Abstract

In this thesis I address the proliferation of representations of lesbians in North American mainstream media in the early to mid-1990s. Through a focus on a specific object/subject, Martina Navratilova, I investigate the discourse of progressiveness which accompanies this proliferation. As well, I argue that the shift in the way lesbians are being represented is indicative of a new cultural approach to lesbian sexual difference. This approach, "a homosexuality of no importance" (D. A. Miller), is a strategy of partaking of, and enjoying, lesbian difference while at the same time denying its importance and relevance. My theoretical analysis is conducted within the terrain of lesbian/feminist and "queer" theories of gender and sexual identity, lesbian feminist writings on visibility and representation, and recent Marxist and feminist writings on women in sport. A discussion of the conditions, or terms, of lesbian visibility in mainstream media is key to my analysis.