Intersectional Authorship and LGBTQ+ Representation in Women-Centred Television

Chapter 5 examines Transparent (Amazon, 2015–2019, created by Joey Soloway) and Vida (Starz, 2018–2021, created by Tanya Saracho), extending discussions on intersectional authorship, gender and contemporary feminism by focusing on the representation of LGBTQ+ communities. Both shows have generated substantial attention for their portrayals of LGBTQ+ women in front of and behind the camera, as well as for their explicit sex scenes that feature people at all points of the sexual spectrum. The chapter therefore analyses intersectional authorship and the portrayals of lesbian, bisexual, queer, and trans women in Transparent and Vida , while also exploring their representation of sexual intercourse and intimacy. By combining an analysis of both programmes and their surrounding paratexts, the chapter also interrogates how their discursive networks culturally frame the programmes’ showrunners (who identify as queer) and LGBTQ+ representations on screen. As the chapter demonstrates the series and their discursive networks position Saracho and Soloway not just as artists with political commitments but as “activist auteurs ”, a concept this book proposes to refer to showrunners whose lived experiences are presented as informing intentional, meaningful and “authentic” representations of LGBTQ+ identities. However, these depictions remain influenced by postfeminist and neoliberal conventions and reveal persisting sensationalism attached to queer sex scenes on our television screens. As the chapter consequently argues, although the activist- auteur model opens doors for marginalised creators and communities, its commercial promotion invites doubts about the sincerity, motivations, and durability of these political commitments.