VivirLatino

Showtime’s lesbian drama “The L Word” has been called groundbreaking in that it’s the first major television show with a plot centered around lesbian characters. The show introduced a Latina character last season (“Carmen”) played by Sarah Shahi. AfterEllen.com goes after the stereotypical portrayal of a Latina in L.A.:

…Carmen explains, “In the Latino culture, it’s okay if two girls dance with each other.”

Her statement, which over-generalizes by using the word “Latino”— there are countless nations and ethnic groups that can be encompassed by that term — drives the scene firmly into stereotypical territory. Indeed, Carmen’s entire family is extremely stereotypical, complete with the over-involved mother who wants nothing more than to feed the overly thin Shane and find her a boyfriend, and a gaggle of gossiping aunties to fix Shane’s hair and coo over Carmen.

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