This timely collection provides high-quality interdisciplinary essays which address lesbian and bisexual representation in popular television shows such as "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "E.R.," "Queer as Folk," "Sex and the City," "The L Word" and "The O.C.." It also offers a critical introduction to queer women on television and to the scholarship that discusses such representation, and allows a framework for a multiplicity of viewpoints on a variety of topics and series.

"Lesbians in Television and Text after the Millennium" explores popular contemporary texts featuring lesbian characters, including "The L Word," "Queer as Folk," "Dykes to Watch Out For, " and various pornographic videos. Beirne places these works in the context of political and cultural trends of the post-millennial period and compares them to cultural representations of lesbians from the past. Taking up such issues as mainstreaming, feminine lesbians, the male gaze, female masculinity, and sexual practice, this book puts forward provocative readings of texts that have been little explored and offers new insights into the depiction of lesbians in popular culture.

Offering a critical introduction to queer women on television & to the scholarship that draws on such representation, this volume offers interdisciplinary essays on lesbian & bisexual representation in 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', 'ER', 'Sex in the City' & other top U.S. shows.

Taking up such issues as mainstreaming, the male gaze, and female masculinity, this book puts forward provocative readings of little explored texts and offers new insights into the contemporary representation of lesbians.