Line #53 Main/SweepsWeekLesbianKiss


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4	->''"Series/MelrosePlace is coming back this fall, and it has resorted to TV's tried-and-true marketing tactic - The Homo Promo."''
5	-->-- ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0ql0mDwV74 That's Gay: Lady Kisses]]''
6
7	The gossip columns go crazy. Interviews with the glamorous starlets are scheduled, and they say things like, [[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday "well, I love men]], [[FauxYay but women have such soft lips and are such great kissers... there's really nothing like it!"]]
8
9	Commercials announce that your favorite good, wholesome man-loving female character is about to take a walk on the wild side. The ad spots will inevitably show the two ladies facing each other, lips pursed, faces nearing, only to cut away before the [[GirlOnGirlIsHot good stuff]] happens.
10
11	Well, it must be UsefulNotes/{{Sweeps}}.
12
13	This is an AlwaysFemale variation on TonightSomeoneKisses where a straight or bi female character kisses another woman (usually a tertiary character or one-episode guest star). The long-term implications are generally negligible and the female regular characters [[BaitAndSwitchLesbians remain straight]]. The non-regular's remaining screentime in the series will generally be measured in minutes rather than hours or seasons. This is all assuming, of course, that [[NeverTrustATrailer the whole thing isn't taken entirely out of context]], and the footage taken from an AccidentalKiss, FakeoutMakeout or, worse, ImagineSpot.
14
15	Often classified as {{fanservice}}, this is mostly just a RatingsStunt, calculated to get more viewers while creating a manageable amount of blowback from the MoralGuardians, who, while generally disapproving of lesbianism, have a sufficient DoubleStandard concerning depictions of male and female homosexuality that they generally save their outrage for, you know, ''serious'' dangers to society, like ''Film/{{Dogma}}'' or ''Film/BrokebackMountain''...
16
17	There's one other explanation for the lack of outrage over the most recent Sweeps Saphistry, and that's that people are ''losing interest'' in women making out in prime time. Since the mid-2000s, the lesbian sweeps kiss seems to be getting increasingly diminishing returns in the ratings. The [=LGBT=] community is no longer desperate for whatever non-negative representation they can get, and critics are no longer impressed by a showrunner's "bravery" by including it. Further, when you can see far more [[{{Twincest}} bizarre]] things on Website/YouTube (to say nothing of [[TheInternetIsForPorn other corners]] [[ShockSite of the Web]]), and far more extreme or daring things on non-network television, the Sweeps Week Lesbian Kiss is clearly in danger of becoming a DiscreditedTrope.
18
19	See LesYay, FauxYay, AmbiguouslyBi, FakeOutMakeOut, PracticeKiss, NoBisexuals, {{Gayngst}}, GayBravado, SexSells, GayMoment and HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday.
20
21	----
22	!!Examples:
23	[[foldercontrol]]
24
25	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
26	* While undercover investigating the murder of a lesbian teacher, Officer Judy Hoffs is kissed by a girl in the ''Series/TwentyOneJumpStreet'' episode "[[Recap/TwentyOneJumpStreetS04E14AChangeOfHeart A Change of Heart]]", leading Judy to ask herself a few questions until the end of the episode after which it is never mentioned again. It pre-dated the ''L.A. Law'' kiss episode by a year but managed to avoid the press and public attention that episode received.
27	* ''Series/LALaw'': New bi lawyer C.J. Lamb kissed series regular Abby Perkins in the parking lot in one UsefulNotes/{{Sweeps}} episode; there were some half-hearted attempts to establish a relationship between the two but both actresses were gone by the end of the following season.[[note]]Michele Greene (who portrayed Abby) has since stated that the writers never intended to have the relationship go farther and the kiss was simply a ratings stunt[[/note]]
28	* ''Series/PicketFences'': The sheriff's teenage daughter kissed her friend at a sleepover. The network was so [[GayPanic panicked]] by it that they [[HideYourLesbians darkened the room]] to prevent it from being seen, though it was visible in the news and other outlets. The daughter decided that she was straight.
