“I love you, damn it”. Reading Media Discourses about Lesbian Love in Tierra de lobos (Telecinco: 2010-14)

Abstract

This paper analyses the ways in which the myths of “romantic love” and “the better half” are reproduced in media fiction and examines how audiences read them. We focus on the relationship between Isabel (Adriana Torrebejano) and Cristina (Berta Hernández) —characters of the TV series Tierra de lobos (Telecinco: 2010-14)— and develop two research lines: the narrative structure of the series and viewers’ response in different Internet forums. We conclude, firstly, that media discourse influences and shapes individual and social imaginaries regarding attraction models in lesbian relationships and, secondly, that the traditional attraction model prevails in the face of more egalitarian alternative models.