generation L

love the accent and the interesting characters. there's a lesbian who prefers straight woman. i personally have a friend who's like that. weirds me out. i still need to understand that thing. i seem to not see a lot of femme lez around these days other than in parties. so watching shows like this gives me a peak of what's the gay life out there, or should i say down under. hehe. anyhoo, quick post! :)

source: from AfterEllen

Check this out!  Following on from the, er, success of The Real L Word, Australian queers can now look forward to a home grown reality show about ladies who love the ladies. Soon to be launched Sydney based project Generation L describes itself as “a sensational new reality series that goes behind closed doors and into the lives and bedrooms of the new generation of gay women.”  Filming as it goes, the series will be set around the events of this year’s Sydney Mardi Gras, from the glitzy parties to the morning afters and, of course, the drama in between.


Created by Sydneysiders Yas London and Brooke Hemphill, Generation L is different from The Real L Word in that it centers around a real life group of interconnected friends, rather than a pre-selected cast. Speaking of her friends, who inspired the creation of the series and with whom she co-stars, London says, “Aside from knowing what uniquely fantastic and interesting lives they all lead, I realised they all individually represent strong, sexy, smart, and ‘label free’ women who really embrace the ‘make your own rules in life’ attitude.”


Generation L is named for a recent cultural shift in the local lesbian scene that London attributes to the impact of The L Word, in allowing a broader range of "what a lesbian looks like" to become accepted.  Recounting her early days on the scene as a particularly femme (acrylic nail-sporting!) lesbian, London remembers “cutting my hair off and buying trucker hats and baggy jeans, just to fit in.  That so wasn’t me and I found it weirdly ironic that I had to completely change who I was to fit with a community that was apparently all about acceptance.”  Another notable point of difference from The Real L Word is that Generation L showcases the full range of lesbian glamour, from butch to femme.  “We are all representative of a new type, or generation of lesbians,” London explains.



The creators make no apology for the fact that the cast is made up of "A-Gay’s." All of the cast are successful professionals currently living the good life in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. 

... all are passionate about living life on their terms, and don’t let anyone dictate how being gay will impact on their lives. They refuse to miss out on anything (Australian laws aside), and are living out and proud…getting married, having babies, breaking the glass ceiling at work - all of it!  We think it is an important story, worth telling to a wider Australian and international audience.

Both London and Hemphill come from a background in the television industry and feel strongly that the time has come for Australian television to step up its game when it comes to queer content.  London says:

I see such extremes fed out to mainstream Australia via the media, that generalise what being "a real lesbian" is. We want to change that … it’s time to get representation of our real lives out on Aussie TV screens. We truly believe that we can have an impact in changing perspectives, and instead of just having "tolerance," we will have true acceptance everywhere.

Disappointingly, the cast is noticeably lacking in diversity without a single woman of colour amongst the line up. When questioned about this London replies:

… This show is about a real group of friends … it has not been cast individually in any way. We do however have age and socio-economic diversity in the character’s backgrounds. It’s a shame that we can’t represent [more broadly] but it’s impossible to do so without being contrived, and it’s unrealistic for this show’s concept because it would be false.

Despite some initial flaws, the show looks to have high production values and a healthy sense of humour. If it indeed screens on television the amount of locally produced queer content will instantly increase by one hundred percent, and I have to say I’m intrigued to see what an Australian version of a lesbian reality show will look like. Watch the teaser below to find out why