29	* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': Jadzia Dax, who is a host-symbiote character, kissed and got romantically involved with another woman of her species in one episode. Though the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' universe has implied acceptance to gay people, the relationship was inappropriate because their relationship was based on a relationship had by a previous (male) Dax host with the other woman, [[{{Anvilicious}} which is disallowed regardless of the gender combination of the participants]]. The other woman was never seen again. Notably, that episode at least tried to tackle a social issue - they did it again in the seventh season and it was gratuitous even in context, purely there to show the MirrorUniverse is DarkerAndEdgier.
30	** [[https://www.themarysue.com/fan-service-on-losing-patience-for-women-kissing/ This article analyzes]] when a kiss between two women went from being something revolutionary –as in the case of Star Trek [=DS9=]- to becoming this trope.
31	* ''Series/PartyOfFive'': Neve Campbell's character, Julia, kisses another woman (played by Creator/OliviaDabo). D'Abo's character appears just one more time in the series.
32	* ''Series/AllyMcBeal'' made sure that ''everyone'' knew about their Sweeps Week Lesbian Kisses between Ally and her co-workers. Unusual in that nobody gets PutOnABus or [[HideYourLesbians removed from the show without comment]].
33	* ''Series/TheOC'' had a kiss and bisexual relationship between Marissa Cooper and a short-lived female character named Alex. Alex got PutOnABus in about four episodes after the kiss (after a brief relationship with a male character). Marissa, of course, went directly back to boys and did not pass Go or collect $200. While the kiss did happen during sweeps, the rest of the trope only applies because of ExecutiveMeddling. Marissa and Alex's story was supposed to play out over the rest of the season and once they broke up, Marissa was supposed to continue on being bisexual. Fox said no to both.
34	* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'':
35	** Curiously, it had its "lesbian" kiss a couple of weeks ''before'' UsefulNotes/{{Sweeps}} when a female villain with a GreenRocks-powered kiss that causes face-melting hallucinations needs to do something about a witness (Lana, of course). She, ahem, uses her power on Lana, an act that seems to disgust both of them. One could speculate that the reason this episode didn't make it to UsefulNotes/{{Sweeps}} was that it simply wasn't very good FanService.
36	** The "Lana joins a sorority of [[LesbianVampire lesbian vampires]]" episode, on the other hand...
37	* ''Series/BabylonFive'' mostly averted this trope; the lesbian relationship between Ivanova and Talia Winters had no on-screen kiss and was completely understandable based on their characters. After the relationship was revealed, however, Talia was PutOnABus [[spoiler: and later suffered a BusCrash due to disagreements with her real-life actress; there's a leftover ChekhovsGun saying she would come back]].
38	%%* ''Series/DesperateHousewives'' did a textbook example. In what is perhaps a sign that this trope is starting to become [[DiscreditedTrope discredited]], both lesbian and mainstream reviewers responded with a yawn and a "Seriously? In 2009?" Viewers, apparently, weren't impressed, either.
39	* ''Series/{{Friends}}'':
40	** Creator/WinonaRyder showed up as an old friend with a crush on Rachel. Winona kissed Rachel, then promptly disappeared from the series forever, her purpose fulfilled... or perhaps not, since the episode didn't even win its timeslot (which may be explained that it was because both were really lame kisses).
41	** That kiss was immediately followed by [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Phoebe]] kissing Rachel "just to see what all the fuss is about."
42	* In the season finale of Creator/CourteneyCox's struggling FX series ''Dirt'', Cox's character shared a liplock with a rival played by Jennifer Aniston in a last-ditch attempt for ratings. Aniston's character was never seen again. The kiss caused a minor stir among entertainment publications, but unfortunately for ''Dirt'', the angle was less "OMG Rachel and Monica kissed!!!" and more "Wow, Courtney Cox's show is desperate for viewers," thus proving again why this trope is becoming [[DiscreditedTrope discredited]].
43	* Similar to ''Dirt,'' ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' had a notorious example between Gretchen and Claire Bennet in its final season.
