A Day in the Life of a College Dyke: Who is Shane McCutcheon?

Since the lovely, lustful, and sometimes loathsome ladies of The L Word graced our television sets, straight girls around the globe have found themselves gravitating towards a lothario by the name of Shane McCutcheon. For six years we watched her make terrible decisions including leaving Carmen at the altar and taking an early honeymoon to Sherri Jaffe’s beach house of doom, cheating on Paige with the realtor in the spare bedroom – WHILE Paige’s son was in the house, the season one haircut, the season four haircut, the season six haircut, and let’s not forget the leather pants and matching lace-up halter.

Yet through all of these trials and misfires the ladies were just lining up around the block for a chance with Shane. And although she began as just a fictional character born from a script and a very talented Katherine Moennig, her innate Shane-ness has now permeated the lesbian universe in more ways than one.

It’s as if her character became a goal that some lesbians wanted to reach. Obviously seeing how successful Shane was in the field of women, many felt that by acting, dressing, or even talking as she did, they would garner that sort of affection as well.

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And from what I’ve observed, I have to say that it seems to be working for most of them. I’ve been told by many a straight girl that I remind them of Shane, to which I laugh because I’m fairly positive it’s only because I wear v-necks, flare jeans, and converse.

Being on a college campus, I can’t being to tell you how many times I’ve heard bi-curious girls admit to watching The L Word religiously and then exclaiming “I would so go gay for Shane!” Now for me, the obvious reasoning behind this phenomenon would be that Shane is essentially a man, but placed inside of a very skinny woman’s body. She plays the field like a true lady’s man, most likely has never worn nail polish, and probably would prefer beer [Dos Equis of course] over water any day. But there’s got to be more to her than that.

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Shane has always given off an air of apathy and even sometimes arrogance. She exudes a sense of self-confidence that ultimately attracts any female within a 10-mile radius. She never seems to care what others think or how other people view her, and in that sense, it is easy to see how one is attracted to her. However, it is also one of her major character flaws. She so obviously doesn’t care what others think to the point that this trait borders on selfishness. She doesn’t stop to think about the people she is hurting, as long as she gets her kicks [so to speak]. Now once in a blue moon, the viewers caught a small, hopeful glimpse of a woman that could make her change her ways, but in the end, we are reminded that you really can never change anyone. At least she’s consistent.

The lesbian fashion scene had never seen anything like Shane McCutcheon. Thanks to Cynthia Ann Summers and a little help from Nina Garduno and Free City, the look of McCutcheon was brought to everyone, far and wide. It’s the little things that she gave us: from layering your necklaces to going braless with a deep v-neck. And now, you can spot a lesbian from a mile away when you see her sporting a leather cuff or a boyish feathered coiffure or even a suave fitted tuxedo jacket.

I’ve always wondered: would there be real-life Shanes had it not been for The L Word? Or was Shane modeled after some other woman? Perhaps she was the mother of all Shanes. More importantly – who was that woman? Whichever way she was imagined, there has been no other fictional character like her. I’ve never seen someone try and model their style or personality after Norm from Cheers or Monica from Friends. I’m not sure how she did it, but with the help of talented writers and Ms. Moennig, Shane McCutcheon is not just a fictional character – for some, she is a way of life.

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