Representations of Bisexual Women in Twenty-First Century Popular Culture

Straddling (In)Visibility: Representations of Bisexual Women in Twenty-First Century Popular Culture Sasha Cocarla A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctorate of Philosophy in Women's Studies Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies Faculty of Social Sciences University of Ottawa © Sasha Cocarla, Ottawa, Canada 2016 Abstract Throughout the first decade of the 2000s, LGBTQ+ visibility has steadily increased in North American popular culture, allowing for not only more LGBTQ+ characters/figures to surface, but also establishing more diverse and nuanced representations and storylines. Bisexuality, while being part of the increasingly popular phrase of inclusivity (LGBTQ+), however, is one sexuality that not only continues to be overlooked within popular culture but that also continues to be represented in limited ways. In this doctoral thesis I examine how bisexual women are represented within mainstream popular culture, in particular on American television, focusing on two, popular programs (The L Word and the Shot At Love series). These texts have been chosen for popularity and visibility in mainstream media and culture, as well as for how bisexual women are unprecedentedly made central to many of the storylines (The L Word) and the series as a whole (Shot At Love). This analysis provides not only a detailed historical account of bisexual visibility but also discusses bisexuality thematically, highlighting commonalities across bisexual representations as well as shared themes between and with other identities. By examining key examples of bisexuality in popular culture from the first decade of the twenty- first century, my research investigates how representations of bisexuality are often portrayed in conversation with hegemonic understandings of gender and sexuality, specifically highlighting the mainstream "gay rights" movement's narrative of "normality" and "just like you" politics. Finally, it is in recognizing how representations of bisexuality are framed by specific reoccurring themes/tropes, as well as how these themes/tropes work together within larger social, cultural, and political climates, that it becomes possible to challenge existing gender and sexuality norms and ideals and create a more nuanced and complex understanding of bisexuality. ii Acknowledgements This research was partially aided by the University of Ottawa's Excellence Scholarship and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (2011). I would like to begin by extending a most sincere thank you to my supervisor, Dr. Dominique Bourque. While graduate school can be incredibly trying at times, Dominique's genuine interest in her students' well-being and her kindness have undoubtedly made my journey through graduate school easier. Thank you, Dominique, for your valuable feedback, for the numerous emails, meetings, and Skype conversations, for gently pushing me towards completion of my thesis, and thank you especially for your continued belief in my abilities and my project. Thank you to my committee members, Dr. Jennifer Blair, Dr. Shoshana Magnet, Dr. Jodie Medd, and Dr. Kathryn Trevenen for your continued kindness and patience throughout the thesis-writing process. Thank you for your helpful feedback on my research and for challenging me to strengthen my work and arguments by considering theoretical and conceptual ideas that I had not thought of. I would also like to thank my external examiner, Dr. Nicole Richter, for your indespensible feedback, excting suggestions, and encouragement of this project. Not only does your work on bisexuality provide necessary interventions into the absence of bisexality in academia, but it has also contributed to my own understandings and analysis, and I thank you for this. A great thank you to the staff, faculty, and students with the Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies (IFGS). The ways in which you've shaped my graduate studies career are vast and plentiful. I would like to especially thank Margot Charbonneau, the Operations Coordinator at IFGS, for her extensive organizational and administrative duties. Thank you for assisting me through all of the bureaucracy, for fielding my seemingly unending questions, and for always iii being genuine and caring. I would again like to thank Kathryn and Shoshana for their mentorship, guidance, and fostering community at IFGS. Coming into the PhD program with little academic knowledge of feminist theory and readings, your courses (Feminist Theories and Gender, Power, and Representations, respectively) were illuminating and foundational to my knowledge-development. Finally, to the past and present students of IFGS, thank you so much for all of the critical, exciting, and challenging conversations, for