"Coming Out" by Numbers

This thesis investigates the independent lesbian films of the 1990s, examining specifically how these films adopt the hegemonic narrative structures of the heterosexist Hollywood tradition. The “coming out” films, while possessing queer content, fail to truly depict an alternative, queer, sexuality apart from the problematic ideological structures inherent to the more dominant cinematic mode. Therefore, my central question is, can these films with their adoption of such normative, narrative structures be considered “authentically” queer? And, if not, what did the prevalence of these films portend concerning the encroaching appropriation of queer culture?