmon's striking beauty. They kind of treat her like she's Peppermint Patty—who, in my opinion, was also a fox.

'Faintly lesbian undertones'

It's summer, and so I'm keeping things light. It doesn't mean my heart is not aching over the environmental disaster (still!!!) occurring in the Gulf of Mexico. It does not mean I'm not following the new ruling on gay marriage. But this site is intended to be a respite, a back rub, a high five of lesbian culture.

Given that, let's talk about the new TV show Rizzoli & Isles!

To be clear, the three women we are discussing today are not lesbians. (In fact, one of them—Angie Harmon—is a Sarah Palin-loving, married-to-a-football-player Republican from Texas.) Nonetheless, there is an undeniable buzz in the lesbian community over this new detective procedural airing tonight at 10 on TNT, and so let's discuss.

Predictably, the gals at AfterEllen are breathless over the reappearance of Angie Harmon because she is a stone cold fox. But it's more than that. I also notice one of the preview ads shows Harmon in bed with co-star Sasha Alexander. Even The Washington Post has cited the "the faintly lesbian undertones that the show keeps trying to establish." I think lesbian undertones are a recent predictor of TV success, e.g.: The Good Wife, Damages, Battlestar Gallactica, etc. Just look at the sexual tension between Patty Hewes and Ellen Parsons and Starbuck and Roslin. Must have been love.

Our third woman is the writer. Yes, let's celebrate the writer. Her name is Tess Gerritsen. She's pictured here with Harmon and Alexander. I'm unfamiliar with Gerritsen's work, but she's a bestselling author of crime genre books, including the Rizzoli & Isles series. She's 57, a Stanford grad, has a medical degree (slacker), and lives in Maine with her husband. She's the daughter of Chinese immigrants, and she told The Boston Globe that as a child she watched horror movies with her mother, who viewed them to learn English. She also said, "I'm inspired by real life. I'm an avid reader of the National Enquirer. I'm always inspired by things that make you reel back in shock." As you might have gathered, the Sapphist Gazetteer also finds inspiration in the National Enquirer.

But back to the lesbian undertones. Sasha Alexander's Maura Isles is a medical examiner who wears heels and lipstick. She has a dark past and a brilliant mind. She's also been described as Spock-like or as resembling a Cylon. (Number 8 was my personal favorite.) Angie Harmon—she of husky voice—plays Jane Rizzoli, who is described by the LA Times as wearing a ponytail and sensible shoes. We know what that means. Another reviewer describes her as "a tomboy in pantsuits who can’t figure out men or lipstick and can’t much be bothered." That same reviewer said the primary tension of the show is "the mystery of this crypto drag-king-meets-shopaholic friendship." Ah, yes, the classic love story of the femme and the drag king.