44	** Ironically, they cut another kiss from the episode "Pass/Fail" to avoid further accusations of invoking this trope (which seems counterintuitive). According to WordOfGod, however, Claire and Gretchen's relationship would have continued in the next season had the show not been canceled. Unfortunately, ''Series/HeroesReborn'''s supplemental material retconned the romantic component of their relationship for the sake of the plot.
45	* ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'''s (in)famous kiss with Nancy's girlfriend at a lesbian bar. While said girlfriend only appeared one more time (albeit at a gay wedding complete with male kissing), openly-bi Nancy remained on the show for the rest of the series. Roseanne's reaction to the kiss also prompted the examination of some internalized homophobia she hadn't previously acknowledged.
46	* Surprisingly, the normally quite un-desperate ''Series/GilmoreGirls'' featured an instance, although it was played more as a bizarre example of Paris's ironclad determination not to lose out on anything college might have to offer. Downplayed as it was well out of sweeps, and outside of an overheated ''New York Post'' [[http://web.archive.org/web/20040615022933/http://www.homunculus.com/articles/weilliza/weilnypost040407.html article]] with many errors about the show (calling Michel 'gay' and Paris 'butch'), it was completely downplayed by the network (said promos mentioned in the article were more HilarityEnsues than anything else).
47	* Beautifully averted by ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', where Willow and Tara's first kiss was neither gratuitous nor shown in the previews. (First on-screen kiss: the characters had been a couple for almost a year at that point.) Not only that but it appeared on a WhamEpisode that was about something extremely, disturbingly different. Nor were either character written off for quite a while afterwards.
48	* The previews of one ''Series/{{House}}'' episode showed a ''very'' steamy make-out scene between Thirteen and another girl. Ironically, [[NeverTrustATrailer most of that footage wasn't even shown in the episode.]]
49	* ''Series/GossipGirl'':
50	** One episode did a gender-flipped version where Chuck kissed a guy.
51	** Two seasons later they did another one where ''Nate'' kissed a guy.
52	* ''Series/HomeAndAway'' did this one as AnArc in 2009, although, being a soap, they really don't care about ratings.
53	* ''Series/{{Glee}}'':
54	** The show managed to doubly subvert this in its second season - the hype in the lead-up to the last episode of February sweeps mostly focused on a ''straight'' kiss between a girl and a gay guy. Also, it's interesting to note that the very next episode ''after sweeps'' was the one where Santana gives her AnguishedDeclarationOfLove to Brittany, and it didn't show them doing anything as obscene as they'd done in other episodes.
55	** It's also worth noting that in the same season, Kurt and Blaine's first kiss (something that the show had been leading up to for a while) was not hinted at in the slightest in any of the promos for the episode, making this an inversion.
56	** A Sweeps Week Lesbian Hookup (since the characters were never shown to actually kiss, but we do see them both pre- and post-coital) occurred in "I Do" between Santana (an out lesbian) and [[spoiler:Quinn]], now a guest star. Though to be fair to the show, the episode also had Finn and Rachel and Kurt and Blaine, two very popular broken up couples, hook up as well in what was clearly a fan tease, so the show wasn't just using the lesbian hook up for ratings.
57	* ''Series/BostonPublic'' had a sweeps week episode in which Sheila, a PsychoLesbian student stalks Kimberly, a teacher. The preview showed Sheila telling Kimberly "I love you." Both characters are PutOnABus after this episode.
58	* Spoofed by Creator/DavidLetterman on the Late Show.
59	-->"Know what Paul (Shaffer) and I are doing for our season finale? A lesbian kiss."
60	* ''Series/CharliesAngels'' (the 2011 remake) tried to generate some publicity by having Creator/MinkaKelly and Creator/RachaelTaylor kiss. It didn't work and the series was cancelled after only eight episodes, without airing the episode in question. They actually ended up cutting the lesbian kiss scene out of the eighth episode, perhaps as a reaction to the cancellation. When it aired on UK television, the scene was notably absent.
61	* ''Series/ThirtyRock'': Salma Hayek's guest character, Elisa Padriera, plants a big one on Liz Lemon to bid her farewell, after which, Liz seems intrigued by the gesture.
