Lesbianism in Erotica - Lesbianism in Cinema and Television

Lesbianism in Cinema and Television

Lesbian and erotic themes were restrained in early cinema. Even scenes suggestive of lesbianism were controversial, such as the presentation of women dancing together in Pandora's Box (1929) and The Sign of the Cross (1932). Pandora's Box is notable for its lesbian subplot with the Countess being defined by her masculine look; she wears a tuxedo. The Hays Code also banned any homosexual themes in Hollywood films. The Sign of the Cross originally included the erotic "Dance of the Naked Moon", but the dance was considered a "lesbian dance" and was cut for a 1938 reissue, when the Hays Code was in force. Even suggestions of a romantic attraction between women were rare, and the "L-word" was taboo. Lesbian themes were found in European films such as Mädchen in Uniform (1931). Lesbianism was not treated in American cinema until the 1962 release of Walk on the Wild Side in which there is a subtly implied lesbian relationship between Jo and Hallie. Depictions of lovemaking between women were first shown in several films of the late 1960s – The Fox (1967), The Killing of Sister George (1968), and Therese and Isabelle (1968).

During the 1970s, depictions of sex between women were largely restricted to semi-pornographic softcore and sexploitation films, such as Cherry, Harry & Raquel! (1970), Score (1973), Emmanuelle (1974), and Bilitis (1977). Although semi-explicit heterosexual sex scenes had been part of mainstream cinema since the late 1960s, equivalent depictions of women having sex only began making their appearance in mainstream film during the 1980s. These were typically in the context of a film that was specifically lesbian-themed, such as Personal Best (1982), Lianna (1983), and Desert Hearts (1985). The vampire film The Hunger (1983) also contained a seduction and sex scene between Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon.

Henry and June (1990) had several lesbian scenes, including one that was considered explicit enough to give the film an NC-17 rating. (There was some controversy as to whether the MPAA had given the film a more restrictive rating than it normally would have because of the lesbian nature of the scene in question.) Basic Instinct (1992) contained mild lesbian content, but established lesbianism as a theme in the erotic thriller genre. Later, in the 1990s, erotic thrillers such as Wild Side (1995) and Bound (1996) explored a lesbian relationships and contained explicit lesbian sex scenes.

From the 1990s, depictions of sex between women became fairly common in mainstream cinema, in no small part based on its ability to titillate heterosexual male audience members. Females kissing has increasingly been shown in films and on television, often as a way to include a sexually arousing element in a film without actually having the film gain a more restrictive rating by depicting sex or nudity.

The L Word was an American television drama series originally shown on Showtime from 2004 to 2009 and explored lesbian, bisexual and transgender relationships, and contained numerous explicit lesbian sex scenes.