The Real "L" Word -- Laboratory

Author: ADF Senior Legal Counsel Austin R. Nimocks

"I felt like, being a part of this project, that the message was really greater than my relationship is."  These are the words of Nikki, one of the star characters of Showtime's new series, The Real L Word, and she is 100 percent correct in her sentiments.  While seeking to glorify homosexual behavior and same-sex relationships, The Real L Word provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse into today's equivalent of Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory.  The monster being created?  Making our children virtual lab rats through the intentional creation of more and more fatherless families.  That's a message that is quite disturbing.

Initially, nothing about this show caught my eye.  After all, television these days is full of licentious programming with little to no redeeming value.  In many respects, this show follows that pattern and does not warrant special attention.

However, upon closer inspection, this show is clearly part of the greater agenda to redefine marriage and further deny children what they need--a mom and a dad.  At least three of the show's characters openly discuss upcoming "weddings" and their own unique view of what marriage is all about.  Not surprisingly, the promos of the characters and their forays into this show do not discuss the uniqueness of the marital institution (one man, one woman), and how it serves the interests of children and society.  Rather, the show formulates marriage as what's best for the couples and implicitly denies the intrinsic goodness of the marital union by reducing it to a mere contract between couples that have nothing to do with the needs of children.

The show's greatest display of fatherless children comes with the character, Tracy, and her new relationship with a woman who has three young children, all of whom are less than five years old.  Of course, no mention of the children's father, or their need for a father is made in the promotional materials.  Rather, the show focuses on Tracy's pronouncement that "we're just like everyone else," all at the same time that these three children are being purposely denied a father figure at home.  We know, however, that children long for their fathers.  Books like The Lesbian Parenting Book don't hide this fact, and even President Obama has talked publicly about the still-existent void in his life from not having a father growing up.  Yet these very young kids, when they need a father figure the most, will be subjected to their mother's new same-sex partner who, as part of her rationale for participating in the show, wants to "break stereotypes."

One of the three children of Tracy's new partner is a special needs child, afflicted with Williams syndrome.  In addition to "break[ing] stereotypes," Tracy wants to use the show, in part, to raise awareness of Williams syndrome--a decent purpose with which few would take issue.  However, Tracy advocates in a pool of her own irony, while she promotes the physical needs of one child, and ignores the emotional and psychological needs of them all.  When children are denied either a mother or a father, we know the statistics--they're twice as likely to use drugs, 54 percent more likely to use alcohol, 62 percent more likely to have premature sexual activity, twice as likely to commit crimes, 50 percent higher depression and suicide rates, and have higher school drop-out rates, just to name a few things.  Try as you might, Tracy, your new family is not "just like everyone else."  You and your partner are intentionally excluding half of humanity from the equation, and the statistics say that your partner's children will pay the price.

The bottom line is this--heterosexual sex makes babies, society needs babies, and babies need their mothers and fathers.  As noted by scholars, these three ideas together form the heart of the marriage idea as a virtually universal institution.  More importantly, across the country, Americans understand these facts and have flocked to the polls in 31 separate state elections to affirm them and ensure that marriage remains the union of one man and one woman.  From California to Maine, Michigan to Texas, as a country, we are united on this principle.

As for fathers and our children?  We're not lab rats, and shows like The Real L Word do our country a great disservice for treating us this way.  Don't be fooled, ladies and gentlemen.  While The Real L Word is on national television, it hardly represents the core of our national conversation on these issues.  Americans understand that there are many far-reaching dangers in redefining marriage and relationships, and the laboratory of The Real L Word will not produce any science beneficial to our society.