62	* ''Series/BladeTheSeries'': From the beginning, the promos for the series played up the sexual tension that was present throughout the series between Krista and Chase, until finally, Chase kisses Krista much later on, when most viewers had lost interest.
63	* ''Series/CougarTown'': Promos for an episode featured Jules adopting a mannerism possessed by her mother, by greeting and bidding farewell to close friends (specifically female friends) with a kiss on the lips. TBS went to town with those promos.
64	* ''Series/{{Degrassi\|TheNextGeneration}}'':
65	** Paige and Alex's kiss initially seemed like a textbook example of this trope: it was midway through the season and guest-starred [[Film/TheViewAskewniverse Jay and Silent Bob]] in the conclusion of a plot arc involving a movie shot at the school. Alex and Paige (who had a decent amount of BelligerentSexualTension) had ''finally'' become friends, got drunk at the wrap party and went back to Alex's horrible home for a late night kiss in the dark. Unusually for this trope, the kiss led to a several-season-long relationship between the two and led to arguably the greatest amount of CharacterDevelopment for both characters.
66	** The series repeated this trope several seasons later with Fiona and Holly J, and while the advertising played it up as a more overt version of this trope, the kiss itself naturally fell into the much larger arc of Fiona coming to terms with her homosexuality. Her later-season kiss with Imogen barely even made a ripple in the advertising because there was nothing to really exploit.
67	* The ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' episode "Heir to the Demon" features a lesbian kiss between Sara and Nyssa, which initially appeared to be this since Nyssa only appeared sporadically in the season and Sara's relationship with the male main character was more prominent. It got a lot of praise for being the first serious comic book adaptation to feature an openly gay or bi character whom everyone accepted, however, and was further [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] by both characters continuing to display their sexualities and relationship with one another -- especially once Sara became the lead on ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow''.
68	* While on comic book series, ''Series/AgentCarter'' had an example that actually served a plot purpose and wasn't even included in the promos. The title character is trying to run away from the lawmen at her home. She then finds Dottie, a housemate who is secretly a SleeperAgent, and Dottie kisses her in the lips... [[DruggedLipstick because she's wearing Carter's knockout lipstick]], leading the passed out Peggy to an easy capture.
69	* A kiss between Pamela and Emma on the mid-season finale of TNT's ''Series/{{Dallas}}'' was thought to be this by those on social media. It scored 1.4 million adults between ages 25 and 49, a demographic the network targets.
70	* Averted with ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' in an episode where Amy casually (and drunkenly) gives Penny an affectionate peck on the lips during a night out. It's portrayed more as a friendly kiss than anything resembling shock value.
71	* Spoofed in the ''Series/GrossePointe'' episode "Passion Fish," where Creator/SarahMichelleGellar only wants to do one to snag an Emmy nomination but gets MistakenForGay for wanting to do it in the wake of kissing Selma Blair in ''Film/CruelIntentions''.
72	* ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'':
73	** For cheerleading practice in the pilot episode, Veronica kisses Betty as a part of their "big finish". Cheryl, however, is unimpressed and outright says "faux lesbian kissing hasn't been taboo since 1994" (ironically the character later came out as a lesbian). WebVideo/SarahZ also criticised the network for hyping the kiss up in marketing anyway.
74	** Season 3 had a gender-flipped example where Joaquin kissed Archie in a promo. In the actual episode, the kiss was the farthest thing from romantic or titillating -- Joaquin, while gay, kissed Archie only to distract him long enough to stab him on someone else's orders (long story).
75	* Showing that even Ireland isn't above such a thing, the drama ''{{Series/Raw}}'' pulled this in the first season. A lesbian meat vendor was introduced for just this one episode, persuaded [=JoJo=] to go on a date with her and they even kissed as an experiment. Naturally, the kiss was used in the previews. Oddly enough the show had two recurring gay male characters whose budding relationship was the plot of the first season.
