All lesbian characters I can think of in movies or tv shows (obviously not a lot) are pretty and thin. Neither Tara nor Willow were ´glammed up´ at first and they never really were I think, except in that straight boy Xander dream sequence. They are different I think, but no less beautiful of course. I don´t think it´s just lesbian characters that are of a particular physical type, most female characters are pretty and thin. I can only think of a few exceptions, like Sukie on Gilmore Girls and Eleanor Frutt on the Practice. They are somewhat -eh- bigger, but as far as I´m concerned no less beautiful than their thinner colleagues. There are more of course, but percentage wise still not a lot I think, not in leading roles anyway.
It´s clear that when it comes to women the prevailing image on screen seems to be thin and young, whereas the men can be old and dog ugly and they still get the girl. I think the movie makers assume that this is what the audience wants. I think idols is an example of the same thing, the jury is looking for the pretty face, the voice being secundary, but when you look at the winners in a lot of countries the faces are not so pretty. Maybe the audience is interested in more than just looks. I think it will be a while yet before the physical type we see will become a little more diverse. When it comes to lesbian characters it will take even longer, you have to have them first and so far there are too few and too far in between.
Edited by: DrG at: 2/12/04 2:06 pm