the laughs, and for the graduate-student bonding. I would especially like to thank Samantha Feder, Dr. Heather Hillsburg, Dr. Sarah MacKenzie, and Patrycja Wawryka for your continued friendship. A heartfelt thank you to all of my friends and family. I would like to thank "The Queerios" for your close friendships, our B&F gatherings, marathoning The L Word, and our social justice, theoretical, and personal chats, all of which have not only helped foster my academic interests and research but have also been pivotal to aspects of my identity. Thank you to all of my close friends not previously mentioned, especially Liliana Araujo, Corinne Carter, Lisa Dias, Crestina Martins, Cecile Michniewicz, Julie Michniewicz, and Maja Stanisic for all of our conversations, laughs, and hangouts, as well as your unwavering support and caring. Thank you to Gervaise Pellerin (Mémère), the K-W Pellerins, and Ilona Andersen for your love and support. I'm so grateful for our close bond and I can't tell you how much our family get- togethers mean to me and how many times I've used our gatherings as motivation to finish the next section/chapter of my thesis. Finally, I want to extend my deepest thanks to two of the most important people in my life, my mom, Diane Cocarla, and my brother, John Cocarla. John, thank you for all of our conversations and texts, for making "Jim Halpert" faces with me in awkward situations, for sending me funny videos and images to help distract me from worries and work, for inside jokes iv and lots of laughter, and for your kindness and being patient with my sisterly worries. Mom, you are my role model, my feminist inspiration, and my rock. Thank you a million times over for all the ways that you support me. Thank you for calming me down, for encouraging me, for laughing with me, for guiding me, for never, ever wavering in your belief in me and my abilities. Your caring, compassion, generosity, and love are unmatched. Words cannot express how much I love and appreciate the both of you. This thesis is dedicated to you both, my beautiful family. v Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents vi Introduction: Bisexuality On Screen 1 A Note on Language 5 Bisexual Women, Bisexual Men 8 Bisexual Texts in Motion 12 Historical Context 15 Existing Literature on Bisexuality in Popular Culture 24 Academic Contributions on The L Word 31 Academic Contributions on A Shot At Love 35 Overview 42 Chapter One: Theoretical and Methodological Outlook 45 Theory 45 Abjection and Monstrosity 45 Queer Theoretical Approaches 54 Performance Theory and Theory of Performativity 61 Methods 70 Discourse Analysis 71 Deconstruction 75 Intersectionality 79 vi Chapter Two: Contemporary Historical Context of Bisexuality in Popular Culture 86 "Bisexual Chic" 87 Bisexuality in the 2000s 90 Bisexuality on The L Word 109 A Note on Max Sweeney 114 Bisexuality on A Shot At Love 118 Chapter Three: Bisexuality as Abject, Excessive, and Monstrous 128 Of Bodies, Abject Desires, and Bisexuality 129 Excessive and Out of Bounds 136 Organs of Affection 159 The Horror Of Bisexuality 168 Chapter Four: Bisexuality as Inauthentic, Deceptive, and Performed 181 Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are 191 The Confessional 208 Performing Deception 215 Framing Instability: Bisexuality and Mental Health 226 Conclusion: Bisexuality In A (Heter/Homo-)Normative World 260 Extending Normativity to the Mainstream Gay Rights Movement 262 Homonormativity on The L Word and A Shot At Love 267 Reimagining Bisexuality in Popular Culture: Disidentification and Productive Perversity 283 Bisexuality in a Thematic Perspective 292 Bibliography 296 vii Introduction: Bisexuality on Screen Throughout the first decade of the 2000s, LGBTQ+1 visibility has steadily increased in popular culture, allowing for not only more LGBTQ+ characters/figures to surface, but also establishing more diverse and nuanced representations and storylines that reflect changes in social, cultural, and political perceptions of non-heterosexualities. In spite of this trend towards increased LGBTQ+ visibility in popular culture and growing acceptance of sexual diversity more broadly, the market is still primarily focused on representing sexualities that continue to subscribe to monosexual2, heteronormative values and binary gender ideals (Grey's Anatomy; Modern Family; Brothers & Sisters; Desperate Housewives). Bisexuality, while being part of the increasingly popular phrase of inclusivity (LGBTQ+), is one such sexuality that not only continues to be overlooked within popular culture but that also continues to be represented in limited ways, often reproducing (mis)understandings of bisexuality as being a temporary and inauthentic sexuality. In this doctoral thesis I examine how bisexual

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