76	* {{Gender Flip}}ped by ''Series/DawsonsCreek''. The Season 3 finale, which indeed aired on May 24, 2000, featured the first "passionate" gay kiss on primetime television. ...It was all of a half-second long, due to a combination of the kiss needing to sneak past the radar, actor Kerr Smith's voluble discomfort at being asked to play a gay character, and being the source of the "Dawson crying" MemeticMutation.
77	* Parodied in ''Series/{{Ziwe}}'''s "Gay Pride!" episode, in which a "groundbreaking gay kiss" set to appear at the end is repeatedly hyped over the course of the episode, only for the actual kiss to be between a (lesbian) woman and a (gay) man, which Ziwe (in-universe, anyway) believes is more original and controversy-generating than a same-gender kiss.
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
81	* During Eric Bischoff's tenure in the WWE, one of his trademarks was to promise the fans "HLA" (short for "Hot Lesbian Action"), wherein two stunningly attractive – but otherwise heterosexual – female wrestlers would engage in kissing each other in the ring. This began as a one-off ratings stunt in 2002, where two actresses with little actual wrestling training were invited into the ring to "entertain" Bischoff by kissing each other, but the whole act was used to continue the push of Bischoff's tag team Three Minute Warning (a pair of vicious Samoan wrestlers who ran into the ring at random to beat up anyone who was unfortunate to be in their path).
82	** Despite the outcome of the initial in-ring skit, "HLA" would occasionally be used to draw male audiences to the show until Bischoff's departure. Whenever an "HLA" act was planned for the show, Bischoff would – during his in-ring promo – announce, one letter at a time, that such was going to happen sometime during the show; color commentator Wrestling/JerryLawler would always play up the "HLA" match by getting unusually (even for him) excited in anticipation of the act.
83	* Wrestling/TrishStratus claimed that she was asked to do this - a segment where she would have kissed Wrestling/TorrieWilson - but turned it down, feeling it didn't serve a purpose other than {{Fanservice}}. Trish did get kissed by two of her opponents, however (Lita and Mickie James respectively) but both those were justified by the storyline; in Lita's case it was because Trish had mockingly called her the "walking kiss of death", and Lita kissing her [[AppropriatedAppellation was a taunt that said she wouldn't take Trish's bullying any more]] (and it was used as build for their match in the main event of Raw). Mickie's was done as part of a LoonyFan storyline, where the kiss signalled that Mickie was starting to overstep her boundaries.
84	* Wrestling/ChristyHemme planted a kiss on ring announcer Lilian Garcia during her feud with Carmella [=DeCesare=]. Given the feud involved two women that were both new to the company, it was clearly a ratings stunt.
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	[[folder:Video Games]]
88	* ''VideoGame/DisgaeaDimension2'' had a promotional art piece depicting one between Etna and Flonne. Interestingly, ''Flonne'' appeared to be the initiator, with Etna getting flustered.
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:Webcomics]]
92	* Parodied in ''WebComic/AnsemRetort'', where Ansem refuses the cast's demand for lesbian fanservice cause they're saving it for when they need a cheap ratings boost.
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Web Video]]
96	* Parodied in ''WebVideo/TheLizzieBennetDiaries'', where Lydia teases a lesbian kiss with Lizzie. The latter - who is also her ''sister'' - looks baffled. Lydia responds "don't you want more views?"
97	[[/folder]]
98
99	[[folder:Western Animation]]
100	* Technically the Foxxy Love/Princess Clara kiss from the ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'' pilot was a few days ''before'' sweeps, but it served the same purpose for the new series. The show is in all ways a parody, though. Though neither cartoon participant left the show, they barely referenced the kiss after Clara has a [[MissConception pregnancy scare stemming from the kiss]]. The characters move on completely after the first season. However, it was all over the advertising for the show for a while afterwards.
101	* ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow''[=/=]''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' used a nearly textbook version of this (though it was series regulars Lois and Bonnie who kissed) when promoting an episode that leads to the spin-off of with promos that talked up the kiss and then cut away to reaction shots.
102	[[/folder]]

Context Main / SweepsWeekLesbianKiss